Ducky DO'S & DON'TS

[chickens really]

What breed are these?

I would have to guess the absolutely adorable kind....Peep.....

 

[MagpieDucks]

What breed are these?

Black and white Magpie.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

I left a post regarding my question, but...... My wife and I rescued two male ducklings. They are five months old and have begun aggressive and painful mating behavior. My wife and I need to know if this is atypical behavior and......well, it hurts. Frankly, our place might not be the best place for these ducks anyway. We just need to know. Thanks.....

I really can't answer that inquiry, having zero experience with these creatures as of yet.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Looks plastic... I assume it can't be used in winter?

Geographically speaking. Your winter perhaps no. Our Florida winters yes. It does become brittle in the extream cold. I don't dare to try to carry in full while in freezing temps. I generally wrap a small blanket around the sides and secure with a bungie cord. And have a drop light hanging from the rafters to them just above the lids. One year when it dropped to 26*F the rims froze. That doesn't happen that often.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Personality profiles of my beeper brigade... as you can see it varies quite a bit within breeds.
#4863

Beautiful photographs and marvelous incite.. bravo.
thank you

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Conversation around the water cooler this morning eh? nice pic

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Something that ya have to consider is how much time do ya wish to spend or have to spend....imo, ducks are very easy to maintain, much easier than chickens to be honest about it. Ya can hear most discuss their ducks and also their tending to them, but ya must remember it is your choice as to how much water ya incorporate into their "World".....and as to how many that ya are dealing with....many only have a few ducks, and 2-5 can be very easily managed, make much less mess and require much less water. We have 12 at the moment and are looking to add 6 more come Spring, so those factors can only be decided by you. I have learned that structure is not important to ducks and their requirements for structure space is very small compared to chickens. My next pen will be 3'x16' and about 3' in height with a hinged roof....it will have hardware cloth on the front and about 6" on the back and the rest will be plywood, have the ground as the floor and 2 doors on each end of the frontside. I use hay as their bedding and deep litter method...so, when it comes time to clean, I will raise the roof, rake the hay to the doors and onto the scoop and to the compost pile, or to a wet area out in their yard. We have slick clay soil, so I use the bedding in the yard for foot traction during damp periods and after it decomposes some I rake it up and take it to the garden. As far as water goes they only have to have enough to wash their bill and eyes with while they bill the dirt, but it doesn't make sense to me for anyone to have waterfowl and not allow them to have water. If ya don't want to deal with water, then don't get waterfowl...but, some think they can make a duck an inside pet like a cat or dog....just because they wish, want, or desire to and they actually think it will all be hunkie-dory.....but, there are things in nature that just can"t be changed. Anyway, sorry bout the rant, but it just makes me scratch my head. I say all of that to get to the point that a few buckets of water and a cement mixing tub can suffice for a number of ducks and not be a ton of water. Also, how often ya change, empty out, and rinse, or wash those containers are your choice too. Our buckets are emptied, rinsed, and refilled every nite....their kiddie pool is every 3-4days....and their water tub inside their pen is done 2 times a day....morning and nite. They are washed every month during the summer and every other month during the cooler months. This will make some cringe I'm sure, but they aren't people and they bill in the dirt with bacteria and germs and the likes....chickens peck any and everything and just love scratching in cow pies....so, the maintainence is really up to you....I can't stand for there to be algae and slick slime on the plastic buckets and that is where I draw the line. The fewer the ducks the less ya have to do, but their maintainence is very easy and we don't do the pool when temps are below 30°F....for our comfort not theirs.....but they get their buckets and tubs done everyday, during icy times it is twice a day with buckets of hot water to melt the ice and their bedding hay is used ontop for traction on the frozen ground. A good pair of waterproof boots like Mucks are a must have if dealing with water....just sayin. To answer your other question, yes a broody hen can and will hatch duck eggs, we have had that happen too.....but, the next time we utilize that situation we will take the ducklings away from the hen after they hatch and brood them ourselves....why?....cause if they are raised by chickens they are imprinted to chickens and would rather be with the chickens than run with the other ducks. We are dealing with that now and it is a drake, so I'm concerned about him wanting to top a hen in the future....he had a chicken momma for 3wks before we took him....he was the only hatchling. Sorry for the long answer, but I do try to be thorough.....

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Or I could move south for the winter

Banty made a funny!

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Had a little bit of on the farm drama the couple days. I finally got a chance to view the thread with more than a glance.
Thank you everybody for your advice and contributions!
I have some questions to throw back at you folks when I get done with my chores.

 

[BantyChooks]

One year when it dropped to 26*F the rims froze.

I think this statement means the 'perhaps no' would best be phrased as 'no way, you're an idiot for even thinking it'.

It rarely gets up to 26* in winter. Teens, single digits, and lower are more common.