Discuss your Ducks

I have had Blue Swedish.  Lovely ducks.  They were the first ones I owned and was VERY happy with them.  Layed a decent amount.  Then got a pair of Runners.  They are comical, but very skittish (got all my ducks as grown ducks tho, no ducklings).  The hens layed well and a lot.  Have a Pekin.  She is sweet, and relatively calm.  Have a nutty mixed breed.  She is a riot.  Small, feisty, and not scared of much.  I also have recently gotten 4 muscovies.  Have to say, wish I had gotten some sooner.  They are VERY cool ducks.  Was not crazy about the appearance of the drakes, and was on the fence about the hens.  But now I think they are some of the most lovely ducks ever.  A bit on the bossy side to the other ducks, but LOADED with personality.  Very very calm ducks.  And they are pretty good layers too.  Amusing to watch also. 

Use just a kiddie pool for them.  Along with a lot of pans of water for drinking and bathing (the muscovies are not big on pool time, but love the smaller pans).  They live in a shed at night, very secure, and are penned up in a large area when we are not home, let loose when we are. 

They are messy, yes.  But easily managed.  The shed floor has rubber horse stall mats, which are covered in hay.  Easy to clean.  Heated water bowl for winter inside, and a bird bath heater in pool in cold weather.  Feed Blue Seal Grower Cal, cracked corn in winter, ground oyster shell for calcium supplementation, peas of course, and chopped cabbage and other veggies daily.  And in good weather they eat their fill of bugs, etc.

Ok, that is the short version.  Others will offer their experiences.  Hope some of this helps.

 

I have a pair of anconas, not very friendly, but like to follow me around the yard, don't really want to be touched though. Very cute! I love the spotted markings. The hen laid very well, hasn't laid at all almost this year. But when she did lay, she was a fantastic layer!

I have a trio of rouens. Mostley for eye candy. The drake is slightly aggressive. Attacks anything small that he can catch (ducklings, and goslings mostly) otherwise, a very sweet drake. The hens lay a wonderful amout of eggs! I get a egg a day from both. A nice olive greenish color too!

I also have Welsh Harlequins. These are by far my favorite breed! Very friendly, not skiddish at all! Will eat out of my hamd and everything! They follow me around, and are not bitey torwards baby poultry. Unlike the anconas, and rouens. They also are the best layers so far! I have had khakis to, they laid well, but the welsh are.pushing.out double yolked eggs almost everyday! Not all of them, just one. Not sure whats up woth that. But from my 3 hens, I get 3 eggs everyday! No matter what! Love em!

To sum up my ducks in a few words:

 

Pekins: Whoever said they are are not good layers is fibbing, mine almost keep up with my khakis, and the eggs are HUGE.

             Comics of the duck world

             Come when called like dogs

              Lazy at bug foraging but love veggies and plants!

 

Khakis: Egg a Day wonders!

             Alert, but not high strung, warn the pekins of danger especially if the see large birds above.

             Excellent bug foragers, slugs, carpenter ants, and any creepy crawlies that live in damp spots dont stand a chance

 

Welsh Harlequins:  To new to tell

 

My housing/run/pond setup is on this thread

 

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/647988/new-ducks-caused-need-for-bigger-housing

 

 

 

 

Edited by bigtrout - 4/6/12 at 7:42pm

TSC around me get different batches but ive only seen them carry mallard...pekins...khaki campbells and swedish ducks....

Mallards look like wild mallards...dont lay many eggs...arent big enough for meat ducks...ducklings are black and yellow with a yellow face and black eye stripe.

Pekins are the big white ducks like the aflac duck....good layers...big as in 10 lb ducks...attain 7 pounds in 7 weeks so they are great meat ducks too....ducklings are pure yellow.

Khaki Campbells are one of the best egg laying breeds...khaki colored hens...drakes are khaki with dark bronze heads...ducklings are brown with dark almost black feet and bills.

Swedish ducks are a dual purpose breed...they are black or blue(more like a steel gray) with white bibs. The ducklings and dark or light gray with yellow chests.

If you are seriously looking for ducks, what do u want them for...eggs? Meat? Both? Pets?

If you are serious about getting ducks...go to www.metzerfarms.com and look at their duck breed comparison page...and check out pics of the ducklings.

Metzers lets you buy males and females instead of getting stuck with unknown sex like at tractor supply. If you are raising meat birds it doesnt matter what sex ratio u have. If you have two for pets it doesnt matter either. If you plan on a flock of 3 or more for awhile or are interested in raising them for eggs, then the male to female ratio matters and should be 3 females to one male.
In my case my wife wouldnt let me kill a drake to eat so buying sexed ducklings at first would have helped me alot. Tractor supply ducklings are unsexed...and unless u are trained in vent sexing which is difficult unless taught by someone experienced, there is no way to know what sex you are getting.

Well..if you are patient, and serious about ducks...you may be able to get what u want and help out some ducks at the same time....every Easter people buy thier kids ducks and have no idea how messy they can be once they are out of the "cute" stage. Then they get rid of them by giving them away, or letting them go in a local pond which can be bad because domestic ducks are predator magnets.

In a few weeks Craigslist may be a great place to find and rescue a pair of these ducks, and since people start getting rid of them when they get to be 3-4 weeks old u may be able to know what they are by voice.

In my experience as a pet duck owner...

Buff ducks...insane and unmanageable in regaurds to a pet

Cayuga.... Awesome!!!

Welsh Harlequins... Even more,awesome!!!


That is all. Lol

 

Huh, my Buff duck is very laid back.  She is shy, but very manageable & sweet.  With time she has become much more social with me, and I have noticed a calm spread in the flock since she arrived.

 

My pair of Ancona hens are very sweet, follow me around the yard & eat peas out of my hand.  They like to play at the edge of the hose when I clean off the patio, or water the garden & are excellent foragers.  They are not consistently loud, but let me know when they want a change of pace.