To duck or not to duck; that is the question

[OzarkEgghead]

I've raised chickens since 2015. I'm considering adding some ducks this year but, being duck illiterate, I have a few questions...

1) I'm interested in Ancona ducks. Are they an easygoing breed that would be a good choice for a duck newbie?

2) If I free-range them, will they coop themselves in the evening along with my chickens?

3) We have a thriving coyote, hawk, owl, eagle, opossum & raccoon population, as well as a handful of black bears & bobcats. Are Ancona ducks predator-smart like my chickens or will they be "sitting ducks" (sorry, couldn't resist) to our local wildlife?

4) If I don't clip wings & allow them to be full-flight birds to better escape predators, will they stick around home or simply fly off with the wild, migratory ducks?

5) I have a Great Blue Heron that regularly visits my pond. Will that be a problem to my ducks?

6) Do free-range ducks come back to the coop to lay eggs like my chickens or am I going to have to hunt hither, thither & yon for eggs each day?

Thank you, everyone, in advance for any guidance you can give me!

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Following. I have similar questions. Love the idea of duck eggs, but not sure about how they’d “keep” with chickens. Plus I have a couple nearby neighbors

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

I've raised chickens since 2015. I'm considering adding some ducks this year but, being duck illiterate, I have a few questions...

1) I'm interested in Ancona ducks. Are they an easygoing breed that would be a good choice for a duck newbie?

2) If I free-range them, will they coop themselves in the evening along with my chickens?

3) We have a thriving coyote, hawk, owl, eagle, opossum & raccoon population, as well as a handful of black bears & bobcats. Are Ancona ducks predator-smart like my chickens or will they be "sitting ducks" (sorry, couldn't resist) to our local wildlife?

4) If I don't clip wings & allow them to be full-flight birds to better escape predators, will they stick around home or simply fly off with the wild, migratory ducks?

5) I have a Great Blue Heron that regularly visits my pond. Will that be a problem to my ducks?

6) Do free-range ducks come back to the coop to lay eggs like my chickens or am I going to have to hunt hither, thither & yon for eggs each day?

Thank you, everyone, in advance for any guidance you can give me!

1) I raise Anconas, mine came from a breeder near me. I would say they are easygoing, my drake is a calm boy with a low mating drive so he doesn't give much trouble. But they are not as friendly as my other duck breeds, they're more standoffish.

2) They do gather to the coop as it gets dark, especially once they learn the routine. Sometimes they need encouragment to actually go in but they're easy to herd inside if you need to coop them, much more so than chickens.

3) I have not lost a duck to a predator yet, and the Anconas do seem more watchful than the others, especially the drake. So far we've only lost a chicken and a guinea to predators.

4) Anconas don't fly, the only duck breeds I know of that might do that are Muscovies, Mallards, and bantams.

5) I have no experience with this, but I found a thread on it! https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/does-a-blue-heron-is-a-threat-to-my-ducks.1461466/

6) They almost all lay in the early morning until about 9:00, so if they're cooped until then, the eggs are easy to collect. But occasionally a duck will lay outside that window and then they'll just drop the egg wherever.

 

[CoriM]

Given your predator population I would say don't go forward with ducks unless you're willing to provide them a predator proof run and coop, and also a place to free-range safely. I live in the woods with all those same predators and I never leave my ducks unattended or unprotected. My next door neighbor has a pond and regularly has gotten big batches of ducklings and released them to her pond and property when they're a couple months old. Sadly, they just get picked off by predators until they're all gone. Ducks are domesticated animals, very slow, and have no defenses. It's up to you to provide everything for them so they can thrive in a healthy and safe environment. Please don't consider ducks unless you're willing to give them this much.

 

[dlschnars]

I've raised chickens since 2015. I'm considering adding some ducks this year but, being duck illiterate, I have a few questions...

1) I'm interested in Ancona ducks. Are they an easygoing breed that would be a good choice for a duck newbie?

2) If I free-range them, will they coop themselves in the evening along with my chickens?

3) We have a thriving coyote, hawk, owl, eagle, opossum & raccoon population, as well as a handful of black bears & bobcats. Are Ancona ducks predator-smart like my chickens or will they be "sitting ducks" (sorry, couldn't resist) to our local wildlife?

4) If I don't clip wings & allow them to be full-flight birds to better escape predators, will they stick around home or simply fly off with the wild, migratory ducks?

5) I have a Great Blue Heron that regularly visits my pond. Will that be a problem to my ducks?

6) Do free-range ducks come back to the coop to lay eggs like my chickens or am I going to have to hunt hither, thither & yon for eggs each day?

Thank you, everyone, in advance for any guidance you can give me!

I was a newby when i started my ducks, as they were hatched as a school project and I ended up with many of them. We have Ancona and love them, they each have their own personality , are smart and enjoyable to watch . They are quite aware of their surroundings here and they know we have hawks. We put them up at night to prevent the hawks and owls from bothering them. They are too large to fly off, so they will stay where ever you have trained them to be. We have a pen we placed them in at night to keep night predators out. . We have never considered clipping their wings, there has never been a need.
They do like to try to "fly" and "stretch their wings" and its fun to watch. we get great joy out of watching our flock. Duck unfortunately do not lay eggs in a coop as chickens do. It's pretty much like an egg hunt, daily, however, mine usually lay in the evening, after they have been put up in their pen for safety at night , so it is at least in a confined space and I can usually find them all. Once in a while , they lay them, around the yard, but rarely.

They will make a nest when they feel it is time to lay and brood, and one female will sit on the nest the entire time. I had to put a kibosh to that last year we just could not do more ducks. we let them brood the first year we had them and well now we have 20 more ancona.. LOL. and to top that off, i did one more "lesson" at school on hatching and this time with Welsh Harlequins, so I have 6 of those.. so we have a total of 26 ducks now!! yikes, a lot, I know, but each, again has a personality and they are ALL unique.


We have other animals that visit our ducks, and it does not seem to bother those that were raised with those animals already around.. Now I will say hawks and vultures flying over does not bode well with them and they do their best to get out of harms way when they see them. They sleep in groups during the day, in the sun and do what ducks do, eat bugs.. and hang out. We also have squirrels and rabbits that visit the ducks on a regular basis that they seem not at all concerned with, nor any of our regular wild birds.

We had a family of Mallards come visit but they actually moved to a larger pond down the street. LOL i think too many "friends" for them.

I don't think you will have any issues trying them for the first time. you will really enjoy their personalities. Just collect the eggs daily and read all our tips about gathering and washings eggs.

Just make sure you have a safe and secure way to put them up and protect them in the evenings when your predator population is out. Racoons are smart and can unravel chicken wire as well as open locks, and know how to get into just about anything. Snakes in the spring will be a concern if they are in your area, looking for eggs and young ducklings, so keep an eye out.

Where are you located if I may ask? Cant wait to hear all the other advise you will get I know that I have gotten TONS OF GREAT advise from so many members here , wouldnt have my flock without them! Best of luck keep us posted!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I don’t have that breed of duck but I truly love being a duck mom
My girls hardly lay outside the coop. They have a duck door that’s open all day and they run back in to Kay inside. I have dog crates set up and my girls all love to lay in them or a few lay in the one corner
As the sun goes down my ducks go to the coop on their own
Then I go in count ducks and lock up the coop
I only had to show them a few times
I do have hawks so I have a smaller area that’s covered when I need to keep them safe otherwise mine free range all day with my husky as their guard dog
I have had ducks for 2 years in may
I have not had to clip wings as none of mine fly off
I have pekin , khaki Campbell , Swedish and pekin x khaki

 

[Yardmom]

Ducks have instincts to stay in the pond at night and head to the pond in case of danger. Ducks can be trained to come in at night, but it is not as simple as it is with chickens. I have been able to successfully train my ducks to come in at night for food. Ducks can be hit or miss where they want to lay (some don't look for nests). Most Ducks do lay very early in the morning. I leave my ducks locked in a bit after sunrise to make sure they lay before heading to the pond.

 

[dlschnars]

I was a newby when i started my ducks, as they were hatched as a school project and I ended up with many of them. We have Ancona and love them, they each have their own personality , are smart and enjoyable to watch . They are quite aware of their surroundings here and they know we have hawks. We put them up at night to prevent the hawks and owls from bothering them. They are too large to fly off, so they will stay where ever you have trained them to be. We have a pen we placed them in at night to keep night predators out. . We have never considered clipping their wings, there has never been a need.
They do like to try to "fly" and "stretch their wings" and its fun to watch. we get great joy out of watching our flock. Duck unfortunately do not lay eggs in a coop as chickens do. It's pretty much like an egg hunt, daily, however, mine usually lay in the evening, after they have been put up in their pen for safety at night , so it is at least in a confined space and I can usually find them all. Once in a while , they lay them, around the yard, but rarely.

They will make a nest when they feel it is time to lay and brood, and one female will sit on the nest the entire time. I had to put a kibosh to that last year we just could not do more ducks. we let them brood the first year we had them and well now we have 20 more ancona.. LOL. and to top that off, i did one more "lesson" at school on hatching and this time with Welsh Harlequins, so I have 6 of those.. so we have a total of 26 ducks now!! yikes, a lot, I know, but each, again has a personality and they are ALL unique.


We have other animals that visit our ducks, and it does not seem to bother those that were raised with those animals already around.. Now I will say hawks and vultures flying over does not bode well with them and they do their best to get out of harms way when they see them. They sleep in groups during the day, in the sun and do what ducks do, eat bugs.. and hang out. We also have squirrels and rabbits that visit the ducks on a regular basis that they seem not at all concerned with, nor any of our regular wild birds.

We had a family of Mallards come visit but they actually moved to a larger pond down the street. LOL i think too many "friends" for them.

I don't think you will have any issues trying them for the first time. you will really enjoy their personalities. Just collect the eggs daily and read all our tips about gathering and washings eggs.

Just make sure you have a safe and secure way to put them up and protect them in the evenings when your predator population is out. Racoons are smart and can unravel chicken wire as well as open locks, and know how to get into just about anything. Snakes in the spring will be a concern if they are in your area, looking for eggs and young ducklings, so keep an eye out.

Where are you located if I may ask? Cant wait to hear all the other advise you will get I know that I have gotten TONS OF GREAT advise from so many members here , wouldnt have my flock without them! Best of luck keep us posted!

 

[CoDucks]

My vote is TO DUCK! I got my Ancona ducks last May and happen to think they are the best breed. We live on 7 acres and they free range all day and do a great job putting themselves in the coop once it gets dark and then we close it up. They are great layers and the eggs are full of protein, omega 3's and more. They are bigger than chicken eggs and delicious. I live in Colorado and they do great in the winter and they laid all winter (without artificial light, but could be because it was their first year laying). They lay early in the morning in the coop (on the floor of the coop) typically, although I've found an egg or two in odd places (like the window well cover) when we let them out early in the morning.

If you read about Anconas, they are very observant to predators. I lost my first duck to a predator yesterday (a Golden Hybrid) and my Ancona's came to the door and started "yelling" at me like crazy to tell me something was wrong. The Anconas always have one eye on the sky for hawks and move very quickly for cover when they sense danger and the others follow. They do not need their wings clipped and will stick around, they know who feeds them! They LOVE treats like mealworms and veggies.

One of mine will let me pick her up and hold her. The other will eat out of my hand, but doesn't like to be held. They follow me everywhere when I am outside and they crack me up with their chatter and waddles. They do somersaults in their pool and nap under the trees.

I am team TO DUCK. Anconas for the win.

 

[bhaugh]

Muscovy might also be a good option as they can fly but as a friend watched hers fly away and not come back, there is a down side to flight. When hawks are in the area, their eyes are peeled to the sky and they act different so you know something is up. I’ve heard but not experienced herons eating ducklings but again I haven’t experienced this myself as I live in the desert. No herons here . If you free range expect to have losses it’s just the way it is. So the question you have to ask yourself is can you live with that?