Creating a FAQ (with a little help from you!)

[nettie]

For my website, I want to create a FAQ section, and i was wondering if all you BYC peeps would help me come up with a list? Just from what you remember asking as a newbie, or questions you've seen time and time again from newbies... Or if you are a newbie, ask away! The more questions, the better... If i end up with a ton of questions, I'll put them in sections so it's easier to read.... I figured i can post it here when i'm done with it as well. (This will be posted to my BYC page once it's complete, and will hopefully go up elsewhere on BYC too for everyone's reading pleasure!)

I'll start the list with-

1. When can i let my ducklings swim?
2. Can i eat eggs that were laid in the pond?
3. What is bumblefoot?

 

[LoreenH]

4. When can they go outside?
5. Will all ducks fly?
6. Which are the best for eggs, meat, or pets?
7. Do they have to have a pool or pond?
8. What kind of bedding to use in the brooder?
9. What kind of coop/house do they need?
10.Can they live with chickens?

This is all I can think of at the spur of the moment.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

When do they start to lay?
How do you tell if they are male or female?
Why do they act so afraid of people?
How do I keep their water from freezing?
Are they OK in the snow?
What do they need to eat?
Will they lay eggs if I only have females?

 

[deanna&rich]

18. What should I put on the ground of the run (sand, concrete, grass,)?
19. What do they eat?
20. How many females to a drake?
21. If they have a pool, do they need drinking water also?
22. How long will they live (if they don't meet a predator, of course!!)


Oh, gosh, we're still new and we have tones more Q's also.I'm so glad you're making this FAQ, it will really help people!!

 

[1lpoock]

23. What should I set my incubator at for duck eggs?
24. Whats the difference between a duck and a chicken egg?
25. What should my brooder set up include?

 

[priss]

Bein so new to ducks and bein such a worrier and lovin my 3 sooooooo much I will prolly have hundreds. The ones I can think of right now are:

1. If in the winter, you bring them into the house on particularly cold nights, will it be harmful for them when you put them out it in the cold during the day?

2. How to predator proof a run.

3. I'd like to know, if this is possible, what their different quacks mean? Sometimes they're jus chattin an sometimes they're cussin me and sometimes they excited but the other day the three of them lined up and did a constant alarm style WAK WAK WAK WAK WAK. They were all lookin at the same thing but I couldn't see what it was they were lookin at and I thought maybe it was a predator WAK. But when they see cats and birds of prey they go dead silent so I started thinkin that maybe they didn't have an I'm scared quack or a watch out quack. I mean, if a fox starts to try and get into their hut at night, will they be silent and try and pretend they're not there, or will the quack lots to call me out? I already get up several times a night to check they're ok if I hear noises, it'd be nice to know they'd call for me if they needed it. As it is, during the day, they do call for room service when they want peas lol.

4. In the winter, should I be feeding them double so they can get good and fat and so stay warm?

5. Do I need to give them vitamin suppliments or will plenty of fruit and veg on top of their corn be enough?

6. Do they get bored when they are locked up in bed? They have to go in so early in the winter 4pm and then the sun doesn't come back up until 7.45am. How can I make sure they are happy in their hut?

7. Ooh what about a poop chart? What different lookin poop means. This poop means they eat too many peas for example. Or what healthy poop looks like and what poop from a poorly duck looks like.

I will probably have lots more questions in the morning.
You guys, by the way, are the best. The people who gave us our ducks haven't answered my husband's email and we were kind of hoping they would be there for our questions. Just knowing you guys are here makes me feel happier.
(The people who gave us the ducks are nice people, I think my husband used a poor choice of words when he emailed and invited her round for tea or more. Then after sending it realised she might think he was propositioning her when in fact he was thinking along the lines of cake lol!)
Anyhooo thank yoooooo
xxxxxxxx

 

[nettie]

These are all great questions! Please feel free to leave as many as you'd like! I will try my best to answer all of them in a timely fashion (Either myself, or after some researching). Don't be embarrassed by any questions... There are no stupid questions! We were all new to waterfowl at some point and probably wondered the same things. For me, it's hard to remember what i didn't know about back when i was a newbie, lol.

Also, I'm trying to make some sort of list so i can organize these questions for a reader to get to what they'd want to know easily. Hopefully when this FAQ is done, it'll be linked up to BYC for all too look over and maybe learn something new.

I was thinking of making categories like-

Ducklings
Injury and Illness
Nutrition
Pens and Coops
Pond and Pools

How does that sound? any ideas for other categories? Or improvements on mine?

 

[688peterl]

i got an faq for you.. when will the harnesses be ready

no im only joking

 

[rainplace]

26. My duck is limping. Why?
27. What's this on the bottom of my duck's foot?
28. I know I freaked out when my duck's first feathers came in, they looked all bald... Is this normal?
29. When can I let them swim?
30. Can I take food and water away from them at night?
31. When can I take food and water away from them at night?
32. How do I find a vet that will see ducks?
33. What should I keep in the duck's medicine cabinet?
34. I can't keep my ducks anymore, can I let them loose on a pond?
35. Is runny poop normal?
36. What is this white stuff in my duck's poop?
37. How can I make my ducks like me?
38. Can I keep my ducks inside?
39. What antibiotics are safe for ducks?
40. How do I worm my ducks?
41. Why does my duck have a bald neck/head...
42. My females are mounting each other, is this normal?
43. How do I clip my duck's wings?
44. What does pinion mean?
45. At what age can I pinion my ducks?
46. How do I keep my pond clean?


That's all I can think of right now.

Here's some resources I've found that may help in your research:

Lou Horton's website has tons of info be sure to look at the links on the right ... it will pop up more links at the top.
http://www.acornhollowbantams.com/waterfowl_basics.cfm?id=44

The Ashtons write a lot of articles at smallholder, pop their last name into the search feature and you'll get some hits:
http://www.smallholder.co.uk/poultry/1010665.Preparing_for_spring__to_breed_or_not_to_breed_/

Here's is the Ashton website:
http://www.ashtonwaterfowl.net/waterfowlinks.htm

I really like this site for poultry health, there are a lot of great articles written by K.J.Theodore:
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/contents.htm

I made the mistake when I first started researching ducks of not organizing my links. I'll try to get them all organized after the holidays so if you're looking for something in particular I might have something. It's hard sometimes to wade through all the info on the net.

A suggestion. It would be nice as you put this together to add links to any sources that are not from your personal experience so that people who would like more info, could also use your site as a jump-off to additional resources. That's something that always bothers me when I'm searching on the net.

Good luck! I'm grateful that you're taking on this undertaking. When I get my website up and going, I won't have to do it... I just can link to you

 

[priss]

They look like good catagories.
Um...I have another question to add (let me know when I become a pain in the ass, I never take offense but I do quit pestering!)
I put newspaper on the bottom of my duck hut and then a nice heap of sawdust (have the best neighbour in the world who gets it free for me, lovely soft, soft sawdust) then I put lots and lots of straw on top. But in the morning the ducks have trampled it all flat. And I was thinkin, the sawdust seems so much nicer and softer. Is the straw helping at all? They don't snuggle under it like my guinea pigs used to. I keep thinking it's a shame to cover up the nice soft sawdust. Buttt I don't wanna stop the straw if it's helping them stay warm.
xxxxxx