BigLar368
Songster
So I told my grand daughter (only grandkid we have) about a year ago I "could" build a chicken coop. We had chickens when our son was about her age back when I could barely tell a 2X4 from a 2X6....lol but never a duck. From what I remembered from 20+ years ago and having a few chickens it was nothing to hard....right? Little shade, box for them to sleep, place to lay eggs in, food, clean water....I mean how hard could it have been? A **** extra ducks should not be so hard. So in an effort to keep my extremely busy life just a little bit busier I started on a coop in February this year.
When I was a kid my grandfather in Louisiana (who could barely speak English) always had mallards and always had duck eggs. Well to anyone who truly enjoys eggs over easy or even sunny side up know what I am talking about when I say there is nothing else like it. Well it's that way to me. In all those years I have never forgotten the taste of how fresh duck eggs tasted. So with that being said I went to the local feed store and found that everyone that woke up the same day I started to build a coop went to the feed store and bought all the chicks and ducks. In fact every store within a 100 miles of me was dry. I then decided to order online after doing a little research and reading. I could get just about any variety of chickens I wanted along with a few ducks sprinkled in. After all that reading and research we were set on 12 chickens and 4 ducks. Welsh Harlequins to be exact. All shipped by the same company with about a 2.5 month wait till they would arrive. By now I was about half way finished with the coop. Even though it was a long wait I had plenty of time to finish the coop and would not be rushed. It was a fun time. The grandbaby helped a lot and it was a great project. I finished the coop well in time for the birds arrival. My grandbaby almost lost her mind waiting for those birds. Please take into account she is only 8 years old and has the attention span of a knat.
June 10th the birds arrived. I was kinda worried we might have some that would not make it. So while on the way to pick them up at the post office I called Tractor Supply. They usually get in pullets on Wednesday. They had just got a shipment in so I picked up 4 more and then headed to the post office. To my surprise all of the birds made it alive and extremely healthy. So now we have 16 chickens and 4 ducks. All of them are about the same size. We brooded them in a small kiddie pool in the run. Take into account we live in Southeast Tx and in June it's fairly warm. All these birds were doing good for a few days and everything seemed in order......or so I thought.
First thing I learned about ducks and it was to be expected is they love water. It really does not matter what kind of water it is. It can be muddy, filled with feces, slime, or mud. It really makes no difference to them. We had to change the water at least 2 times a day. I could not understand why the water bowl smelled so bad with fresh water that had been in there for less than 6 hours. We tried to keep a small tupper ware dish in there with water but it would only last about 30 mins and look like a swimming pool from a third world country and smelled just the same and as bad or worse than the water bowl.
Second thing I learned is ducks grow at an exponentially faster rate than chickens. Within 2 weeks their heads were dragging the hardware cloth I used to cover the kiddie pool. They were easily twice the size of the chickens but everyone seemed to get along thus far. I had built a really secure run so we just turned them out and placed a large box inside the run with an opening they could go in and out of to get warm and for food and water.
After a couple of weeks or so we ditched the box and let them have the run. By now I already had a water log with 6 chicken nipples and two bucket feeders low enough for all of the birds to reach. To my surprise the ducks figured out the chicken nipples within hours of setting them up and the chickens caught on pretty quick. I had also set up a stock tank just outside the coop. We would gather the ducks up most afternoons and let them swim. Pretty hilarious watching them swim underwater. My grand daughter taking it all in was great as well.
I got tired of catching the ducks every day and knew I had to set up something where they could dunk their heads. I built a 4" PVC log under the coop but still in the run. I tied it into the water well and made a drain valve to exhaust under the fence and into the alley. Out of sight out of mind I always say....lol. Made about 5 entry holes for 4 ducks to clean their bills and head. So after a week of that I noticed that when I would walk near the PVC for their head washing it would smell really bad until I flushed it out. Same exact smell as the watering dishes. I tried to flush it twice a day as it's been pretty hot but it always stunk and would go away as soon as I flushed it. I could only figure that when ever their rinse their bills out the saliva must really smell bad and contaminates the water....lol. Anyways the watering log works well. Chickens drink out of it as well and they all still use the chicken nipples.
Third thing I learned was that ducks like digging holes. Within a few days I had a good size hole right underneath the PVC they use to clean themselves up. They are constantly filling up their mouths with dirt then straight in the water. I'm not sure if they are getting minerals, grit, or digging a hole to China. It's raining today and I only have a small area of the run that is not covered. They have been digging in that one area for 5 hours straight without stopping. I figure their poop will soon turn black with all the mud they must be ingesting...lol.
Fourth thing I have learned is ducks like foraging. We started letting them all out in the yard about 2 weeks ago. They were apprehensive at first but now when I open the front door it's a mad dash to see who can get out first. My garden is done for the year except for a few pepper plants that are still producing. Among grass and other insects they enjoy nothing is more favorite than pepper leaves. Yes....pepper plant leaves. I have banana, jalapeno, cow horn, and a few others. They have stripped the leaves off as high as they can reach. I mean they eat other grasses and stuff but they have stripped the pepper plants clean. I was looking forward to putting them in my garden next year but I don't see that happening.
Fifth thing I have learned is ducks are very vocal. I truly believe they talk to one another and understand each other as much as humans. I was concerned about them being to noisy with neighbors next door but as much as they talk it's not very loud. As soon as they get out of the run into the yard they start to talking and it does not stop until they get back in the run. They are fun to listen to and watch as they waddle around and hunt for food.
Sixth and last thing I have learned about ducks is when it come to other birds they are a$$holes. Yeah.....straight up bullies and a$$holes. They don't care what chicken or other bird is in the way they just walk right over them and if the other bird does not yield.....well then that bird finds out how hard a duck beak is.....the hard way...lol. The chickens sometimes roost up on a couple of fixtures in the run or the water bar with the nipples. I have seen the ducks walk up and knock everyone of them off with their bill for no good reason. When they are swimming if one of the chickens jumps up on the deck surrounding the pool the ducks will knock them off. Whenever I heard a chicken scream it's almost always a duck pecking it. About 2 weeks ago I was at Tractor Supply. I always look to see what they have for pullets. It's almost always the same except for this day. They actually had Ameraucana's. They were not available when we ordered so in my infinite wisdom I bought 4 of them. We just brooded them in the coop as the chickens had refused to use the coop as of yet. The new chicks were doing well and growing fairly fast. I decided to open the coop up and let them try and mingle with the chickens and ducks. About a week ago I found a baby bird being chased by an adult Blue jay. I knew the bird would not make it if I did not do something. So I caught it and just set it in the run. I was busy cutting grass and did not have time to look after it. The chickens and ducks did nothing more but approach and stare at it and after a few minutes it was like the bird was not even there. The baby birds mother eventually came back and I let it go. This is why I felt comfortable letting the chicks out. The new chicks were easily 3 times bigger than that baby bird. The chicks were very hesitant to come all the way out. I just left them to their own and figured when they were ready they would come out. About 30 mins. I could heard my wife screaming outside. Well the ducks did not like the new chicks and decided they would just live up to their a$$hole reputation and tried to kill them. Luckily they were not hurt. Brought back some old memories with the chickens we had years ago. We introduced some new 2 month old chicks to some older ones we had. Within a couple of days we woke up only to find the older chickens killed both the younger chickens. They had actually ate them from the inside out. Today I built a small enclose inside the run so the ducks can see them but not get to them. The duck attack was yesterday. They are doing fine today and all the rain has the ducks once again back digging for China.
All in all I would not change a thing. I hope these ducks lay eggs as well as everyone and the internet says. I know this was a long post but maybe someone new to ducks will read it and either make an informed decision to not get in over their heads or read up from our experience and take the plunge. I can almost taste the eggs right now.....lol.
When I was a kid my grandfather in Louisiana (who could barely speak English) always had mallards and always had duck eggs. Well to anyone who truly enjoys eggs over easy or even sunny side up know what I am talking about when I say there is nothing else like it. Well it's that way to me. In all those years I have never forgotten the taste of how fresh duck eggs tasted. So with that being said I went to the local feed store and found that everyone that woke up the same day I started to build a coop went to the feed store and bought all the chicks and ducks. In fact every store within a 100 miles of me was dry. I then decided to order online after doing a little research and reading. I could get just about any variety of chickens I wanted along with a few ducks sprinkled in. After all that reading and research we were set on 12 chickens and 4 ducks. Welsh Harlequins to be exact. All shipped by the same company with about a 2.5 month wait till they would arrive. By now I was about half way finished with the coop. Even though it was a long wait I had plenty of time to finish the coop and would not be rushed. It was a fun time. The grandbaby helped a lot and it was a great project. I finished the coop well in time for the birds arrival. My grandbaby almost lost her mind waiting for those birds. Please take into account she is only 8 years old and has the attention span of a knat.
June 10th the birds arrived. I was kinda worried we might have some that would not make it. So while on the way to pick them up at the post office I called Tractor Supply. They usually get in pullets on Wednesday. They had just got a shipment in so I picked up 4 more and then headed to the post office. To my surprise all of the birds made it alive and extremely healthy. So now we have 16 chickens and 4 ducks. All of them are about the same size. We brooded them in a small kiddie pool in the run. Take into account we live in Southeast Tx and in June it's fairly warm. All these birds were doing good for a few days and everything seemed in order......or so I thought.
First thing I learned about ducks and it was to be expected is they love water. It really does not matter what kind of water it is. It can be muddy, filled with feces, slime, or mud. It really makes no difference to them. We had to change the water at least 2 times a day. I could not understand why the water bowl smelled so bad with fresh water that had been in there for less than 6 hours. We tried to keep a small tupper ware dish in there with water but it would only last about 30 mins and look like a swimming pool from a third world country and smelled just the same and as bad or worse than the water bowl.
Second thing I learned is ducks grow at an exponentially faster rate than chickens. Within 2 weeks their heads were dragging the hardware cloth I used to cover the kiddie pool. They were easily twice the size of the chickens but everyone seemed to get along thus far. I had built a really secure run so we just turned them out and placed a large box inside the run with an opening they could go in and out of to get warm and for food and water.
After a couple of weeks or so we ditched the box and let them have the run. By now I already had a water log with 6 chicken nipples and two bucket feeders low enough for all of the birds to reach. To my surprise the ducks figured out the chicken nipples within hours of setting them up and the chickens caught on pretty quick. I had also set up a stock tank just outside the coop. We would gather the ducks up most afternoons and let them swim. Pretty hilarious watching them swim underwater. My grand daughter taking it all in was great as well.
I got tired of catching the ducks every day and knew I had to set up something where they could dunk their heads. I built a 4" PVC log under the coop but still in the run. I tied it into the water well and made a drain valve to exhaust under the fence and into the alley. Out of sight out of mind I always say....lol. Made about 5 entry holes for 4 ducks to clean their bills and head. So after a week of that I noticed that when I would walk near the PVC for their head washing it would smell really bad until I flushed it out. Same exact smell as the watering dishes. I tried to flush it twice a day as it's been pretty hot but it always stunk and would go away as soon as I flushed it. I could only figure that when ever their rinse their bills out the saliva must really smell bad and contaminates the water....lol. Anyways the watering log works well. Chickens drink out of it as well and they all still use the chicken nipples.
Third thing I learned was that ducks like digging holes. Within a few days I had a good size hole right underneath the PVC they use to clean themselves up. They are constantly filling up their mouths with dirt then straight in the water. I'm not sure if they are getting minerals, grit, or digging a hole to China. It's raining today and I only have a small area of the run that is not covered. They have been digging in that one area for 5 hours straight without stopping. I figure their poop will soon turn black with all the mud they must be ingesting...lol.
Fourth thing I have learned is ducks like foraging. We started letting them all out in the yard about 2 weeks ago. They were apprehensive at first but now when I open the front door it's a mad dash to see who can get out first. My garden is done for the year except for a few pepper plants that are still producing. Among grass and other insects they enjoy nothing is more favorite than pepper leaves. Yes....pepper plant leaves. I have banana, jalapeno, cow horn, and a few others. They have stripped the leaves off as high as they can reach. I mean they eat other grasses and stuff but they have stripped the pepper plants clean. I was looking forward to putting them in my garden next year but I don't see that happening.
Fifth thing I have learned is ducks are very vocal. I truly believe they talk to one another and understand each other as much as humans. I was concerned about them being to noisy with neighbors next door but as much as they talk it's not very loud. As soon as they get out of the run into the yard they start to talking and it does not stop until they get back in the run. They are fun to listen to and watch as they waddle around and hunt for food.
Sixth and last thing I have learned about ducks is when it come to other birds they are a$$holes. Yeah.....straight up bullies and a$$holes. They don't care what chicken or other bird is in the way they just walk right over them and if the other bird does not yield.....well then that bird finds out how hard a duck beak is.....the hard way...lol. The chickens sometimes roost up on a couple of fixtures in the run or the water bar with the nipples. I have seen the ducks walk up and knock everyone of them off with their bill for no good reason. When they are swimming if one of the chickens jumps up on the deck surrounding the pool the ducks will knock them off. Whenever I heard a chicken scream it's almost always a duck pecking it. About 2 weeks ago I was at Tractor Supply. I always look to see what they have for pullets. It's almost always the same except for this day. They actually had Ameraucana's. They were not available when we ordered so in my infinite wisdom I bought 4 of them. We just brooded them in the coop as the chickens had refused to use the coop as of yet. The new chicks were doing well and growing fairly fast. I decided to open the coop up and let them try and mingle with the chickens and ducks. About a week ago I found a baby bird being chased by an adult Blue jay. I knew the bird would not make it if I did not do something. So I caught it and just set it in the run. I was busy cutting grass and did not have time to look after it. The chickens and ducks did nothing more but approach and stare at it and after a few minutes it was like the bird was not even there. The baby birds mother eventually came back and I let it go. This is why I felt comfortable letting the chicks out. The new chicks were easily 3 times bigger than that baby bird. The chicks were very hesitant to come all the way out. I just left them to their own and figured when they were ready they would come out. About 30 mins. I could heard my wife screaming outside. Well the ducks did not like the new chicks and decided they would just live up to their a$$hole reputation and tried to kill them. Luckily they were not hurt. Brought back some old memories with the chickens we had years ago. We introduced some new 2 month old chicks to some older ones we had. Within a couple of days we woke up only to find the older chickens killed both the younger chickens. They had actually ate them from the inside out. Today I built a small enclose inside the run so the ducks can see them but not get to them. The duck attack was yesterday. They are doing fine today and all the rain has the ducks once again back digging for China.
All in all I would not change a thing. I hope these ducks lay eggs as well as everyone and the internet says. I know this was a long post but maybe someone new to ducks will read it and either make an informed decision to not get in over their heads or read up from our experience and take the plunge. I can almost taste the eggs right now.....lol.
and sorry about the ones that died but definitely a lesson to be shared/learned.
