duck eggs in winter

[ajlynco]

I know nothing about raising ducks but I'm becoming interested. Do ducks slow down the laying process during the winter like chickens do? Also do you raise ducks the same way as chickens...coop, run, feed/waterer etc.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Out of 6 femqle ducks, only one is laying. So I would say most slow down...

Duck MUST MUST MUST! Have water to swim is to keep their feathers nice and clean...

I feed my ducks veggies in the morning, and some chicken scratch. But most people use "flock raiser"

The only duck that I know of that will roost is a muscovy. But other just lay on the grown...

And they must have a safe duck house so predetors dont pick them off one by one...

 

[duckyfromoz]

Some breeds of ducks only lay in the spring- but most of the more popular breeds do lay year round except for when molting or in the middle of winter when day light length is at its shortest.

Basically they need the same care as chickens- but obvious;y water provision needs is different. Ducks need water deep enough to get their whole heads into- which of course they are going to make a mess with- as well as water for swimming.

 

[ajlynco]

I'm leaning toward 'call' ducks.They're small, cute and look like peaceful little guys. Can they use the same coop/run as my chooks. I figured I'd have to put a wading pool or big tub in the run for em. So, the ducks and chickens can co-exist in relative harmony?? What breed of duck is the most prolific layer?

 

[hcppam]

Call ducks can be very noisy. My swedish blue is laying almost every day and its snowing as I type.

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[ajlynco]

hcppam-I hadn't heard that about call ducks...that won't do. I want as little noise as possible, I live in town. I'll be moving to a place w/more room next year but I'm just getting my flock started. I guess I'll keep looking....

 

[jaycee]

Hi ajlynco. Just from reading the forum and the responses you've gotten you can see some breeds do slow down in winter. I have Khaki Campbells, however, and they do not seem to slow down at all. They have just reached 22 weeks old and each few days another of the girls begins to lay. I have 8 girls and the past 3 days Ive gotten 5 eggs per day in the nestboxes when I let them out in their run in the morning. I live in Illinois where the days are already short and weve already had a few hard freezes and I do not provide any artificial light. So I think its safe to assume they will lay year round.

As for the differences with raising chickens. For me the biggest difference has been the muddy mess that the ducks make. I think pound for pound they may be messier than pigs. As Duckgirl said, you want to give them at least a kiddy pool or something to splash about in but whew will they make a mess with it and even with just their waterer. If possible and you can put their water on rocks or sand rather than dirt, you will save yourself alot of headache. Also they do not need roosts, but mine do use the 16" x 16" nestboxes i made with plywood and filled with straw.

Oh yeah and the eggs are way better than chicken eggs! Bigger, thicker, and richer! We fry them every morning and the yolks are always creamy never runny and even the whites have a lighter texture than chicken eggs. My wife was sceptical at first about eating duck eggs but now she already brags to everyone about how much better they are. Delish!

 

[ajlynco]

jaycee-are your nesting boxes on the coop floor? Do the khaki Campbells make a lot of noise? Do ducks require special duck feed or do they eat chicken feed? Do ducks require anything special? Thanks

 

[jaycee]

Hi ajlynco. Yes the boxes are on the floor. I just made them out of some used particle board I had laying around. Alot I have read that ducks won't use nesting boxes and will just lay anywhere. But so far my ducks always use the boxes. I can post pics of them if anyone wants. Yes they do make quite a bit of noise. They are pretty quacky... not all the time and usually not at night but at various times throughout the day. The barn is about 75 yards from my house and I can still hear them when they get riled up. I feed them "all flock" pellets with free choice oyster shell for egg laying. When they were younger I gave them chick grower and I believe they would do just fine on chicken feed although I have read here posted that they need niacin which isnt present in chicken feed. Someone else may know more about that. If you decide to get Campbells I would definately advise you to clip their wings before they start flying alot. I waited a bit too long to do so and lost one as a result, but its very easy to do, especially if you do it before they start flying. If you wait too long they can be hard to catch.