BYC Never Mind, Ignore This Thread

[The Wolf Queen]

OK all duck people on BYC I require a long thread on EVERYTHING ducks. How to care for them need, feed. shelter wise and stuff, what to feed them, breeding, incubating, hatching, and raising ducklings, how they should be handled, how they are around other animals, even random little unimportant facts and random color facts etc. The whole 100 yards please

I really wanna learn a lot about ducks since I know about chickens already (always good to know stuff ya know

) plus I'm debating whether or not to talk my mom into letting me buy a couple of ducks. I'm thinking a Muscovy pair and maybe a runner duck or 3. I also have a few actual questions I thought up. 1. How to sex Muscovies and Runners? Ive heard in Scovies you can only tell by size. Is this true and how old would they have to be to be sexed? I have no idea on the Runners. 2. When I dig out a hole in my coop and add a small pool will my girls be OK if the pool is shallow or will they fall in during the winter and freeze or hop in like they do their water dish and freeze??? Do ducks eat the same feed as hens (Lay Crumble or Scratch depending on the time of the year), and 3. I'm actually pretty darn positive the answer to this question is no, but just to be safe,... (grumble grumble grumble I feel like an idiot) can a drake breed a chicken and can a rooster breed a duck successfully

??? I think those are my actual questions for now but lets make this thread long and extremely educational. I cant wait to read all the interesting stuff that should soon be posted on here

... and now I wait.

times a billion.
PS Pictures on everything duck are also welcome (I like duck pictures lol

).

 

[DuckLady]

Your best bet is to get a book on raising ducks.

Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks will tell you what you need to know.

 

[The Wolf Queen]

But I like listening to people who personally own ducks. Plus some books can have wrong information. I speak from experience.

 

[Katy]

If you do a search you'll be able to find all the info you have questions about.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Ducks do eat the same food as chickens. During the laying season mine get layer pellets with some whole oats or wheat added, and some grit. During the off season when they arent laying, they get flock raiser pellets, some whole corn and wheat, and some scratch.

Also, no ducks cant breed with chickens or chickens with ducks.

And, dont give ducks medicated feed.

 

[The Wolf Queen]

Ok thanks and also do ducklings need a heat light, what is their incubation period, and they eat chick feed right?
ETA: Seriously I want hands on info from YOU guys. Is it THAT hard?... I feel all abandoned and alone

...

 

[Katy]

Yes, ducklings need a heat lamp, but not for as long as chicks do.

Incubation period depends on the kind of duck.....26-32 days.

I raise all my call ducklings on Purina medicated Start & Grow.

You are not abandoned...all these answers have been posted over and over again on here already, so it is hands on knowledge from the rest of us.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
Incubation period depends. Call ducks take 26-27 days. Mallards take aruond 28 days, and muscovies take around 35 days. They do need a heat lamp until they are at least 50% feathered on their backs. They do eat chick starter, but make sure you get the non-medicated kind. I use 20% for the first 6ish weeks then switch to a lower protein feed so that they dont develop angel wing.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Quote:
I also highly recommend this book. It is written by THE duck expert, Dave Holderread who owns Holderread's Waterfowl Farm:

http://www.holderreadfarm.com/

Everybody has their own way of raising their ducks so expect alot of conflicting ideas. I've found that ducks are easy to raise and care for, much moreso than chickens, and they aren't very particular about anything. And they are so doggone CUTE!!!!

 

[Dances with Ducks]

That's a pretty tall order you are asking for.

It's so overwelming that it's not fun for one person to attempt, and the next person would have to read through all those details written to add whatever else, so you see why people may be reluctant to jump in on this one. There are some care sheet type things already published, I have linked to a few below.
I started out with the book Terry recommended, it's very good, a lot of us use it as a resource. No matter what resource you turn to you will find some advice that doesn't fit your situation exactly, or is just plain wrong. You will find many differences of opinion on BYC about the best way to care for ducks that can be confusing, but that is the nature of this type of forum. It's like an endless conversation with many different points of view. We learn so much from conversing this way, but it takes time because there is a lot of complexity to understand all there is to know about ducks (which like any other topic is never ending). Anyway I hope you can enjoy starting with these basic things and building your knowledge as you explore this subject.
Are you planning to get some ducks? How many, what breed? Tell us more about what you are thinking about so we have a good starting place. Ducks are really fun!!
Please do ask more questions, just maybe scale them down a bit.

http://www.minkhollow.ca/HatchingProgram/Ducks-Incubation/As-Pets.html#care
http://www.phelpswaterfowl.com/Duckling_Care.htm
http://liveducks.com/care.html
http://welcomehomefarm-tj.blogspot.com/2009/05/duckling-care.html