Duck Breed Focus - Silver Appleyard

[smithmal]

double post

 

[smithmal]

Also, can mature ducks eat chicken lay mash? We give our chickens an 18% lay mash, fodder and they free range during the day. We also add homemade plum vinegar to their water (when the plum is all gone, we will go back to ACV) Will this be acceptable for the ducks? I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. We want our ducks to be as healthy and happy as our hens.

Not sure about that.

A great reference book that can answer many of your questions regarding nutrition is the latest edition of Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks. Personally I don't free range my ducks b/c I'm concerned with predator loss. I provide them with Egg Laying Poultry Feed and supplement with greens (dandelions, grasses, etc.). I plan on starting up a meal worm farm as it is a great source of protein for ducks and they would love digging through the sand to eat them.

A good video discussing how to make a DIY meal worm farm can be found here:

 

[tjalred]

Not sure about that.

A great reference book that can answer many of your questions regarding nutrition is the latest edition ofStorey's Guide to Raising Ducks. Personally I don't free range my ducks b/c I'm concerned with predator loss. I provide them with Egg Laying Poultry Feed and supplement with greens (dandelions, grasses, etc.). I plan on starting up a meal worm farm as it is a great source of protein for ducks and they would love digging through the sand to eat them.

A good video discussing how to make a DIY meal worm farm can be found here:

We have about an 1/8 of an acre that has been predator proofed for our chickens to run in. The ducks would be in the same area during the day. I will get the book you have recommended and add it to our library. We've talked about doing mealworms (just haven't decided to do it yet), we do have a fodder system in place and a regular worm bin in place (mostly for worm tea for the garden).

 

[turtlesgalore]

I own appleyards, ancona, and a couple other breeds. have hatched out some ducklings and the sa breed grows super fast. they are super calm and no flying so wings need not be trimmed. great breed. when eggs laying slacked off in nov. I hooked up light with timer for 14 hrs day and egg production picked up.

 

[MillarMeadows]

I have Silver Appleyards. They are a great duck. They lay very well and I even had one go broody last year and hatch and raise ducklings. It was the cutest thing!! She was an excellent mom. Very fierce!

I want to note that the picture on this post of th duckling laying on the towel is not a good example of what the SA duckling should look like. They should be all yellow with a black Mohawk on their head with a faint black strip down their back and a little black tail. They should it have black on the sides of their faces. This is the mallard coming out and that duckling should not be used for breeding purposes.

 

[tjalred]

I just ordered our first batch of Silver Appleyards on Thursday. I'm so excited for them to get here. They get to live in my daughters bathtub for a few months.

 

[MillarMeadows]

Silver Appleyards grow really fast. They are almost full size in 2 months!! Not sure they will fit in a bathroom for a few months!

 

[tjalred]

Silver Appleyards grow really fast. They are almost full size in 2 months!! Not sure they will fit in a bathroom for a few months!

Good to know. Hopefully by the time their big enough to go outside it will be warm enough. Otherwise, they will have to live in the basement.

 

[tjalred]

Since this is our first time with ducks, do ducks need nesting boxes like our chickens do?

 

[MillarMeadows]

Yep, ducks need nest boxes. The difference is that they need to be on the floor and they don't need to be enclosed. Just a square box on the floor with some type of nesting material (I just use hay). Congrats on your ducks!!!