Are you Peking kidding me?

[CJLR]

I'm not sure what your comments here are in regards to? What gave you the opinion that I don't like ducks or wanted to get rid of them? I think you misunderstood the thread....

sorry if i misunderstood the thread I thought you wanted to get rid of them because you mentioned culling them again sorry i misunderstood

 

[TJAnonymous]

sorry if i misunderstood the thread I thought you wanted to get rid of them because you mentioned culling them again sorry i misunderstood

No worries.... It happens! I wish I didn't have to cull even one of them but my husband thinks I'm being a ridiculous softie... He sees our chickens and ducks as livestock. You don't just "give away" your livestock... You eat them. I've always seen them as pets who provide me with a wonderful supply of eggs and.... IF we were put in a survival situation, we could eat them. As someone else has mentioned on this site, having to cull unneeded or unwanted birds is one of the unpleasant realities of raising them. I just have to suck it up and accept the sad reality that I can't keep them all.

 

[CJLR]

No worries.... It happens! I wish I didn't have to cull even one of them but my husband thinks I'm being a ridiculous softie... He sees our chickens and ducks as livestock. You don't just "give away" your livestock... You eat them. I've always seen them as pets who provide me with a wonderful supply of eggs and.... IF we were put in a survival situation, we could eat them. As someone else has mentioned on this site, having to cull unneeded or unwanted birds is one of the unpleasant realities of raising them. I just have to suck it up and accept the sad reality that I can't keep them all.

I understand I am a softie too i hate culling animal

 

[TJAnonymous]

We caught our two existing Pekins and put them in the pen with the others. The new ducks don't like them much. They don't really chase them much but they do peck at them if they come close. I'm guessing this will get worked out over time?

We also culled the male Pekin today from the new recruits... We will be eating him for dinner tomorrow night.

So our current duck counts are -

3 Pekin females
1 Pekin male
1 Appleyard male
2 Appleyard females

 

[ErnieBerley]

Weird! My ducks and chickens couldn’t care less about cilantro! Yogurt on the other hand...and watermelon...

LOL. weird huh.... and yea mine love watermelon and blueberries/raspberries. AND their FAV treat...their own eggs...! and yea I used to eat 4 eggs a day until i got chickens, now I cant eat eggs or chicken meat anymore.. The thought of culling my own animals to me is like losing a family member.

 

[annageckos]

We caught our two existing Pekins and put them in the pen with the others. The new ducks don't like them much. They don't really chase them much but they do peck at them if they come close. I'm guessing this will get worked out over time?

We also culled the male Pekin today from the new recruits... We will be eating him for dinner tomorrow night.

So our current duck counts are -

3 Pekin females
1 Pekin male
1 Appleyard male
2 Appleyard females

You may want to go ask over on the meat bird section but you'll want to let the meat rest for at least a few days before cooking the duck or the meat could be tough.

 

[FunQuail]

We caught our two existing Pekins and put them in the pen with the others. The new ducks don't like them much. They don't really chase them much but they do peck at them if they come close. I'm guessing this will get worked out over time?

We also culled the male Pekin today from the new recruits... We will be eating him for dinner tomorrow night.

So our current duck counts are -

3 Pekin females
1 Pekin male
1 Appleyard male
2 Appleyard females

I'm sorry you had to cull the male pekin. Best wishes to all of you! How are they doing today?

 

[Lectrify67]

do they have a coop atleast? if they are on the pond all day that explains why they aren’t friendly and aren’t used to eating the food you give them. if raised right, they are super friendly and sweet. mine go on adventures with harnesses, come inside to cuddle, and more

I put my ducks in their own coop and I put their feed in a medium sized galvanized bucket that they can easily reach in to. I can add anything I need to to the pellets to help them with their diets and I put mine away every night around dusk. I do this from the time they put on white feathers forward. They get into the routine of “going to bed” at night and having a safe and place to bed down and lay eggs. Also, starting them off where they are handled daily will customize them to being around you and continue feeding them treats on a regular basis out of your hands will keep them coming in closely. If you decide to cull these 2, reconsider getting a couple more. They do make great pets and do provide wonderful eggs. TSC in IL has a great breeder and the 2 I got this spring are much heftier than the 2 I got last year from Rural King.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Looking for more advice & feedback.... Here are some of my observations -

1. The new recruits seem to be bullying my two existing ducks. Is this normal? They gang up - 5 vs 2. The females bow their heads and bob while "charging" my ducks to make them leave the vicinity. I figured it was just a temporary thing to establish pecking order, but after a week it doesn't seem to be changing. How do I address this?

2. No one is laying... I have no idea how old the 4 new females are. I'm assuming that ducks, like chickens, stop laying at a certain age? Could they also have stopped laying from the stress of being in a new place? My existing female isn't laying either, but we've already established that she is only just over 7 months old so it could be a while still.

It's funny...even in the new pen...if one of the 2 "hated chickens" comes near their pen, my Pekin duck will STILL charge at them. You would think she would have focused on bigger issues like integrating with the new flock.....

 

[LT71689]

Looking for more advice & feedback.... Here are some of my observations -

1. The new recruits seem to be bullying my two existing ducks. Is this normal? They gang up - 5 vs 2. The females bow their heads and bob while "charging" my ducks to make them leave the vicinity. I figured it was just a temporary thing to establish pecking order, but after a week it doesn't seem to be changing. How do I address this?

2. No one is laying... I have no idea how old the 4 new females are. I'm assuming that ducks, like chickens, stop laying at a certain age? Could they also have stopped laying from the stress of being in a new place? My existing female isn't laying either, but we've already established that she is only just over 7 months old so it could be a while still.

It's funny...even in the new pen...if one of the 2 "hated chickens" comes near their pen, my Pekin duck will STILL charge at them. You would think she would have focused on bigger issues like integrating with the new flock.....

Domestic ducks can live quite a long time so theyd have to be pretty old to have reached duck menopause. It's likely the new environment plus that laying can slow down in the winter with the shorter days and colder temps. I dont know about the appleyards but Pekins also dont tend to go broody, they wont usually build a nest and try to hatch their eggs, they just lay them wherever and move on, so you might have to keep an eye out for eggs everywhere on the property they have access to