Duck Q's

[BlueCamas]

I have chickens, but recently have been charmed by ducks. I don't want to impulsively just go out and buy the 1st little ducking that I see with out knowing a thing, and I figured the BYC folks could help answer my questions.

i'v heard that ducks are really messy, how so? Do they spill food and water everywhere, or do they just poop a lot?
How much water space do they need? If they are raised with chickens, will they still want to swim in a pond? I have a small pond in my backyard that has lots of water plants and frogs and I wouldn't want a duck totally ruining it by jumping in all the time.
What are some small, calm breeds that do well with kids? I have Bantam chickens and I would like a "bantam"ish duck. Can they eat the same feed as chickens? Do they need any special modifications for their coop?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TLWR]

Messy? Yes. Control the water and it isn't so bad.
Poop a lot? Um, YES. It seems like if they aren't pooping every 5 minutes, something must be wrong. They poop a lot.
I find that mine used to grab food, walk to the water, back to the food, repeat. Leaving a trail of crumbles behind and then adding water, so a messy mucky gooey trail of crumbles. I moved food and water further apart. Then changed to pellets. That problem is now solved, though they still do make a little mess with their food, but if their dish is empty, they clean it up on their own.
Water space? To drink - enough to dunk their head. To enjoy - something big enough to hop in and clean themselves up and splash around in (baby pool, cement mixing pan, anything that holds water really). I didn't like the look of the blue kiddie pools, so we ended up building a raised pond for them.
your pond? they will probably be in it and your pond will be toast. A short little fence keeps mine from places I don't want them to go.

with chickens - no personal experience, but yes, they can live together, just manage the water so the chickens don't want to boot them to the curb.

small kid breeds - my experience is runners. I raised 3 together and they were friendly. I have a welsh harlequin on order for next week (along with another runner) because I'd like a 'friendlier/calmer/etc' type duck to see how they compare.

 

[Amiga]

I have chickens, but recently have been charmed by ducks. I don't want to impulsively just go out and buy the 1st little ducking that I see with out knowing a thing, and I figured the BYC folks could help answer my questions.

i'v heard that ducks are really messy, how so? Do they spill food and water everywhere, or do they just poop a lot?
How much water space do they need? If they are raised with chickens, will they still want to swim in a pond? I have a small pond in my backyard that has lots of water plants and frogs and I wouldn't want a duck totally ruining it by jumping in all the time.
What are some small, calm breeds that do well with kids? I have Bantam chickens and I would like a "bantam"ish duck. Can they eat the same feed as chickens? Do they need any special modifications for their coop?

Thanks in advance!

Good for you, looking before you leap!

Since I only know ducks, they don't seem that messy to me once they are adults. As ducklings in a brooder, they are a handful, though!

Truly, I feel it has to do with understanding that ducks are wide-billed waterfowl, and working with that.

They love water! Love to drink it, swim and bathe in it, splash it, toss it, pad around in it, make mud holes with it . . . . .

So. Check out tweetysvoice and 70%cocoa's setups. Those are two, right off the top of my head, who have figured out how to manage brooders pretty well. There are others, and I apologize if I missed someone . . . please chime in!

Their bills don't hold crumbles or pellets that well (not designed for that), so they drop some food, and they need water to wash it down, so they carry what they can over to the waterer and sometimes spill it on the way, and some of the food comes off in the waterer, which becomes kind of murky. They go through a stage (lifelong) of occasionally flinging food stuck to their bills, just to get it off. Sometimes they will trot over and retrieve it and swallow it. Sometimes they get distracted and lose track of the flung food.

Sometimes they pick up a little pile of poop, and then, realizing what it is, fling it. They make a fair amount of pretty moist poop. Best fertilizer ever! Hasn't burned my plants yet.

My nine runners and two buffs use a soup pot with straight sides in the bottom half of a plastic dog crate. The crate has sawdust in it to absorb water. Works great. I just pull a few inches of damp straw away from the entrance when I clean up in the evening.



My ducks seem fine with a kiddie pool, and that is easy to dump, clean and refill frequently.

The runners are from about 3.5 pounds to 5 pounds, the buffs about 5 pounds. Nice, friendly, sweet ducks. I feel that breed matters much less than upbringing.

Once grown, they can eat chicken feed, but ducklings need 3 times the niacin chicks do. You can supplement with niacin dissolved in water (100 to 150 mg per gallon) or a sprinkling of brewer's yeast on their food.

 

[BlueCamas]

Thanks for your replies!

I keep my chickens on sand, it that ok for ducks? Do ducks roost?
This might be a silly question but I'll ask it anyway; if a ducking was raised up with chickens, would it eventually find it's way to my pond or would it ignore it? That's the main reason why I'm hesitant about ducks. I don't have a ton of room and I'd like to let them free-range when I'm outside, but I really don't want my pond thrashed.

 

[jessiduck]

I have chickens, but recently have been charmed by ducks. I don't want to impulsively just go out and buy the 1st little ducking that I see with out knowing a thing, and I figured the BYC folks could help answer my questions.

i'v heard that ducks are really messy, how so? Do they spill food and water everywhere, or do they just poop a lot?
How much water space do they need? If they are raised with chickens, will they still want to swim in a pond? I have a small pond in my backyard that has lots of water plants and frogs and I wouldn't want a duck totally ruining it by jumping in all the time.
What are some small, calm breeds that do well with kids? I have Bantam chickens and I would like a "bantam"ish duck. Can they eat the same feed as chickens? Do they need any special modifications for their coop?

Thanks in advance!

Okay, SO! First things first don't buy one duckling! They are very social creatures so buy another for company !!!
Yes, ducks are very messy and lately they've been taking my life.
I change their tub out twice a day because of water, food, and poop spillages!
They poop ALOT!!!!
Ducks surprisingly don't need big bodies of water! They just need something deep enough to clean their eyes and nose.
However, if you want you can purchase a kiddie pool and let them swim around! It's not recommended more than once a week though!
Keep them out of your pond if you want it nice LOL.
Calm breeds that do excellent with children are indian runners.
They are the quietest out of all the duck breeds and very, very loving.
If you go to your local feeder store they will have food for both ducks and chickens
I have one currently and everyone is happy!!!!
I wish you the best luck! Even though ducks are work THEY'RE SO WORTH IT!!!!!

 

[TLWR]

Quote: Who doesn't recommend it more than once a week? My ducks would be royally ticked off if I told them they were only allowed in the pond once a week. Even as ducklings, it is fine for them to swim daily, just need to watch them so they don't tire/get chilled/drown and get them drying once they are done.

Quote: Runners aren't considered a calm breed. It seems if you only raise a couple, they are calmer and friendlier. I have nothing to compare them to other than my pekins when I was 5 (that was 30 years ago), but the pekins were calm birds.
Quietest? Um, no. Once they get started, they are loud mouths. And they can be chatty and quacky when they want to be. Mine went through a loud period and then quieted down, but if something is on their mind, you know about it.
Muscovies are quiet.

 

[jessiduck]

Everyone has a different opinion as to what is right and wrong for their ducks.
From my experience runners have been the option.
Frankly, I don't see a problem with once a week if that's what they become conditioned to.

 

[wildpeas]

My 6 week old ducklings swim in their pool every day that they go outside. My 3 week old ducklings and 2 week old goslings haven't gone swimming yet. Age matters in this aspect. I have a mix of runners, rouens, khakis, and embdens. For my group the runners are by far the loudest and most talkative followed by the embdens. My rouens are the quietest but from what I have read if you want a truely quiet duck then get muscovies. Everyone's experiences will very, these are mine.

 

[jessiduck]

I agree with wildpeas!