Getting ducks???

[bkreugar]

Me and my mom are interested in getting a few ducklings for their "eggs" and i want to see how scared my Arabian horses are of them, and my brother. LOL And yes, i said Arabian bomb prof mares. Anyway, we already have a pool and could make a pen for them. Can you tell a male from a female??????? How long until they stink if we keep them in the house? We already have a flock of chickens, can we put them together? Are ducks friendly?? Will they scare my dumb idiot dog?????? And how long until they start to lay eggs?? We are planing on getting 2 or 3.

Thanks

 

[Cerelia]

BK, have had a rescued duck for a week now. She is great...but I will tell you, she is a lot of work. She has arthritis in her hip, so that is adding to her care, but I wouldn't go into the duck endeavor lightly.

In the last week or so I have learned more about ducks than I ever thought I would. I love this duck, but they definitely are eating, peeing and pooping machines.

 

[miniwhipkey]

I have got ducks and horses. My dogs go nuts over the duck, so I have to be very careful to keep them apart. However my donkey stayed in the same pin as my ducks for awhile and I have no problem. My goat is scard to death of the ducks. I love them. They are a joy in my life, but they do take alot of cleaning ponds.

 

[Amiga]

Can you tell a male from a female?

Most domestic breeds are difficult to tell apart until they are old enough to quack. Ducks (females) quack, drakes kind of whisper-honk. Experts can often tell by vent-sexing, but it has to be done very carefully not to injure the duckling. I bought eleven runner females. There is a 10% chance of a drake or two in the mix. But that is an okay ratio - no fewer than 3 females per drake, or the drakes will possibly hurt the females being too "romantic."

How long until they stink if we keep them in the house? Mine have been in the house five weeks and you can only detect stink (more like a mild aroma) if you are the chambermaid (that is me) and have to get down on hands and knees to clean up. So, five weeks, and no stink in the house. I clean the brooder three to five times a day. But I have no other options, and I love these little birds. The tallest are already 20 inches, by the way.

We already have a flock of chickens, can we put them together? Some people are quite successful putting them together. It depends on your setup. You probably would need to, at least, put the chickens' waterers up where the ducks cannot reach them, because ducks instantly muddy up water, and go through it very quickly - drinking some, splashing some.

Are ducks friendly? If handled gently and well and regularly, very friendly.

Will they scare my dumb idiot dog? The "i" word is very strong language, but we won't really know until they meet each other. I kept my cats away from the ducklings entirely until the ducklings' eyes were taller than the cats' eyes. I supervise the cats when they watch the birds from a distance, now, and the cats do not seem inclined to mess with eleven very tall critters.

And how long until they start to lay eggs? That depends on the breed, their housing and feed, the weather . . . they can start laying around 4 or 5 months from what I have been told, but I have heard of them taking longer.

 

[veronicasmom]

I don't let my ducks in my horse's turnouts. I love my ducks dearly and while both my horses are about as bomb proof (hate that term) as a horse can be, it only takes a second for them to kick or stomp a duck and that's it. It happened to a friends pet chicken not too long ago. It was an accident on the horses part, but the chicken got killed and my friend was heartbroken. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, same with dogs. But to me ducks are not disposable and I try very hard not to put mine in harm's way.
JMO