➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

[Tesumph]

I think this might be one of my longest novels yet

Not even close, girlie.

 

[Pennys Mama]

I would definitely house them separate if I got them.
I’ve read chickens can be annoyed at the mess they make/how they get everything wet
I have the perfect spot for them.
But I was also reading a thread about how extremely messy and nasty they are and it’s really making me second guess it.
I get annoyed enough that the shavings in the chicken’s coop have been somewhat damp lately and I can’t get them dry... Don’t think I could handle ducks.

Yep, they are super nasty! Their pen literally smells like a HOG pen!!! Fresh water lasts about 10 seconds before either it is brown or emptied!!! I've got a new spot for a new duck enclosure. They love getting to get out to forage in the yard with everyone else but I hafta watch them constantly to make sure they stay out of the chicken coop, and herd them back into their area over and over.

Ducks are a lot of work. They're incredibly messy, they dump water everywhere, they tear up any run they're in and convert it to a mud hole, and they don't even act regretful about it. They're little nightmares in winter. Granted, I love them anyway, and I would never get rid of them, but anyone above the mason-dixie line that owns them is certifiably bonkers.

Agreed! They're a mess!!! But totally adorable!

Ducks are awesome. You totally shouldn't get them.
They eat TONS of food. Mine are the biggest pigs ever. They eat about 4-5 times what my chickens eat.
They are wet, and smelly. Put fresh straw in their house? Make it all cozy? That will last a few days, tops, even without food and water in their house. They crap non stop all night long.
If the moon is bright, they mutter in the night.
If they can even get to your chicken coop, they will find the water, and they will make it a smelly rancid mess. We built a mini wall that we, and the chickens, step/hop over to get into the chicken coop. It's the only way to keep them out.
They bury their eggs. Usually in piles of poopy, wet straw.
If it freezes where you live, have fun dealing with their water requirements in winter.
Highly sexual creatures. Even if there is no drake, doesn't matter. It'll be like an episode of Orange is the New Black all up in there.

Mine lay eggs like crazy. This is the second winter for the youngest group, and they never did stop this winter. No light added.
Their eggs are delicious, and people pay for them. I sell them for $6 a dozen.
They are hilarious to watch, and always keep an eye on the sky. They spot aerial predators way before the chickens, and flee to cover.
My chickens are far noisier with their eggnouncements than my ducks are, excluding the calls. They are non stop noise makers.
They are excellent weeders, and tend to the garden in winter better than anything I've ever seen. Dandelion removal skills are impressive.
Their poop is not "hot" so can be applied directly to gardens as fertilizer.
They are adorable, hardy creatures. I have yet to lose a duck to illness.

Ducks are amazing critters, but you really, really, REALLY need the proper setup to keep them happy and healthy. They will constantly frustrate you otherwise. Don't get them.

This is ALL 100% true, no exaggeration at all!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ducks are a lot of work. They're incredibly messy, they dump water everywhere, they tear up any run they're in and convert it to a mud hole, and they don't even act regretful about it. They're little nightmares in winter. Granted, I love them anyway, and I would never get rid of them, but anyone above the mason-dixie line that owns them is certifiably bonkers.

Ducks are awesome. You totally shouldn't get them.

They eat TONS of food. Mine are the biggest pigs ever. They eat about 4-5 times what my chickens eat.
They are wet, and smelly. Put fresh straw in their house? Make it all cozy? That will last a few days, tops, even without food and water in their house. They crap non stop all night long.
If the moon is bright, they mutter in the night.
If they can even get to your chicken coop, they will find the water, and they will make it a smelly rancid mess. We built a mini wall that we, and the chickens, step/hop over to get into the chicken coop. It's the only way to keep them out.
They bury their eggs. Usually in piles of poopy, wet straw.
If it freezes where you live, have fun dealing with their water requirements in winter.
Highly sexual creatures. Even if there is no drake, doesn't matter. It'll be like an episode of Orange is the New Black all up in there.

Mine lay eggs like crazy. This is the second winter for the youngest group, and they never did stop this winter. No light added.
Their eggs are delicious, and people pay for them. I sell them for $6 a dozen.
They are hilarious to watch, and always keep an eye on the sky. They spot aerial predators way before the chickens, and flee to cover.
My chickens are far noisier with their eggnouncements than my ducks are, excluding the calls. They are non stop noise makers.
They are excellent weeders, and tend to the garden in winter better than anything I've ever seen. Dandelion removal skills are impressive.
Their poop is not "hot" so can be applied directly to gardens as fertilizer.
They are adorable, hardy creatures. I have yet to lose a duck to illness.

Ducks are amazing critters, but you really, really, REALLY need the proper setup to keep them happy and healthy. They will constantly frustrate you otherwise. Don't get them.

Yep, they are super nasty! Their pen literally smells like a HOG pen!!! Fresh water lasts about 10 seconds before either it is brown or emptied!!! I've got a new spot for a new duck enclosure. They love getting to get out to forage in the yard with everyone else but I hafta watch them constantly to make sure they stay out of the chicken coop, and herd them back into their area over and over.

Agreed! They're a mess!!! But totally adorable!

This is ALL 100% true, no exaggeration at all!

Thank you all!! Excellent posts. Highly informative yet also highly entertaining.

They do sound like amazing creatures and the good points sound really good buuuuuttttt... I’m not sure it’s worth the mess.

I mean, I’m sure once I got them I’d be attached and all, but I think I would be annoyed trying to keep it clean. I think it would be a constant battle... me cleaning it, them messing it up 2 seconds later, me wanting to clean it again.

I don’t think I could ever get it actually clean and dry and I think that’d bug me cause I’d think it wasn’t sanitary or safe or whatever for them.

All that said... for winter water... I actually have this huge heated dog bowl that I use for the chickens that I love and it does a great job of keeping the water thawed out. I could get another one. But... I’m guessing the ducks would make a swimming pool out of it, right?

Honestly though it’s been crazy mild lately. It was like 70 today.

I don’t think I would actually get ducks; it’s just not feasible right now. But man are they cute.

Maybe one day.

Although that said, sometimes we do get ducky paradise in the spring from all the rain and snow melt (though we haven’t had much this year) and a pond/biggest puddle in the world will form in the bowl in our yard.

Doesn’t last long usually but... duck paradise.

And yes, some of my hens are seriously obnoxious. Surely ducks can’t be louder than that??

And do you think they actually eat all that food or just waste a ton or both??

I am starting to get annoyed at how much some of my piggier hens eat/how expensive it is and wanting to switch to more efficient breeds (as much as I love my girls) so I don’t think I would like ducks (or geese/turkeys/any bigger birds for that matter)

And drakes will mate hens and could hurt them or kill them, right? All the more reason not to get them I guess...

Thanks for setting me straight.

Also.... @BantyChooks aren't you above the mason dixon line?? Does that make you bonkers???

 

[ShrekDawg]

Leaves are just the best, aren't they? They smell so sweet when they are breaking down.

We have all the leaves/pine needles/forest debris we could ever want.... FOR FREE. perks of being set back in the woods/surrounded by a million pine trees.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Not even close, girlie.

for real!?

Surely my newest one qualifies!?

If that’s not even close, then I don’t even think I wanna know how long the longest one is.

So much for trying to shorten them this year, eh?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Not even close, girlie.

I suppose that one was a bit like typing an essay in double spacing and making it look twice as long as it really is, eh?

 

[BantyChooks]

Thank you all!! Excellent posts. Highly informative yet also highly entertaining.

They do sound like amazing creatures and the good points sound really good buuuuuttttt... I’m not sure it’s worth the mess.

I mean, I’m sure once I got them I’d be attached and all, but I think I would be annoyed trying to keep it clean. I think it would be a constant battle... me cleaning it, them messing it up 2 seconds later, me wanting to clean it again.

I don’t think I could ever get it actually clean and dry and I think that’d bug me cause I’d think it wasn’t sanitary or safe or whatever for them.

All that said... for winter water... I actually have this huge heated dog bowl that I use for the chickens that I love and it does a great job of keeping the water thawed out. I could get another one. But... I’m guessing the ducks would make a swimming pool out of it, right?

Honestly though it’s been crazy mild lately. It was like 70 today.

I don’t think I would actually get ducks; it’s just not feasible right now. But man are they cute.

Maybe one day.

Although that said, sometimes we do get ducky paradise in the spring from all the rain and snow melt (though we haven’t had much this year) and a pond/biggest puddle in the world will form in the bowl in our yard.

Doesn’t last long usually but... duck paradise.

And yes, some of my hens are seriously obnoxious. Surely ducks can’t be louder than that??

And do you think they actually eat all that food or just waste a ton or both??

I am starting to get annoyed at how much some of my piggier hens eat/how expensive it is and wanting to switch to more efficient breeds (as much as I love my girls) so I don’t think I would like ducks (or geese/turkeys/any bigger birds for that matter)

And drakes will mate hens and could hurt them or kill them, right? All the more reason not to get them I guess...

Thanks for setting me straight.

Also.... @BantyChooks aren't you above the mason dixon line?? Does that make you bonkers???

Certifiably. Getting ducks was the stupidest idea I ever had. I don't regret it for a second. Also, yes. The chickens will never have sanitary water or dry ground to walk on ever again. I finally separated them for winter because the chickens were being negatively impacted health-wise. Yes, they actually eat more, though they aren't above wasting some too.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Certifiably. Getting ducks was the stupidest idea I ever had. I don't regret it for a second. Also, yes. The chickens will never have sanitary water or dry ground to walk on ever again. I finally separated them for winter because the chickens were being negatively impacted health-wise. Yes, they actually eat more, though they aren't above wasting some too.

it doesn’t help the cause when you guys all say it was the stupidest thing ever and not to do it and then in the next line say they’re the best thing ever and you don’t regret it. makes it seem worth it...

But it probably isn’t... ??

If I did, they’d be in totally separate areas. Separate coop and run. Not the same. But.... I assume if the all free ranged, they’d find a way into the chicken pen and the chickens into theirs and mess it up anyway?

And oh boy... bet they’re expensive??

Honestly I don’t think I’ll get them because logic comes creeping up every time I start thinking about how adorable they are and I realize what a horrible idea it is.

But one day...

I honestly just think I need more chickens and that would maybe satisfy it..

But idk... I think I need a different species. Or more interesting chickens.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Also... I just thought of something... we have this like really dry spot under/around one side of the coop, idk why, but it is the chickens favorite dust bathing spot ever... practically the whole flock will cram under there sometimes...yesterday there were 8 of them under there! I guarantee ducks would make this area a mud pit in no time, right!? The chickens would be pissed.... I can’t do that to them.

 

[FortCluck]

Dont get ducks... You were just talked mg the other day about how you're make ng wrong decisions without much thought... Ducks is another one of those bad decisions!

Stick with what you know... Chickens. Ducks are a lot of work and they're not like chickens at all. You have to clean more, feed more, clean again... They need a water supply all the time besides when they're sleeping. The water gets dirty and you need to change it 3+ times a day. If you keep them with chickens they'll dirty all their waterers and you'll have to go out all the time and clean the because the chickens will refuse to drink the muddy water... The ducks don't care though. They make holes in the lawn everywhere that you trip and almost break your ankle in.

IF you ever got a duck I'd recommend a muscovy... They're not a water duck and they're very clean... But they fly so you'd have to clip their wings or you'd have to keep an eye on them. They still need a water supply at all times but that's just to clean their bill and for food consumption.