Duck Questions

Mother_Hen2011

Songster
8 Years
Aug 2, 2011
756
3
109
New Mexico
In April I acquired a mating pair of buff/Orpington ducks from TSC when they were ducklings
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(Cutest things)
Anyways I have a couple questions if someone could please help me.
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I really do appreciate it as I am a new duck owner
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First Question...
After seeing them mate over and over and over like 600 times already lol(alittle exaggerated
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How long before she starts to lay?

Second Question..
After She lays will she instictively sit on her eggs or do ducks go broody like hens do?

Third Question...
Should I make her her own coop or is it ok to leave her in with her mate and the chickens?
(By the way I have 3 EEger hens and 1 Andalusian Roo in with my ducks.)

Thanks in Advance
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Most of the time I have the ducks, turkeys and chickens together. I separated them only because we have a hawk problem and they are getting the chickens but seem to be leaving the ducks alone. Thus the ducks are free ranging during the day and the chickens/turkeys are in lock down. But again my flock is fairly happy most of the time together but you have to look at your set up and how you are going to deliver the food and the water. Ducks will make 10 gal of water a mess on the floor while the chickens could drink that 10 gal for 4 days (in my case) also if you have a regular poultry waterer they are too shallow and can make dents in the ducks beaks (I had two that I found with this problem). So for me I have gal buckets lined up in the back part of the barn and I feed them in the opposite corner.

I believe 6 months is when they start laying. I had a few of mine that went broody after I did not collect eggs for a week. WH and Rouen would be the breeds that went into mama mode. My Pekins never did go broody.
 
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Thanks
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My ducks have access to fresh water everday. They have a pond in the back yard(Not a large one but big enough for the two.) When the hens go in for the night the ducks follow. They have been raised together and only seperated once and the ducks liked it but they didnt love it. Do they have a special feed i should feed them? Right now they are getting a mix of what the chickens eat and Game bird feed made by purina. They like the chickens get treats of fresh veggies and fruits once every other day. They have been mating for about 2 weeks now.My drake just got his sex feather and my hen is letting him mount her. So should I expect eggs when when they hit 6 months.. Wish knew how often buffs went broody lol. I really would like some baby ducks. They have 2 5 gallon buckets of water a pond full of water(Not sure how much water they have in there lol) and access to a running hose all day long
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I'm not trying to be rude saying this, but when someone keeps posting for advice 5 mins after they have posted it and keep asking, most people will just skip over it.

I have 2 ducks, but I don't really have any advice as I don't even know what their sex is. I would guess they would at least lay at around 6 months at least.
With setting, it probably just depends on the bird, just like only some chickens go broody.
Don't know with the third answer either, my ducks won't even go into the pen out there for them and the chickens. Have to chase them and put them in it at night.
 
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I'm not trying to be rude saying this, but when someone keeps posting for advice 5 mins after they have posted it and keep asking, most people will just skip over it.

I have 2 ducks, but I don't really have any advice as I don't even know what their sex is. I would guess they would at least lay at around 6 months at least.
With setting, it probably just depends on the bird, just like only some chickens go broody.
Don't know with the third answer either, my ducks won't even go into the pen out there for them and the chickens. Have to chase them and put them in it at night.

Thanks for the advice and I didnt take it as being rude
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Just trying to learn about my ducks.. and chickens.. I like to know things before it gets dark here that way I can see what I need to do to fix whatever needs to be fixed lol.. Since I live in the country it gets especially dark out here and I dont have any lights in the back of my house except the porch light and the coop is quiet aways away from that and we have tons of trees so it blocks any light. I want to give them the best opertunity to lay and hatch their eggs and since i dont know when to expect them Id like to make the changes before the eggs get here. Lol Thank you for responding. I will delete my annoying posts and just wait for any other responders.
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