Duck Info For Beginners

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Id say if you're thinking about it and already have chickens its not gonna be that much more work than the chickens already are, its definitely worth it just to see them out every day happy as can be!
 
ChickensForEggs2500 said:
Yes, I am considering getting sexed ducklings. If we get them, they will be pets with the added bonus of large duck eggs, and drakes cannot do that haha. I also read that if somehow some of the eggs hatch, the drakes might be aggressive towards them.
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I'm very happy with my female only flock. Most ducks don't imprint on their owners, mine didn't, even the ones I got as day old ducklings. They lived inside for several weeks and I spend tons of time with them, but they imprinted on each other. But mine are still friendly, follow me around, and eat from my hand. They don't like to be touched, though, and they behave like ducks not lap cats. It is good to have realistic expectations, I think.

I spend about 3-5+ hours a week scrubbing water buckets, pools, food bowls, hauling poopy straw, ect. I read some article before I got ducks that they were easy to take care of. Hahaha! Well, they never met my ducks. I also work rather slowly.

My ducks also go on supervised foraging walks most days, and for long hours on the weekend. So that means I stand outside in the rain a lot. My ducks are scared of umbrellas.

Since my ducks are pets when they get sick I take them to an avian veterinarian. That costs a lot. Unfortunately, my ducks were bred to be egg production machines and have had a lot of reproductive issues, including cancer. Since you are getting ducks for pets you might want to consider getting ducks that might be healthier. I don't actually know which ducks have the least health problems. In general most members here agree that pekins, while having terrific personalities, do not have optimal health. That has certainly been true with my own pekin.

For food and substrate, my vet told me to use Mazuri waterfowl, and straw for my adult ducks. But likely any commercial duck food will work. Many members have strong opinions about different substrates, and I'm sure there is no one best substrate.
 
KaleIAm said:
I'm very happy with my female only flock. Most ducks don't imprint on their owners, mine didn't, even the ones I got as day old ducklings. They lived inside for several weeks and I spend tons of time with them, but they imprinted on each other. But mine are still friendly, follow me around, and eat from my hand. They don't like to be touched, though, and they behave like ducks not lap cats. It is good to have realistic expectations, I think.

I spend about 3-5+ hours a week scrubbing water buckets, pools, food bowls, hauling poopy straw, ect. I read some article before I got ducks that they were easy to take care of. Hahaha! Well, they never met my ducks. I also work rather slowly.

My ducks also go on supervised foraging walks most days, and for long hours on the weekend. So that means I stand outside in the rain a lot. My ducks are scared of umbrellas.

Since my ducks are pets when they get sick I take them to an avian veterinarian. That costs a lot. Unfortunately, my ducks were bred to be egg production machines and have had a lot of reproductive issues, including cancer. Since you are getting ducks for pets you might want to consider getting ducks that might be healthier. I don't actually know which ducks have the least health problems. In general most members here agree that pekins, while having terrific personalities, do not have optimal health. That has certainly been true with my own pekin.

For food and substrate, my vet told me to use Mazuri waterfowl, and straw for my adult ducks. But likely any commercial duck food will work. Many members have strong opinions about different substrates, and I'm sure there is no one best substrate.
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They sound like wonderful birds! What do you mean by 'supervised foraging'? It sounds like fun and a good idea, just because I don't want hawks to get them. I will definitely research the reproductive issues and health of the. Thanks for informing me about that! Do you use chopped straw or baled? Thanks for the info on the food. It's always great to get advice from vets!
 
KaleIAm said:
I'm very happy with my female only flock. Most ducks don't imprint on their owners, mine didn't, even the ones I got as day old ducklings. They lived inside for several weeks and I spend tons of time with them, but they imprinted on each other. But mine are still friendly, follow me around, and eat from my hand. They don't like to be touched, though, and they behave like ducks not lap cats. It is good to have realistic expectations, I think.
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I found that they ended up a lot more friendly if you spend a lot of 1 on 1 time with them during the first few weeks of life. I would have their little brooder setup in the garage and take one duckling at a time into my bed for about an hour per duck per day and they all ended up quite friendly and only 1/5 ended up not enjoying the pets once he got older.
 
SolarDuck said:
I found that they ended up a lot more friendly if you spend a lot of 1 on 1 time with them during the first few weeks of life. I would have their little brooder setup in the garage and take one duckling at a time into my bed for about an hour per duck per day and they all ended up quite friendly and only 1/5 ended up not enjoying the pets once he got older.
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That's great! I also keep my brooder in the garage (for chicks though). I will definitely schedule one on one time with them if I end up getting them haha. That's a promising number!
 
ChickensForEggs2500 said:
They sound like wonderful birds! What do you mean by 'supervised foraging'? It sounds like fun and a good idea, just because I don't want hawks to get them. I will definitely research the reproductive issues and health of the. Thanks for informing me about that! Do you use chopped straw or baled? Thanks for the info on the food. It's always great to get advice from vets!
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Well, because I adore each one of my ducks I don't want to risk a predator attack. My ducks long to go foraging outside of their aviary/run even though it is 30x30. We are on 5 acres with plenty of coyotes and other wildlife who would love to eat my precious pets. So I take them for foraging walks. Basically they follow me and I follow them and we walk around the property while they eat bugs and greens. When I'm soggy/freezing/exhausted I quack at them and they follow me home in a line. I do love it, and also it can be a lot on days when I have other things to do as well.

I just use regular baled straw. I'd love chopped, but we can't get it locally.
 
KaleIAm said:
Well, because I adore each one of my ducks I don't want to risk a predator attack. My ducks long to go foraging outside of their aviary/run even though it is 30x30. We are on 5 acres with plenty of coyotes and other wildlife who would love to eat my precious pets. So I take them for foraging walks. Basically they follow me and I follow them and we walk around the property while they eat bugs and greens. When I'm soggy/freezing/exhausted I quack at them and they follow me home in a line. I do love it, and also it can be a lot on days when I have other things to do as well.

I just use regular baled straw. I'd love chopped, but we can't get it locally.
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That sounds wonderful! I have about 2 acres, but it is bordering a forest on two sides, so many wild predators could eat my babies. I love that you quack at them (I thought I was the only one ahaha) What breeds do you have? x2 on the straw. I can't get chopped straw anywhere except from Amazon and it's obviously more expensive and less local. Thank you!
 

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