ducks pleas reply

[Kylo_Hen!]

• hi i have been wanting some ducks for a long time and i have some questions
• 1 what breed of ducks are heat hardy?
  
• 2 can ducks be happy in a flock of jest girls?
  
• 3 what breed of duck lays a lot?
• 4 do ducks need water to swim in?
• 5 do i have to get special food for them or can i feed them chicken feed?
• 6 can call duck live in very very very hot whether? like 105

 

[sylviethecochin]

1 what breed of ducks are heat hardy?
No idea, sorry.

2 can ducks be happy in a flock of jest girls?
Yep. So long as you don't get a broody breed, that is (They need a male duck for fertile eggs and babies, after all.) Male ducks are rapists [EDT: Okay, "are" is stretching it. Many drakes are rapists. I've had a few good drakes.]. Sometimes, they'll band together and be gang rapists, especially if they're low on the pecking order, so I don't like to have more than one or two adult drakes at a time. If you do get any drakes, try to keep to a ratio of 1:3 or fewer.

3 what breed of duck lays a lot?
Khaki Campbells and Runners and Golden 300 layer hybrids supposedly all lay a pretty good amount of eggs. If you get a good line of muscovies, they lay a lot of eggs--but they tend to be constantly broody, so that negates this somewhat. I only have Pekins, Swedish, and Muscovies, so I couldn't give a personal account of the first three.

4 do ducks need water to swim in?
No. They only need to be able to cover their heads in water so that they can clean their eyes and nostrils.

5 do i have to get special food for them or can i feed them chicken feed?
You can feed chicken feed, but you have to make sure it has the right nutritional requirements for ducks. You should keep an especial eye on niacin (b3) content. It should be at least 55 ppm. This is a handy resource from the largest duck hatchery in the country.

6 can call duck live in very very very hot whether? like 105
Never had calls.

 

[Callduckmaster_12]

You can keep a group of all females they will try to dominate each other however I would recommend at least 1 male per a ratio of two females. Ducks need enough water to completely submerge their bill. They need this in order to help clear their nostrils and alow them to respirate. Hope this helps

 

[Fisherlmiranda]

I believe khaki Campbell ducks and golden layers I think lay the most eggs. But I prefer the welsh harlequin ducks. I think they a pretty. But theres lots of things to consider like temperment and character, there ability to forage. My welsh dint eat alot of feed because they are extremely good at foraging while free ranging.

 

[CrystaBub]

Please at least give them a baby pool to swim and bathe in. I recently got a 4 month old duck that didn’t have access to water for swimming. Her feathers were a disaster. Ducks should be able to swim.

 

[needlessjunk]

Austin area here. I had just females for a while and now have a few drakes. Drake’s complicate things so if I had a choice I would go for 3-4 hens. I feel like you should always have at least 3 because things happen and you don’t want a lone bird.

You don’t “need” a pond for swimming but they really do need to be able to get into some type of water every few days. That being said must have water deep enough to blow out their nares all the time (I don’t have water or food out overnight).

My Cayuga has been my best layer followed by my runners. My white layer who is suppose to be an awesome layer sucks and my Welshie did well.

When it comes to heat I make sure they have fresh water, cool treats and shade. I’ll let the hose run and make mud for all my birds and make electrolyte drinks when it gets really bad. This year was awful and I know several people around me lost birds to the heat. I think most ended up with fans in their coops.

 

[Kylo_Hen!]

You can keep a group of all females they will try to dominate each other however I would recommend at least 1 male per a ratio of two females. Ducks need enough water to completely submerge their bill. They need this in order to help clear their nostrils and alow them to respirate. Hope this helps

thanks

 

[Fisherlmiranda]

I'd say most ducks would be ok in Texas as long as they had a pool and some shade. There body temp is regularly 107° is what I hear. So I'd say they would be ok. They pant with their mouth open if they are to hot. Just like a dog.

 

[Kessel23]

For mallard derived ducks I would suggest keeping them seperate from the chickens if you get drakes and hens. Drakes can be very violent with chickens. I have not had problems with Muscovy drakes and chickens. Call duck drakes might also be able to get along with chickens, I have never had them but I don't think such a small bird could do much damage to a large chicken. Ducks can also be very messy and make a lot of mud in the run, this can get the hens dirty if the rooster decides to mount them in the mud, it is also not healthy for a chicken's feet to be walking through the mud all the time. To reduce the amount of mud in my run I do not give the ducks any swimming water inside the run, I also have their water on a board and wire wrapped around it to keep them out. The wire is 2x4 but I cut it to be 4x4 so they could easily fit their heads through. This has reduced the amount of mud in my run but it still gets muddy and the ducks still make their water dirty.

I have a rock in there to stop them from scooting it around. I still need to change the water at least twice a day, the ducks are experts at making mud and they use the water bowl as their cooking pot.

 

[SkyeT]

• 1 what breed of ducks are heat hardy?

I am in San Antonio. I have Pekin, Muscovy, Runner, Rouen. They are do fine in my back yard. They have one large bush to sit under, plus trees. They pant like a dog, but they all come running when I go outside, whether it is 105 or 95.

• 4 do ducks need water to swim in?

They don't have to have water to swim, but they need several containers that are deep enough to dunk their heads in. I have two baby pools for baths and floating, and three water containers in my yard for drinking. But, just know, no matter what you give them for drinking water, they WILL try and sit in it. I've tried all shapes and sizes of containers, and it doesn't matter...

• do i have to get special food for them or can i feed them chicken feed?

I went to a feed store here in town and was given a starter crumble. I supplement their diet with cut up grapes, tomatoes, romaine lettuce and watermelon. I hand feed those and they go crazy for their treats.