Hi Fellow Duck Lovers! Im a newbie to the board and have some questions. But first, my back story. Six and a half years ago while my husband were doing IVF (which wasnt working) I had a very Freudian urge to hatch something anything! Strange but true Im afraid of chickens. Crazy huh? So I bought some duck eggs and a cheap incubator on eBay and out of the three eggs we got one duckling. In fact Pete hatched the day we found out we were pregnant with twins! And how we loved our pet duck Pete. But due to complications with the pregnancy I had to give him up as I could no longer care for him. It was very sad. However my twins, now aged almost five, and I are ready to be duck-keepers again in the spring. Im most interested in a breed that makes for a calm, quiet pet that will also give eggs. Would a mix of Jumbo Pekins and Khaki Campbells get along together? Im thinking all females as I dont want to hatch again. Is this okay or should I get a male too? Our garden is fully enclosed by a fence but we do have coyotes in the area so wed have to have a pen that closes. Is there a model coop that people can recommend? At what age to the ducks start laying? Do we need to clip wings or will the ducks stay were the food is? Were north of Boston MA so it can get very cold. Do people just use a heat lamp or bring the ducks in at night in the winter? Any other advice would be much appreciated. Cheers!
Glad you joined us. I'm not a duck person. If you don't get the answers you need on the new member intro thread, you can post them under the "Ducks" thread. (Go to Index, scroll down under "Other Backyard Poultry). Good Luck
Howdy from Austin, Texas. No help here either. Did you know that there is only one non-man made lake in all of Texas?
from Twentynine Palms in the California high desert! Sorry no help here either.... someone will come along... try posting in the ducks section!! Good Luck!! Warning: BYC can become seriously addicting!!
& from Alabama. Glad you joined us. You might want to check out the Ducks section for more info. But just to answer a few of your questions: Keeping Khaki Campbells and Jumbo Pekins together is perfectly fine. We have Khaki Campbells, 3 Jumbo Pekins, and Pekins, along with Indian Runners and Rouens, and they all run together. Jumbo Pekins do tend to put on weight very easily and can develop arthritis, so you might want to watch out for that. You don't have to keep a drake, but if you do make sure to not have too many males or too few females. When they start laying eggs, is really something that depends on each individual bird or breed. Some Pekins are seasonal layers & some aren't. Our youngest Jumbo, hatched this summer, hasn't started laying, yet, and our older one, named Grandma, stopped completely at the end of summer. But when she was laying, the eggs were the largest duck eggs I've seen. Our Khakis, hatched in June, also haven't started, yet. Pekins, in particular, are a heavier breed, so it's more difficult for them to fly, especially the Jumbos. I've never seen our Jumbos even come close to getting off the ground. None of our ducks' wings are clipped, and they stay around their enclosure and are always ready to go up for the night (of course, we always put a little food out then so that helps). No clue about really cold weather. As for duck houses and enclosures, there's are a couple of great threads in the duck section with pictures of duck houses, enclosures, pools, and ponds that might give you some ideas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=178796 https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=320654 Hope I helped you out and good luck with your future ducks
