hello BYC,
Let me start out by saying i started my " homestead " a couple years ago 2018 was my first year with chickens which i have 13 total of with room for flock growth. me and my wife plan on setting up and getting a new animal species every year or 2 until we have all the animals we want ( dangerous i know XD). So the next animal we want is ducks, my wife has her heart set on cayuga ducks and we dont want any other breeds we both really love the breed. another note is that we only want a few ducks but we do want them to breed. so lets talk about cayuga's ponds and duck houses.
Cayuga's,
id like any persons personal experience with this breed, particularly any special needs or anything like that. some pictures always welcome. I've read the breed is medium size, lays a decent amount of eggs, is good eating, heard the breeds in decline, can make great pets and do good in cold weather conditions. would love good to know raising duck info as well. and another question i have is how many females do i need for 1 male.
Ponds,
So our property has an awesome spot for a in ground pond, this spot is actually already a pond but hasn't been used in many years but the hard works done so i just need to to do some maintenance to get it operational again. so the info on ponds im looking for is... how big does the pond need to be? how deep? any special considerations ? best way to keep operational in the winter (very cold here)?
Duck houses
i have a nice little spot picked out nestled between 2 big trees close to the pond but on the top of a "hill". i wanted to do a smaller house for them with a small wire run with the top wire as well. they will free range on property but being in the u.p. i need to make sure the house and run are fort knox predator proof. ( only avian predators in the day and there is plenty of cover i know its always gonna be a risk with the eagles) each of my neighbors have free range chickens and losses have been minimum. so some information im looking for is... differences between a chicken coop and a duck house? does water need to be kept inside the coop? how do they sleep in the house? what little things do they need in the house? how many square ft for each duck? any difference between nesting box needs of ducks and chickens? best type of bedding for ducks? how dirty do the houses get a.k.a. how often does it need cleaning? and of course id love any little personal experience people have learned .
thanks in advance byc, always get such good information here. any links to good articles also welcomed
Let me start out by saying i started my " homestead " a couple years ago 2018 was my first year with chickens which i have 13 total of with room for flock growth. me and my wife plan on setting up and getting a new animal species every year or 2 until we have all the animals we want ( dangerous i know XD). So the next animal we want is ducks, my wife has her heart set on cayuga ducks and we dont want any other breeds we both really love the breed. another note is that we only want a few ducks but we do want them to breed. so lets talk about cayuga's ponds and duck houses.
Cayuga's,
id like any persons personal experience with this breed, particularly any special needs or anything like that. some pictures always welcome. I've read the breed is medium size, lays a decent amount of eggs, is good eating, heard the breeds in decline, can make great pets and do good in cold weather conditions. would love good to know raising duck info as well. and another question i have is how many females do i need for 1 male.
Ponds,
So our property has an awesome spot for a in ground pond, this spot is actually already a pond but hasn't been used in many years but the hard works done so i just need to to do some maintenance to get it operational again. so the info on ponds im looking for is... how big does the pond need to be? how deep? any special considerations ? best way to keep operational in the winter (very cold here)?
Duck houses
i have a nice little spot picked out nestled between 2 big trees close to the pond but on the top of a "hill". i wanted to do a smaller house for them with a small wire run with the top wire as well. they will free range on property but being in the u.p. i need to make sure the house and run are fort knox predator proof. ( only avian predators in the day and there is plenty of cover i know its always gonna be a risk with the eagles) each of my neighbors have free range chickens and losses have been minimum. so some information im looking for is... differences between a chicken coop and a duck house? does water need to be kept inside the coop? how do they sleep in the house? what little things do they need in the house? how many square ft for each duck? any difference between nesting box needs of ducks and chickens? best type of bedding for ducks? how dirty do the houses get a.k.a. how often does it need cleaning? and of course id love any little personal experience people have learned .
thanks in advance byc, always get such good information here. any links to good articles also welcomed
This is a great place to come for your situation of animals! We have forums for all kinds of backyard and house pets along with hobbies! If you'll only have 1 male (drake), usually 2 females (hens) is fine. If you have more than 1 drake it is recommended to have at least 3-4 hens per drake. Except Muscovies because they like more but you're only interested in Cayuga's so that won't apply. Flocks can be weird towards each other after maturity and you can adjust the flock as you see needed. Yourself and your wife will learn all you need to from their behavior just by watching them. Pond of any size will be appreciated by the duck but they do like to dive. You can use a pond filter to keep the pond clear but cleaning the filtration will be messy. The other option is manually cleaning the pond out completely once in a while because they will make the water very dirty with poop and need it cleaned! Cayuga's need protection from heat and will need shade after 70 degrees F. The pond will be highly appreciated then! Ducks are okay down to 20 degrees F and below that are at risk for frostbite. If winters are cold, you could use a pond heater or allow the pond to freeze over so they don't go in and run the risk of freezing when getting out wet. After they're wet they will probably want to go to their coop to dry out when it's chilly out. Water should be kept in the coop but separate from the food because they are very messy eaters! They will find any comfy place in the coop to sleep, usually corners or the most inconvenient place to clean! They poop a lot like chickens, but its kind of bigger and they somehow always step in it or make a mess. They're so much fun though so its worth it! That is also why baths are important for them. They need to stay clean and they will clean themselves constantly. Ducks move around a bit so the general rule of thumb is to allow about 4-6 square feet per duck in their duck coop and 10-25 square feet per duck for the run. Cleaning once a week is best but a deep cleaning as needed will be.. needed. You're probably pretty use to that cleaning schedule with your chickens, that part won't be much different. Nesting boxes should be at least 14 inches by 14 inches a bit larger is better. Ducks prefer a dark, private nesting box that is not too large. Good luck with your adventure!
