I'm new to raising ducks and have enjoyed your forum very much. It's a great "go to" place for information.
Over a year ago I was given 4 fawn and white Indian Runner ducks. One male and 3 girls. They've been laying eggs since the last of January but production has really slowed down quite a bit now. I've only been getting 2 eggs and sometimes just 1 or none. I've had a couple of eggs that had no shell! I went right to Tractor Supply and bought some oystershells so I guess that's all I can do about that. I contacted Metzer Farms and they told me that was very common. Who knew!
This spring I incubated 11 eggs. 8 made it and after giving away 4 of them I have 3 babies who are now almost 13 weeks old. I had a tragedy with a snake and one of the babies. It was horrible! So now I have my little ducks, Daze, Graycie (boys) and Spot (girl). I named them before I knew the sex and I got it 100% backwards so I've improvised a bit on the names. They've all imprinted on me, follow me everywhere and I just love them. I cried for weeks when little Ranger got killed. I wish I could "unsee" what I saw!
I've got to separate pens next to each other for the ducks as well as 2 separate runs and pool with a door between the fences so they can intergrate during the day. That is not working out all that well but each morning I leave the fence open between the runs and try to get them to get along. It's ok for a while but then when I see a lot of running and hear a lot of quacking I separate them again. The older male is pretty aggressive but since the babies are now almost as big as the older ones I'm not too worried that harm will come to any. I just don't like to see them being mean to each other. The babies aren't all that innocent either. I've caught my little white boy being pretty aggressive too.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Over a year ago I was given 4 fawn and white Indian Runner ducks. One male and 3 girls. They've been laying eggs since the last of January but production has really slowed down quite a bit now. I've only been getting 2 eggs and sometimes just 1 or none. I've had a couple of eggs that had no shell! I went right to Tractor Supply and bought some oystershells so I guess that's all I can do about that. I contacted Metzer Farms and they told me that was very common. Who knew!
This spring I incubated 11 eggs. 8 made it and after giving away 4 of them I have 3 babies who are now almost 13 weeks old. I had a tragedy with a snake and one of the babies. It was horrible! So now I have my little ducks, Daze, Graycie (boys) and Spot (girl). I named them before I knew the sex and I got it 100% backwards so I've improvised a bit on the names. They've all imprinted on me, follow me everywhere and I just love them. I cried for weeks when little Ranger got killed. I wish I could "unsee" what I saw!
I've got to separate pens next to each other for the ducks as well as 2 separate runs and pool with a door between the fences so they can intergrate during the day. That is not working out all that well but each morning I leave the fence open between the runs and try to get them to get along. It's ok for a while but then when I see a lot of running and hear a lot of quacking I separate them again. The older male is pretty aggressive but since the babies are now almost as big as the older ones I'm not too worried that harm will come to any. I just don't like to see them being mean to each other. The babies aren't all that innocent either. I've caught my little white boy being pretty aggressive too.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
