Duck Info for UK Garden

[Alpine Bobwhite]

Hi there!

First of all, I have zero experience in ducks (other than obsessively loving them), so anything you can advise me on would be super appreciated. We've been considering getting chickens for a while now, and have the space for poultry (an aviary + garden) but the chicken coop that was being built has kind of come to a standstill.

I read a few BYC articles on ducks and ducks vs chickens etc and that really set my imagination going...

Apparently they don't harm plants overly when foraging, how true and to what extent?
Some breeds (khaki campbell) can lay 300+ eggs per year how true?
They/certain breeds/species don't require much water, how true and to what extent?
How messy are they?
How much space do they need?
What kind of shelter do they need?
How hardy are they compared to chickens?
How quiet are they?
How needy?
What breeds are best?

Do they mess ponds up? We have a small pond in the garden with fish, would the duck droppings be bad for the life in the pond?

We often have wet weather here but it's never to bad. We used to have quail in the aviary and they were fine with it. We also don't have any dogs/cats. We have rabbits and cockatiels in the aviary.

I really want to know what's the right decisions and to be responsible.
Thanks in advance

 

[ruthhope]

Great questions. I am a duck keeper from the UK now keeping ducks in the USA.

Firstly, ducks can take any weather the UK can throw at them -- they survive in the transcontinental, extreme, wrather conditions of the northern US states and Canada.

Unlike chickens, ducks do not scratch the soil. They may eat some plants: salad crops and ornamental with long leaves like lilies and ginger ate preferred.

Ducks poop everywhere but unlike chickens poop it is not concentrated ("hot") and can go straight on the garden as fertilizer. Duck poop can be flushed if pathways and papers by hose.

Ducks are intrinsically nosy and will want to know what you are doing--following you around your garden, congregating by gates and looking in glass doors.

Some ducks are very loud -- call ducks -- others dont quack and are very quiet. Muscovy drakes make a huffing puffing sound when they are excited. Muscovy females are quieter still communicating with a soft bubbly or gurgling sound. If avoiding disturbing neighbours is your aim, muscovyvare your ducks.

Pekins -- white ducks -- are good layers. My son keeps pekins for eggs. Muscovy are good layers and good meat birds. I have muscovy although they are drakes ( no eggs) and not destined for the cooking pot. I commend both breeds to you -- lovely commical birds!

 

[kattabelly]

If avoiding disturbing neighbours is your aim, muscovy are your ducks.

Muscovies WILL dig though, in my experience, if there's something in the soil that they want. YMMV.

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

Great questions. I am a duck keeper from the UK now keeping ducks in the USA.

Firstly, ducks can take any weather the UK can throw at them -- they survive in the transcontinental, extreme, wrather conditions of the northern US states and Canada.

Unlike chickens, ducks do not scratch the soil. They may eat some plants: salad crops and ornamental with long leaves like lilies and ginger ate preferred.

Ducks poop everywhere but unlike chickens poop it is not concentrated ("hot") and can go straight on the garden as fertilizer. Duck poop can be flushed if pathways and papers by hose.

Ducks are intrinsically nosy and will want to know what you are doing--following you around your garden, congregating by gates and looking in glass doors.

Some ducks are very loud -- call ducks -- others dont quack and are very quiet. Muscovy drakes make a huffing puffing sound when they are excited. Muscovy females are quieter still communicating with a soft bubbly or gurgling sound. If avoiding disturbing neighbours is your aim, muscovyvare your ducks.

Pekins -- white ducks -- are good layers. My son keeps pekins for eggs. Muscovy are good layers and good meat birds. I have muscovy although they are drakes ( no eggs) and not destined for the cooking pot. I commend both breeds to you -- lovely commical birds!

Thank you so much for all of the great info! I love muscovies!
Random question, would they eat daffodils?

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

Muscovies WILL dig though, in my experience, if there's something in the soil that they want. YMMV.

I'll keep that in mind!

 

[ruthhope]

Thank you so much for all of the great info! I love muscovies!
Random question, would they eat daffodils?

Let me first say that my muscovy do not dig: they are likely to fat and lazy. They do love to burrow through piles of autumn leaves looking for grubs, and so I leave them piles of raked leave to entertain them.

I do not know about eating daffodils. My daffodils were in the front garden and the ducks in the back garden when I had daffs. Mine were adept at knowing which plants are poisonous and to be avoided, and which are not. Likely because the toxic plants are bitter. I can see ducks chewing daffodil flowers but I dont think they will go for the leaves. Im guessing though.

 

[kattabelly]

I had a group of Muscovies work their way across a field of tatties a few years back, digging down to all the shallowest tubers with their beaks and then hollowing them out.

Fat, lazy pet Muscovies might well be different though.

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

Let me first say that my muscovy do not dig: they are likely to fat and lazy. They do love to burrow through piles of autumn leaves looking for grubs, and so I leave them piles of raked leave to entertain them.

I do not know about eating daffodils. My daffodils were in the front garden and the ducks in the back garden when I had daffs. Mine were adept at knowing which plants are poisonous and to be avoided, and which are not. Likely because the toxic plants are bitter. I can see ducks chewing daffodil flowers but I dont think they will go for the leaves. Im guessing though.

Thanks again! I hadn't realised Daffodils were toxic. We have a slug problem in our garden and I was thinking ducks would be good at that as well.

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

I had a group of Muscovies work their way across a field of tatties a few years back, digging down to all the shallowest tubers with their beaks and then hollowing them out.

Fat, lazy pet Muscovies might well be different though.

We don't grow vegetables that often because the rabbits and slugs demolish everything!