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    Help! How can I process these drakes?

    I used the wax method to pluck drakes when I did my first batch. I don't think I would be able to pluck a duck without waxing off the down. It would just take forever. When I just do one duck I don't think it's worth it to get a pot of water and wax all melted and hot, so I just skin them. And...
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    Are Ancona ducks good flyers?

    I saw my smallest adult fly 5 or 6 feet high once, but most can barely get off the ground. My anconas have a 3 foot fence around their run and have never flown over it. they only fly when they are excited to be let out of their coop.
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    Something is killing my ducks

    maybe a raccoon? their hands are very strong. they can pull apart chicken wire or unsecured hardware cloth. you'll want a live trap like a Havahart https://www.havahart.com/store/animal-traps I think you can buy traps like these at Ace or Home Depot or stores like that. with a live trap you...
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    How to hatch eggs that haven't lost enough moisture?

    I have a batch of eggs at day 18 that have only lost 8.5% of their starting weight. (ran with 50% humidity for the first 10 days, then starting weighing them and have been trying to keep humidity as low as possible). How should I go about lockdown? I really don't want them to drown. My plan...
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    Would this hose timer be good for giving ducks water every day?

    Yes it is reliable. I use a programmable hose timer to water my flock. It runs for several minutes every six hours. I regularly leave them unsupervised for 36 hours in a run with an electric fence, shelter, and plenty of food and water. I've had no problems. I'm sure I could safely leave them...
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    Would this hose timer be good for giving ducks water every day?

    It's what I use. I try to have someone swing by if I'll be be gone for more than two days just to make sure the water is on and everything is running smoothly. It would be bad news if the timer ran out of batteries or froze or some other problem arose. In general though I don't empty or clean...
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    Would this hose timer be good for giving ducks water every day?

    exactly. they are useful in their own way but are much simpler devices than programmable timers.
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    Would this hose timer be good for giving ducks water every day?

    that looks like a wind-up timer. you'll have to wind it every time you want to use it. if you get a programmable timer you can set it to run at regular intervals. look for a timer with a digital display.
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    Making a diy duck waterer

    Use a gardening water timer. Get a programmable one. It will have a digital display and run batteries. They are around $20-40 at any hardware or garden supply store. I use this one. It's great...
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    Making a diy duck waterer

    I use a bucket with hose secured to it. The hose is on a timer that is programmed to run for a few minutes every six hours. It flushes the water mostly clean, but it does waste some water and soak the area.
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    How much of a delay is normal from the first bird to hatch to the last bird?

    that's a great article. thanks. I don't see any movement when I candle. I'm thinking they died sometime in the past few days. It looks like some may have internally pipped. Some clearly have not. Shouldn't I see lots of movement close to the hatching time? update: I opened them. All were dead...
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    How much of a delay is normal from the first bird to hatch to the last bird?

    I had several ducklings that were pipping as I put them into lockdown. 4/10 hatched on days 26-27. Now it's day 28 and I'm worried the others are goners. Is it normal for the hatch to be spread over several days? How long should I wait? Is there a way to tell if the remaining eggs are still...
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    Duck Eggs - To Spray Or Not To Spray?

    I read somewhere that cooling and spraying ducks are both old fashioned and no longer considered best practices. Is that true?
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    Duck egg color genetics

    By dominant do you mean more common, or dominant as in the green egg gene is recessive? I've read in multiple places that the green gene is dominant to the white. Is the cream color a different gene? If I wanted to introduce the green gene to the flock and I don't care about maintaining the...
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    Breeding for colour

    here's a duck genetics calculator http://kippenjungle.nl/kruisingEend.html
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    Duck egg color genetics

    I have a small flock of anconas that all lay off-white eggs. If I hatch out more from this group what are the odds that I will get some that lay green/blue eggs? I've read that the colored eggs are dominant to the cream eggs. Does that mean that I won't get any colored eggs from a non-colored...
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