considering ducks...am I crazy?

[hensonly]

Hey, all,

I have laying hens and now I'm thinking ducks would be fun. I read that they're less destructive to the garden plants than chickens, and that they lay their eggs more evenly year round instead of stopping in winter, and that duck eggs are really good...etc. So - natural conclusion: get ducks!

However - we do have coyotes, foxes, hawks, raccoons, possums, and dogs of our own who would not be reliable around free ranging ducks. I really don't want to confine ducks during the day, as we have a garden(unfenced) full of bugs (60 ft x 150 ft) and a small pond for swimming, which they would so enjoy. Also a couple of open fields. My chickens stay in their coop, do not range at all, because of the predator situation. How much risk would ducks be at, if allowed to range during the day and put in a secure house at night? Would they spend most of their time on the water(where they might be safer) or would they bop around the garden eating insects? The garden and the pond are fairly close to the house, but the pond buts up against the woods all along one side... I don't want to get ducks only to lose them to predators, but I think it would be lots of fun to have them around. They seem more calm and mellow than chickens, but I don't have much experience with either, really.

Oh - and are ducks as social as chickens? How many would I want to get, to keep them happy? Do most ducks generally go broody, or would I need certain breeds if I wanted to raise my own replacements sometimes? How many of each gender? Do drakes get along or do they fight? Or is it like roosters, if there are enough girls they're mostly ok, but you really just never know till you try?

Would ducks need the same kind of winter housing as the chickens? Would they need water to splash in during the winter? I assume ducks don't roost, so where do they like to sleep? do they need nest boxes on the floor of their house? or what?

I would like to know what I'm getting into before I try to convince the DH to agree to ducks...he's sure they would just get killed in short order, but I know many of you must have similar situations to mine, and you manage to keep your ducks alive! so tell me how you do it, please, so I can decide whether it would work for me!

Thanks to you all for your advice.

 

[Amiga]

Hi, hensonly!

I share a few of your conditions for ducks, so I can tell you what I have found from my research. My runners (11) are seven and a half weeks old, and, because of the weather and the rate of construction of "Little Fort Knox" are still in the house much of the time. My goal is to get them into their own digs once the nighttime temperatures are 45 F and above. Porting them in and out of the house is no big deal, but they don't much like it, and I need another person to pick up the "limousine" we use (don't want their mess on my DH's mother's oriental rug).

Ducks are very susceptible to predators, sad but true. Except for Muscovies and mallards (there may be more), domestic ducks don't fly. They also just don't seem to be as good at protecting themselves usually (there are exceptions to everything I have learned, I am sure).

It will be good if someone who has domestic ducks on a pond who doesn't lose them to predators to weigh in here. I feel that if someone wants to see ducks on their pond, they need to plant a food plot and set up duck nesting boxes to attract the wild ones, which are so beautiful!

For garden help, well, that is why I took the plunge. Runners are foragers - very good ones. Ducks can denude an area of vegetation (I said can, not always will), however. It depends on your management of them. My plan is to , initially, let them in where I have well-established plantings of perennials (sunroot, garlic, berries, asparagus, so forth) and see how they do. I also intend to let them work areas prior to planting, spending more time there, so that they can get rid of pests and weeds, and fertilize the area. They like to run their bills just under the surface of the soil, loosening it up. I like that.

They are ground-nesters. Some like a nest box, some don't. They will fall asleep leaning against a fence, so that fence needs to be half inch hardware cloth or predators will reach through the fence and maul the ducks.

They are quite social and can get along fine with chickens and other fowl. At times there are conflicts - it depends on the individuals and their living conditions.

Ducklings can get poisoned by medicated chick feed (there are scads of posts about this), and they need three times the niacin or suffer very serious neurological problems.

Ducks are fun and funny, loads of personality, it feels like Mardi Gras here all the time! Even when they are being their high-strung selves (they HATE being in the brooder when I do anything in there - most of the time I let them out into our hallway - yes, it is worth the cleanup - when I need to change bedding or fill the waterer), they are just so endearing! They make happy noises, are constantly noodling about, and if they think I am bringing them peas, you'd think I were Queen of the World!

Runners do not tend to go broody. There are probably some breeds that are better at that. Some people put duck eggs under a broody chicken with great success.

If I were to hatch eggs, I would likely build myself a nonelectric brooder.

Not sure about same housing exactly. Muscovies roost, the rest as far as I know, don't. I have a double-walled plywood box, 4' x 8' and 4' high. I filled the wall gap with perlite and vermiculite - they don't mold (ducks are very sensitive to mold) and have a decent R value, and don't burn, either.

Ducks need good ventilation, and in the deepest parts of winter, keeping out drafts is good. Some report that their ducks won't go into their houses even in snowstorms - again, this will depend on your ducks.

They need enough water, at a minimum, for drinking and washing their heads (to avoid nasal and eye infections). I have a waterer heater for winter.

They love salad, by the way.

Your site is going to determine if the ducks can safely free range during the day. I cannot predict that. Hawks will go after ducklings, but generally not full grown ducks. Some people include a goose in the flock to discourage predators. I use netting over their day pen right now, and plan to keep the netting there. The night pen is covered (okay, will be some time this week) in half inch hardware cloth.

If you can take a look at Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, that is a treasure trove of information. There is a sampler online (forgive me I don't have the url) that will allow you to look at some number of pages before it locks you out. The library may have a copy.

I will send this on. Didn't mean to get so verbose. Blessings!

 

[hensonly]

Well, bless your verbosity!! That kind of info is just what I was looking for. We have an unused "house" that originally had turkeys in it. It has a slatted floor ( a couple of feet off the ground) that could easily be made solid. The front is open, as the turkeys were only in it in the warmer weather (before Thanksgiving, if you get my drift!). I'm thinking that plywood on the floor, close in the front, and put a ramp up to it, would make an ok duck house. I could insulate the floor if need be, as it is well off the ground and could be cold, but it doesn't sound like it would be vital.

If hawks tend not to bother adult ducks, then we might be ok as I would definitely want to close them in at night. the neighbor's sheep pasture is between their house and the strip of woods adjacent to our pond, and coyotes killed a ram of theirs right in front of their house a few winters ago. Now they keep the sheep in the barn at night... but during the day, I think the ducks would be close enough to the house and garden and all our activity that the foxes and coyotes would not be a problem. I think!

Guess I'll do some more reading etc. before deciding. Thank you so much for your input!



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[gryeyes]

I don't know how large a pond you have, but if it's big enough, the duck house plans in this URL might be useful for you: http://www.ehow.com/how_4451013_build-wooden-duck-houses.html

I made my duck house from those plans, altering them for my situation. I made the house a 3 foot square box, but kept the one foot overhang and "porch" (from the floor and roof panels). It's up on concrete blocks in the run, with a little ramp for the ducks.

At this particular time, my ducks are NOT using their new house. The chickens are checking it out a lot, though. The rooster loves crowing from its roof. The ducks prefer to nest on the ground in the enclosed pen area of an A-Frame coop I built last year. (A couple of chickens roost in the top section every night, and the ducks sleep beneath them on the ground.) I'm able to secure it every night with a latch on the wooden door.

But I really liked the idea of a floating duck house, and try to let everyone who mentions a large natural pond or lake on their property know about the duck house plans listed at the site in my first sentence.