Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[satay]

Yes it is rather gentle in operation. I personally can't see any difference in auto turning and manually turning. If the eggs are less than 10 days old (since laid ) it won't hurt to let them settle on the shelf for an extra day.

That's what i'd do. I'd let them settle for 48 hours then put them in.

 

[satay]

Either way you are going to get Roos, 1 x roo is better than half a dozen.

For sure.

 

[satay]

Oops

If i end up with only one duckling from this hatch i wouldn't want it to have no friends now would i? Well thats what i told my husband
Gender guesses? I tried to get girls, the other siblings were bigger, more upright and tons more green on their backs. They are 8 month old Muscovy x Cayuga. Their quack is soo quiet and squeaky.

My guess would be one of each. If you do have a male it will probably be sterile. Usually crossing anything with Muscovy results in the male offspring being sterile.

 

[satay]

So many pages covered again this time. Not happy with this situation. The only 'notification' I had was via another new thread. Nothing from updates on this thread. I still have to rely on clicking on an older ( or, as mentioned - recent new thread ) notification to get here. ... and back I go ( like so many of you all probably do also ) ... this time about 12 pages. I click on like, when I see a good post going way back, but it, and replies etc. are never acknowledged by email notification. hmmm. !!

Have ticked every available request for notifications in "My Account" but so far, to no avail.

Grrrr .......

I am the same as you Anni. Grr it's so annoying.

 

[satay]

Hey, everybody! I'm new to this site.
So glad that I found an Aussie thread (here I thought this entire site was just Americans)

 

[satay]

I'll have to get something too. It gets confusing reading all the different things people write. My husband was looking on you tube for some ideas on ponds and housing, some of it was downright stupid. I'm sure I'll get there before they hatch.

Ducks are pretty easy. They need water to bath in and drink so if you don't have a pond i use the kid plastic swimming pools from bunnings. Infact mine was my sons when he was little and he is 21 this year so it has lasted well,. (the clam shell looking ones).
You can buy speciality duck food but i have never bothered when mine are little they get chick or turkey starter and when older mine get layer pellets like the rest do. (i use lauke mills brand but whatever brand you use would be fine) Ducks need a far bit of niacin in their diets so once a month or so I sprinkle some brewers yeast over the pellets.
Forgot to add you only want a small water source for them til they are bigger as they may drown in a bigger one. I have an aviary as their house in the large run. They hardly ever bother with using it though as their run is about 800 square metres or so. I don't let mine free range out here anymore as we have way to many foxes about at the moment.

 

[LuckysMum]

Thanks satay, do they roost at night. I've no idea on ducks at all. We've had something getting to my chickens so I need to know if they will go into the coop at night or if I have to fortify the run. Do they go on rungs or do they prefer a flat floor in the coop? Thanks

 

[K.Riggs]

Mine have to be herded into their pen in the evening but it has gotten much quicker if takes one minute now. From what i hear they are like geese in that they don't return to a coop. I have heard the occasional person saying theirs do but you can probably assume they won't. I just have a big secure pen and a dog kennel. It's 15 x 40 ft. I have a fenced yard I let them into during the day only when I am here to check on them. They are next to the geese who let me know if anything is amiss.

 

[K.Riggs]

Oh and no water fowl can't perch on a roost, clean dry straw in the kennel is what I use and they just go in sometimes, most of the time they are curled up on the grass in the pen when I check them on my way to bed at 11

 

[satay]

Thanks satay, do they roost at night. I've no idea on ducks at all. We've had something getting to my chickens so I need to know if they will go into the coop at night or if I have to fortify the run. Do they go on rungs or do they prefer a flat floor in the coop? Thanks

Nope. Mine prefer to sit on the ground. I've had Indian runners, Khaki Campbells and welsh harlequins and scovies over the years none have roosted. I only have muscovies now but think i might branch out again into other breeds again later this year maybe... P.s .. Don't tell hubby