Accidental new duck owner

[wonderpup]

Well the story goes that our neighbor a couple houses down bought a duck last easter for their kids. It lived in their front yard where they had a little fish decorative fish pond. No pen or anything totally free range duck it could occasionally be found in other yards but mostly just theirs. Wellllll, last weekend the neighbors moved, guess what they didn't take with them

Bummer. See where this is going? We also have a little fish pond in our front yard and a very sympathetic husband. It took almost a week but the duck eventually made it's way to our house probably b/c the people next to us were luring him/her in with popcorn. My husband gave her some of the food we're feeding our chicks (unmedicated starter) and the duck adopted us. We jokingly consider it a little birthday gift for our son who turned a year old on Thursday, the day the duck started thinking about adopting us lol. He/she now lives in our yard pretty much full time, pooping ALL over our front porch and swimming in our pond which clogged the filter and killed one of our fish, hubby is working on that right now.

I am wondering if anyone can point me towards some reliable basic info on pet ducks. What to feed, a house, responsible care, that kind of thing.

Also I'm wondering if anyone can tell us what kind of duck it is and how do you tell the sex? My husband says it's a girl *shrugs* I don't know.

 

[KansasKid]

Couldn't tell you the breed, just a crested mallardish something. Unless its in eclipse (little late for that) its a hen. its possible it could be a cross of a mallard and something else. Maybe someone else can chime in and help try and figure what it is my brain is still asleep.

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

Looks like a hen to me, but Im not an expert. What's the quack like? Is it soft and raspy, or loud and quacky? Boys tend to have soft, whispery "reep reep" kinda noise, while the female has the more obvious "Quack!"

Beautiful duck! I can't believe people could just leave an animal like that. It's so sad.

Not sure on breed, looks like a few diff breeds. Wonder if it's a mix.

I know some feed stores carry actual duck food, which is the way to go if you can find it. But our area never carries it, and won't order it, so I feed a combination of all purpose poultry, with a lower protein percentage for the boys and layer feed for the hens. So I think it depends on whether your duck is male or female. For hens, they either need layer feed or high quality feed with Oyster shells on the side. If they have access to dirt, they don't need grit, but if they don't or if it snows, you should add some.

Ducks need constant access to water, at least deep enough to dip their faces in, to keep their nose and eyes clean. They don't have to swim, but they like it better that way.

Most people build pens for their ducks, and there's a lot of threads you can find here about pen design, and space etc. but I think 3 sq ft. per duck is the minimum on adults.

Ducks are MUCH happier with at least one other duck for a friend. They're quite social.



Hope this helps a little!

 

[StevenW.]

To me its a female cause I dont see any curled sex feathers.

She looks like a Crested Mallard with some kind pied color.

I say get her - her own kiddy pool and she'll as happy as ever!

 

[wonderpup]

oh noo

I was afraid somebody was going to say that about duck being happier with another duck. I don't think we can have another duck. Maybe if we move her to the backyard and see doesn't seem unhappy with a more limited area then we'll set her up a pool. Otherwise she is welcome to the pond for now. I don't suppose chickens will do for company? Probably not. I have no idea where they got ducky last year but I noticed the feed store had some baby ducks with the same crest on them this past weekend. Maybe we could get one of those. I just don't want to overrun the neighborhood with ducks and cause any reason for complaint.

She's got that big dog bowl too for water and a smaller bowl for food. Haha, my husband stole from my stash of doggie supplies

We'll see about getting her some layer feed since we'll need it anyway in the future for our chickens. I've never seen her lay an egg so either she doesn't or she does it somewhere else? I'd love to have some duck eggs if for nothing else the dogs.

 

[StevenW.]

Quote:
I would get at least 2 ducklings cause you never know 1 might die suddenly but it's your choice.
She would be fine with the chickens but she might end up acting like a chicken since I suppose she hasnt seen any other ducks.

 

[desertdarlene]

Awww, thanks for taking her in. I know a lot of people recommend reading Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks as a good source of information.

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

I have heard chickens aren't adequate company for ducks. However, My first duck was a rescue, a lot like your situation. He was an easter dump. I couldn't find any ducks/ducklings because duck season was over. He became best buddies with my cat. So I guess it depends on the duck. Seems she's been a lone for long enough, it might be alright.

I must say though, when duck season came around the following spring, and we got other ducks, my lone drake was SOOOO excited! And although he still visited with my cat sometime, from then on he preferred the company of his new ducky companions.

 

[The Duck ABC's]

She will be fine with the chickens. The only problem will be the mess she will make with the food and water. A duck companion is a good idea, but don't get another crested duckling. You could end up with a male and then you have to deal with the deadly crested gene. This will only effect off springs, but it is nasty. See if there is a duck rescue near you. Perhaps you can adopt another female to live with her. I would advise against the koi pond. The poo is so high in nutrients that will turn into a green mess in no time. Plus the FL weather is ideal for having bacteria grow in it. A small kiddie pool with a ball valve is just simpler for cleaning etc. For feed look for 17% unmedicated feed and you are fine. Most likely that is was your chicken feed it. So one for all. Offer oyster shell on the side and add niacin every other week into the drinking water. Ducks need more of it, and it will not harm your chicken.

 

[sourland]

Thanks for taking her in. I think you should get 6 or 10 ducklings to keep her company.