a few questions about ducks/ducklings

[TLWR]

Fence around your garden and it will be fine. My ducks aren't in my garden, so not sure if they eat the tomato plants, but they had one growing in the duck pen where their food is and they didn't bother either of those.
Mine free range and the yard is fine. I only notice when the ground is wet as they are drilling everywhere, but then it is fine again.

Runners are fun.
Welch seems to be a bit friendlier.

I have both. Both are equally friendly/equally skittish. But I have one welch with 4 runners.

 

[Summer98]

Fencing the garden is not an option. Can you share pictures of your ducks? I like the look of the black runners, but heard the welch is friendly.

 

[TLWR]

there are tons of pics of my ducks in here
http://s61.photobucket.com/user/trudy_w/library/Alabama/Ducks

Not as many of the newest three (2 runners and the welsh harlequin).

My friendliest was my silver runner.

Of the ones I have now, the fawn and white is the friendly one. But my chocolate and the wh are also friendly.

 

[Summer98]

Do ducks need grit like chickens? Do they eat the same stuff (bugs, seeds)?

 

[Amiga]

Yes, they need a little small grit - per Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, I added a half a teaspoon or so of chick sized grit into their food the first few weeks. They ought not to be given anything other than bagged feed before they get grit.

 

[Summer98]

Would they do ok in a non-insulated building? They don't really have anything to get frostbite like chickens, I would assume?

 

[Amiga]

Would they do ok in a non-insulated building? They don't really have anything to get frostbite like chickens, I would assume?

Their little feet can get frostbite, and Muscovies can get frostbite on their caruncles. If you have a non-insulated building, I would plan on using straw bales or bales of shavings as insulation in the winter. I like to be ready for the worst case, and if it does not happen, that is good but if it does, you have much less worry and panic and the ducks are not at risk.

 

[Summer98]

My sister-in-law said when she had ducks she hated them and they were wet and disgusting. Geesh, that seems a bit harsh. Are they really that bad? I was just wanting a little flock to run around and enjoy them free-ranging with my chickens.

How about their manure? Is it similar to chicken manure? Or will I be finding patties on the lawn? Manure is very beneficial for my composting and gardens, but I am wondering what their manure is like? Thanks.

 

[Amiga]

My sister-in-law said when she had ducks she hated them and they were wet and disgusting. Geesh, that seems a bit harsh. Are they really that bad? I was just wanting a little flock to run around and enjoy them free-ranging with my chickens.

How about their manure? Is it similar to chicken manure? Or will I be finding patties on the lawn? Manure is very beneficial for my composting and gardens, but I am wondering what their manure is like? Thanks.

Okay, don't tell your sister-in-law, okay? My ducks are not disgusting at all. Their night shelter is clean enough that I would be happy to put down a blanket and sleep in there. Their poop is much less intense than chicken poo.

Water management is key.

Here is an example - I have a watering station


This keeps the bedding pretty dry. I spend 15 minutes a day on room service for their night pen. Every two to three weeks the bedding gets a big clean out.

The bedding makes excellent mulch, or compost.

And that has been my experience. Ducks love water, they like to splash, and you need to plan for that both indoors and out.

Outdoors the pen has a 2% slope and a small channel that directs water and poop into garden beds where the plants appreciate them. Swim pans are dumped, rinsed and refilled daily. The base for the outdoor pen is chopped straw that gets turned and refreshed a few times a week. As it builds up, I pull some out for compost. No nasty odors. Have to do more maintenance in hot weather.

I use fly predators and traps to keep the fly population under control.

 

[Summer98]

Will you explain the picture more to me? It looks like a pan for their drinking water, straw for the bedding on the floor, and then is the feed pellets around their water bowl there? If it's just their drinking water and not their swimming water, they probably wouldn't splash in it. Maybe they tip it over? I'm a newbie. I was thinking either straw or wood shaving in the floor of their house.