Duck Questions!! =)

[NewChcikenmommy!]

I am totally new to ducks and after little convincing to my husband we want to add some to our tiny flock of hens. I have a few questions I'm hoping I can have answered here. Thanks! You all are great!

1. What is the best breed of duck to raise for eggs (to eat) & are friendly? I have a 3yr old and another on the way.
2. Can they be raised together with hens?
3. How can you tell a male from a female?
4. If you sell ducks, what do you sell & how much for shipping if you're not close enough to pick up?
5. Are there any particularly quiet ducks?

I have a broody hen sitting on some fertile eggs that should be hatching any day this week..YAY Babies!!..We would like to throw some ducklings into the mix after they all hatch.
Thanks for your help!!

 

[larkflying]

Khaki Campbells, Runner ducks, Welsh Harlequin and there's a duck that is a hybrid that is also a good layer, but the name escapes me.

Ducks are fun to watch, fun to feed, and can be taught to come when called. They don't like being picked up and carried. If your kiddos are calm and don't chase them, they'll be able to go and watch the ducks, and even feed them, but they aren't going to be able to pick them up and snuggle them like a kitten. Very rarely there are drakes that are aggressive. They don't tend to come right up to people unless you have spent A LOT of time with them as ducklings.

My ducks live with my chickens and pretty much ignore each other. Drakes may try to mate with the chicken hens, and can kill them doing so. The ducks will all hang out together and the chickens will all hang out together, and they don't usually mix much. Main issue is that the ducks will muddy up and use up the water, so you have to have a lot more water than for just chickens by themselves. Ducks also will eat as much as possible of the chicken food -- it is nice to have an area that the chickens can eat in without the ducks around.

It is hard to brood ducklings and chicks together. Ducklings are larger, grow faster, make messes in their water, spill the water, etc. After they are adults it works out fine.

Some hatcheries sell sexed ducklings. You want no more than 1 drake to 4 duck hens -- and 1 drake to 6 hens is okay too. Drakes have terrible hormones, and will mate A LOT - they will pull feathers off of the females, and even injure them if there is not enough females. If there are plenty of duck hens then it is less likely the drake will try to mate with the chicken hens. I'd recommend trying to find a hatchery that does have sexed ducklings just because then you won't have to rehome the extra males.

At about 5/6 weeks, the ducklings will either start quacking, or peeping in a kind of raspy voice. IF they quack they are a female. If they have a raspy peep, they are a male. Depending on the breed, male ducks may have a curly feather on their tails when they get their adult plumage, and may also have different feather patterns than the female ducks.

All male ducks are quiet. Muscovy Ducks are the only breed where the female is unable to quack - but they do not lay as many eggs as other breeds, and are able to fly quite well. Some breeds of ducks are bred to be louder than others though.

 

[NewChcikenmommy!]

Thank you so much! Do you happen to recommend any hatcheries? My hens I got from a local friend and I do believe our local feed store gets the khaki campbells from time to time

 

[CalBells]

Metzer farms sells sexed day old ducklings through the mail. They also have a good comparison chart on their website that might help you in deciding what type of duck you want.
http://www.metzerfarms.com/DuckBreedComparison.cfm?CustID=988083
We have 3 female runner ducks from them, they are only 5.5 weeks but are doing great with my kids, 3 and 5. My 5 year old is in charge of letting them out of their night time pen and leading them across the yard to the daytime run each day and then back again each night. They look so cute following her across the yard. My 3 year old loves to find slugs and garden greens to hand feed them. If you want less then 10? you have to pay extra fees, but it was worth it for us since we live in a city and wanted to be sure to get just girls and could only have 3 total.