Thinking about owning ducks

[KathrynB]

I have chickens and was thinking i might like ducks. Would a chicken coop and run work for them to live in? Any advice would great! thank you!

 

[Lute]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Well, it's best to weigh the pros and cons of ducks.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
They're fun to play with (and get along with most other animals, at least mine do).[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Cons:
They're VERY messy.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
They'll eat pretty much everything your chickens will eat. (Except mine don't like bananas... more for me!)[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Cons:
They are notorious for having a Niacin deficiency. Easily fixable with vitamins in the water.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
NOTHING tastes better than duck eggs. [/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Cons:
Okay, yeah, you may have to adjust your recipes. [/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
Duck is delicious.[/FONT]​

Looks like the Pros outweigh the Cons! Get ducks!

 

[Nartoday]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Well, it's best to weigh the pros and cons of ducks.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
They're fun to play with (and get along with most other animals, at least mine do).[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Cons:
They're VERY messy.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
They'll eat pretty much everything your chickens will eat. (Except mine don't like bananas... more for me!)[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Cons:
They are notorious for having a Niacin deficiency. Easily fixable with vitamins in the water.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
NOTHING tastes better than duck eggs. [/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Cons:
Okay, yeah, you may have to adjust your recipes. [/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]Pros:
Duck is delicious.[/FONT]​

Looks like the Pros outweigh the Cons! Get ducks!

Yes, very messy, but not only do duck eggs taste better, they lay more often than chickens, and the eggs are much larger.

I vote for getting ducks.

 

[KathrynB]

I live in suburbia( its legal to have them, i just have close neighbors) what kind of water source will the ducks need? Also do they make much noise? With my chickens I cant have roosters(darn neighbors) could I have male ducks?

 

[Scovy Momma]

Ducks are awesome!
What breed are you looking at getting? Some are way louder than others & some don't really care for a big pool of water.

 

[veronicasmom]

Check out the sticky index at the top of the page, there is a lot of info on there about keeping ducks. Also search for "getting ducks" or something similar in this section and you will see a lot of info there too.
All ducks need clean water daily (mine get it a few times a day) to drink. This means a bowl that is too small for them to climb into, but large enough for them to have enough to drink. They need to be able to submerge their bills and eyes in the dish. Also, bathing is important. Two of my four muscovies do not go in the pool, but will bathe in the large feed pans I have out for them. The other 6 ducks LOVE the pool.
Good luck. Ducks make a MESS, but it is manageable. And they are sooooooooo much fun and entertainment. I highly recommend them. Just be sure you get the right mix of males to females.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I would get "Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks" before I did much else.

I would also consider a lot of the posts here about drakes (male ducks) and chickens.
I re-homed my drake a few weeks ago due to his constant urge to abuse my chickens. My backyard had turned into an episode of Law & Order SVU - duck edition.

Also, consider the winter.
I am not sure where you are located, or what your schedule is like.
I work part-time, and I have 2 growing, active sons.
The winter is a lot of lugging water and ice to & fro when one has ducks.
(And chipping frozen poo straw out from around the feeders & waterers.)

Ducks are great fun, but, as a friend who has many more ducks than I do said the other day - "Ducks are not for the faint of heart". True enough.

Ducks are also loud.
Not rooster loud. I would say my ducks are no louder than the murder of crows that exist around my property. But, every once in a while the girls get choir practice underway & I know something is up - they want out, they ate all their feed, they have found the pool full of peas...
I can't see a future for me without a few ducks and chickens running around, though.
I like the routine they gave my winter, and I like to look out into the yard & see them at their ducky business. They have, more than my chickens, turned me into a bird person.
(I even did a u-turn on my way to work the other day to see if that was a flock of Eiders on the bay at Martin's Point yesterday. It was. I was late for work.)

Best of luck in your decision. Read lots. Not just here, but books, magazines, whatever you can get your hands on.
If you have a friend with ducks, try to go to their house & help with duck chores. I did A LOT of that before I got my ducks. It helped me decide important things like: I need a little more land for a runner duck to be happy, I don't like the things on the Muscovies beaks - enough that I would not love going out to a frozen duck yard at 6:30 a.m. when it is -7 outside - and Khaki Campbells are too anxious FOR ME.

 

[Going Quackers]

I live in suburbia( its legal to have them, i just have close neighbors) what kind of water source will the ducks need? Also do they make much noise? With my chickens I cant have roosters(darn neighbors) could I have male ducks?

My ducks have kiddy pools and of coarse any low laying water from rains, plus i use livestock rubber pans for water around feed areas, we keep a heated bucket in the barn for winter.. as for noise depends on the breed, mine are all Muscovy so pretty quiet.

I don't really find ducks that much trouble.. I have never had chickens although we are -thisclose- to getting our fist as my husband and oldest kid want some.. but i am in the country and already out everyday to feed the horses and care for the barn cat so it was just another animal being added to the lineup.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Ducks are also loud.
Not rooster loud. I would say my ducks are no louder than the murder of crows that exist around my property. But, every once in a while the girls get choir practice underway & I know something is up - they want out, they ate all their feed, they have found the pool full of peas...

This made me spit my coffee!!

Mine just did this the other day! Oh glory days when that happens!!

I live in suburbia( its legal to have them, i just have close neighbors) what kind of water source will the ducks need? Also do they make much noise? With my chickens I cant have roosters(darn neighbors) could I have male ducks?

We can't have roosters in our city either, but yes, I can have male ducks. I think it's the crowing of the rooster that the city officials don't like.
Funny thing is that it's the females that are louder than the males of my ducks.. the females honk.

As for water - Lots of it. Waterers for them to drink out of, wash their faces in, and swim in. They will make it messy - so be sure to build the run where you don't mind a bit of mud.

 

[Apyl]

I have 3 ducklings in with my 25 chicks plus 5 ducklings in a brooder in the house lol I plan to house everyone together and so far no issues. Once the chicks are old enough the meaties will be taken care of so there will be plenty of room for a few ducks and chicks to live nicely together. I also plan to free range once they are full grown, right now I have a fenced pen surrounding the coop with a kiddie pool for the ducklings.