Cayuga

[flossyfelix]

I'm very interested in growing my duck family by 2 & I'm in need of advice! I think I would love to get a pair of Cayuga's! So, if you have them...How are they?? Temperament wise, how would they get along with my Pekin pair? Would they do OK in our forever changing southeastern NC climate?? Give me the scoop!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I would not get another breeding pair.....I would get two Hens.....Unless your prepared to build another enclosure....The two Drakes will possibly not get along being they were not raised together .....

Cheers!

@flossyfelix I agree with @chickens really adding a drake and duck to your existing pair probably would not go over very well.Drakes are very territorial.

I'd get a few more girls for Felix. doesn't have to be same breed either.

 

[Ducks4us]

oh lol, yeah 6 months is way different. she was prob raised with other ducks. yes you certainly need at least one more

 

[Ashleymarie529]

I just integrated my ducklings with my flock. They're 1 month old pekins. Basically what I did was I would let my 4 bigger ducks out of their night coop (they only sleep in it, and they free range all day) and then I would clean the coop and stick my month old ducklings in during the day. That way they could see my ducks and chickens, but couldn't be hurt. I did this for a week and the ducks became less crazy annoyed about the ducklings presence. (If I walked out of the house holding the pekin babies, the flock would quack up a storm!!)

Anyways, so once the original 4 got used to the 2 new additions, they had their first play date where they got to see each other outside of the coop (in my yard where they had enough room to get away) and the ducklings followed their new big sisters around the whole time!!! I let them play for about an hour and then everyone went back to their separate beds. (The ducklings would sleep in a dog crate in the garage).
Just 3 days ago, once I sensed that a friendship had sparked (they would all sit together in a clump and sleep in the sun, they would follow each other around, and would drink from the same bucket at the same time) I let the ducklings have their first night in the coop. Went great! Now they are completely integrated. No one is being bullied or picked at and the pekins (like pekins do) are getting big quickly!! So id have to disagree when people say you can't integrate until they are much older. I've done it twice at 4 weeks old. The first time integrating my Silkies with the first 4 ducklings and now with my pekin twins. It's a slow process that takes almost 2 weeks, but the ducklings are happier with the big ducks to hang out with than they were just the two of them and me.

Keep in mind that the temperatures here in Houston are very very warm (like 85 degrees), so that's how they are outside so early at only 4 weeks. They MUCH prefer it to the dog crate and my other ducks adore them. So do the chickens now

 

[Ashleymarie529]

Sorry for picture quality! My back facing camera lens cracked...

But you can see by height which are the ducklings and all that.

 

[Miss Lydia]

are they Cayuga?

I don't believe they are cayuga ducklings possibly khaki Campbell. They sure are pretty love the chocolate.

 

[Krazyquilts]

My pair of Cayuga hens from Meyers are about 7 months old and are very silly, just like all ducks. They don't seem to bathe quite as obsessively as the two Buffs and the Welshie but still bathe at least once every couple days and are just as neat and tidy as the rest of our flock. They are stunningly gorgeous and are always the ones people want to meet but are also definitely the loudest and most vocal and the first to start complaining if they get bored. They are also a little bit naughty, (or at least one is - I can't tell them apart but my neighbor can lol) and even though they pretend to have trouble climbing into the pool, they are the ones who fly up on top of totes etc and then jump down.

Case in point:

[VIDEO]

We are now getting four eggs a day from our flock of five hens, so one of the Cayugas are laying but all the eggs collected are the same white-cream, even though I had previously heard that Cayuga eggs should be black or gray at first.

In NC, you would certainly want to make sure that they had adequate shade since I would assume that being darker than your Pekins they might overheat faster?? But really that's just a guess.

I read your posts that your Felix is a big boy - have you considered getting larger ducks to prevent any "accidental squishing" while mating? Like maybe Saxony or Silver Appleyards? Also, when you say a "pair of Cayugas" do you mean a pair of females or a hen and a drake? Because from what I've read here on BYC, that might be too many drakes for too few hens.

 

[flossyfelix]

My pair of Cayuga hens from Meyers are about 7 months old and are very silly, just like all ducks. They don't seem to bathe quite as obsessively as the two Buffs and the Welshie but still bathe at least once every couple days and are just as neat and tidy as the rest of our flock. They are stunningly gorgeous and are always the ones people want to meet but are also definitely the loudest and most vocal and the first to start complaining if they get bored. They are also a little bit naughty, (or at least one is - I can't tell them apart but my neighbor can lol) and even though they pretend to have trouble climbing into the pool, they are the ones who fly up on top of totes etc and then jump down.

Case in point:

[VIDEO]

We are now getting four eggs a day from our flock of five hens, so one of the Cayugas are laying but all the eggs collected are the same white-cream, even though I had previously heard that Cayuga eggs should be black or gray at first.

In NC, you would certainly want to make sure that they had adequate shade since I would assume that being darker than your Pekins they might overheat faster?? But really that's just a guess.

I read your posts that your Felix is a big boy - have you considered getting larger ducks to prevent any "accidental squishing" while mating? Like maybe Saxony or Silver Appleyards? Also, when you say a "pair of Cayugas" do you mean a pair of females or a hen and a drake? Because from what I've read here on BYC, that might be too many drakes for too few hens.

They are beautiful!!! I had in mind a Drake & hen, but I also was thinking that the Drake's would stick to their 1 girl... I guess that's wishful thinking?? If something else were to happen to Flossy I may have a stroke! Felix only mates with Floss in the pool! It's the weirdest thing it's like he knows he's a giant! Silly me thought all ducks only mated only in the water because they have never done it anywhere else! Lol. Granted I also didn't realize I had a jumbo Pekin...So consider the source! Lol!

 

[mlh328]

I love my cayugas! I just have 3 and no other ducks. They are hilarious. Mine are super friendly and my drake is always looking for attention, he likes his chest patted. As for changing climate, I'm in Butte Montana and our weather gets pretty crazy here. I just make sure they have plenty of fluffed straw to sleep in and I think I used a heat lamp for maybe a week when it got -35° and -40°. Mine have lots of shade in the summer and a little kids pool to cool off. I recommend them!

 

[Krazyquilts]

I also was thinking that the Drake's would stick to their 1 girl... I guess that's wishful thinking?? If something else were to happen to Flossy I may have a stroke!

I have no experience with owning drakes myself (until hopefully tomorrow!!) but from what I've read on here, maybe Felix should have a harem with no competition. That way you wouldn't have to worry about Flossy being in the middle of a "threesome" and getting hurt.