Anyone have pet Mallards

[claireree]

Hello, I live in Spain and have a pair of Mallard ducks, I was wondering if anyone else out their had them and could give me any tips on keeping them, also any ideas when they start laying.

 

[greekbioguy]

hallo i live in Greece i visited your country for a field trip when i studied biology in the UK i spend 15 days living in a camp on the Picas studying the vegetation there,i also spend around 5 days in Bilbao to rest after that. i loved Spain it looks allot like Greece.
i used to own mallards for 10 years before i got my mandarins and wood ducks. i had to choose between them because my mallard drakes tried to murder my mandarin hens.
i still miss having them around they are beautiful birds.
OK they like to eat duck food (don't feed them bread or chicken food especially medicated chicken feed is definitely lethal to ducklings and i guess it does not do adults any good either , ducks relay on their gut flora to get nutrients and antibiotics kill the beneficial bacteria in their gut.
they need some place to bath and swim they will lose their waterproofing and die of pneumonia if the do not bath regularly.
they do not form pairs like the mandarins but the top male will form a sort of a harem. they are very cruel in their mating and females are killed (drowned ) during that sometimes especially if the banks of the pond are too steep and she is not able to get a grip while the male sinks her under the water.
they always started to incubate quite late in Greece so i guess it is the same in Spain (they start collecting eggs in may and will will start incubating between middle of may to middle of June babies will be out sometime in July.
they are very noisy especially during breeding season. they nest on the ground in a box but they like it to be hidden.they are excellent mothers.normally the males do not hurt the babies but keep an eye on them the first time. they fly very well if you do not clip their wings.
they never mind the cold they really enjoy it but they seem to suffer during Greek summers. they seem to love red colour fruit and vegetables their favorites being watermelons and tomatoes.they love mud. they make a mess and will turn every small puddle of rainwater into a mudhole
i don't know if i have been helpful

 

[claireree]

thanks that was very helpful.

this is my ducks

 

[greekbioguy]

they are beautiful and they bring me allot of memories. you will love them

 

[duckking]

I have 3 mallard hens plus a Rouen Drake and hen...the rouens look like mallards but twice as big. They can be a bit noisy, but mostly when they see me coming or I am leaving. They are very sweet, not in the least aggressive. They have a pool to swim in, a house to sleep in and they just run around the rest of the time. I believe they start laying at 6-7 months. Mine are 22 weeks old and have not started yet, in comparison to my chickens who are the same age and are just starting to lay. I love them. They are so funny and expressive. I could watch them all day.

 

[ranchhand]

Hello, hola!

I have 4 females, they are quite entertaining. They get fed and watered daily and have a plastic children's pool for swimming. Very low maintenance, really. They didn't lay for almost 11 months, but all 4 lay daily now. The eggs are wonderful!

They have either straw or wood chips for nesting, but they seem to prefer the mud.

Yours are lovely, do you have more females?

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I have 10 mallards and three rouen ducks. Except for them being so much smaller and have the ability to fly they aren't too much different from the other breeds that I have WH and Jumbo Pekin.

I would say that an enclosed run would be a plus with them and or clipping their wings. But I have yet to clip their wings- I like to see them fly