Hi Fellow Duck Lovers!

MummyToTwins

Chirping
8 Years
Dec 12, 2011
21
0
75
Marblehead MA
Hi Fellow Duck Lovers!

I’m 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 wasn’t working) I had a very Freudian urge to hatch something…anything! Strange but true…I’m 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.
I’m 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?
I’m thinking all females as I don’t 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 we’d 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?
We’re 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!
 
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I used to have campbells and regular pekins and they got together just fine, and no, all females is fine. They should start laying at about six months of age. As far as winter, as long as they can get out of the weather they do not need any heat. Good Luck and again,
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There's no reason khakis and pekins wouldn't get along if you have all females, the only caveat would be if you had a pekin male, 1.)they can be ornery and 2.)a large pekin boy can hurt a tiny khaki girl. One of my khakis is a one legged runty lass; the same size as a mallard, and I worry about her just having swedish drakes around.
I would suggest you take a look at welsh harlequins as well since you basically want farm pets for young children. They are gorgeous, great layers, and probably the calmest of all breeds and VERY smart.
I set out to get all females at first because I wanted eggs, and I ended up with a rescue penciled runner drake that is oh so sweet to those ladies. He seems to take good care of them so I think it may be a good idea to have one (maybe 2) drakes. I have 23 girls and he might want the help when breeding season makes them all crazy. I'm planning on trying to get a harly drake next year. They are so pretty!
If you have an amazonian duck bevy in breeding season it bears mentioning that they will make passes at one another in the absence of drakes.

Not hatching ducklings is as simple as taking away the eggs and using or destroying them before they have a chance to incubate
 
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there. I have Welsh Harlequins, they are a quiet duck and they are one of the breeds that will lay the most eggs for you too. You don't need to worry about them flying away because they can't fly anymore. They can't get over a 3' fence so if your fence is even higher you don't need to worry. You do need to protect them every which way you can though. Predators can find them and take them. Please note the breeds that make a lot of noise will also bring in the most predators so I stay with the quiet ones only. I haven't had any issues with predators at all.
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You can still get a male duck if you want to just don't let the females collect eggs and you won't have any babies, if you change your mind then you can let them collect their eggs and let them set on them and they will hatch the ducklings for you with no issues. Also the Welsh Harlequins is on the critical list for breeds so if you go with this breed then you are also helping them to be around for years to come instead of letting a breed go away.
 
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from another duck lover!
I only raise Calls, so I can't help with your particular questions, but it looks like some other duck folks have that covered!
 
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If you're interested in a drake just let me know and I'll get you in touch with someone who has tons of them here in Nevada. Her drakes are the best I've ever seen. Please note the drakes will always take care of their ladies but they will compete with each other to make sure they are the last one to mate with the female so the females are being serviced even more than if you have only 1 drake.
 
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I would be, but I only pause to wonder how much it would cost to ship a boy from Reno to Phoenix--- I'm pretty sure my hubby would not greenlight a road trip for one duck! lol
 

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