Cost of keeping ducks

[Duckworth]

I think I sent more money on fly control than feed

I don't, but that's mainly because I am willing to cope with extreme grossness to avoid spending. My fly traps are two seasons old and show no signs of becoming unusable, so that was $20 well spent. For about eight weeks of summer, I have to empty the traps weekly, so that is two packets per week at about a dollar apiece. The rest of the warm weather fly season I can go ten days to two weeks before they fill up. I time my emptying of them with the trash pickup for my neighborhood so there is little chance that the bags will get puntured or sit in the dumpster for more than a few hours before being picked up.

One tip for cutting the cost of fly control is that once you have established a system that works for you, you can buy ahead what you will need for next year when fly control products go on clearance sale at the feed store or TSC at the end of the warmer weather each fall. I ususally can get it for about half price if I remember to stock up in September or October. I have to keep an eye out, though, because once it's gone for the season here, they won't have it back in until late spring.

I'm in Nebraska.

 

[chickens really]

I have sand in my Run and turn it.. only bedding in the houses.

 

[Duckworth]

I have sand in my Run and turn it.. only bedding in the houses.

I wish I could have sand, but my city requires me to have a solid surface floor in my run and that makes sand hard to manage, since my floor is wood and raised on joists and decking piers. I tried pea gravel in one corner and regretted it because it clogged my drainage and I couldn't put gravel or sand in my garden to compost. There is no ground for stuff to percolate down into. I have a channel outside the run for water to run off into, but sand would block that up.

There are so many things to think about with keeping ducks, some of which affect the cost. I love having ducks so much more than I thought I would, so it's been worth it. It would have been worth it to have eggs my husband isn't allergic to, but I really like our ducks and enjoy caring for them.