House Duck Tips Please!

[quailheart]

I am getting 2 (hopefully) female Fawn & White Runner Ducks this summer. They will come to me as day old ducklings and I can't wait! I am going to be raising them indoors but they will have plenty of access to the yard as well. Here are some questions that I have come up with that I would love to hear from people with experience:

- Are two females going to get along or should I get one of each gender?
- Will the ducklings imprint off of me even if they come to me a day or two after they hatch?
- Do runner ducks make a lot of noise and are they aggressive?
- Do runner ducks make good house ducks?

That's all the questions I have now but I might come up with a few more in the future. Also any advice on raising house ducks would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Tonyroo]

Ducks don't make good house pets there really messy with there poop.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Oh my, that is not going to be very sanitary.

You actually probably should look at your city laws. It may be your house but the city will still make sure its residents are being clean and sanitary. You'll need to take tips from Dexter on how to plastic up a room.

 

[littlechickenmama17]

Two females can get along well( even better when they start laying, eggs for you!) but if you want babies, girl and boy. There has sometimes been problems with boy ducks breeding in the water and drowning girls, but maybe they won't. You just gotta take a chance. Also, they may or may not imprint on you if you get them from mail because they may have imprinted on someone/something, but luck may be on your side. Sometimes they will if you are the first thing it sees.

 

[littlechickenmama17]

I agree with @Tonyroo, they are VERY messy with their poop and even messier with food and water. They have to drink water after eating a few scoops because they don't have sharp beaks or teeth, so they get food in their water and make it dirty. They actually have an instinct to put their beaks in water/mud to find food, just like their ancestors did.

 

[Sheepheart]

Best get females. With one of each you risk the female getting hurt durin mating season by getting over mated

as long as you spend plenty of time with them they should imprint to you just fine

I’m not sure
About the noise part but they are popular garden ducks so I think they are pretty friendly

I don’t know much on keeping ducks inside as I’m not huge on the idea since most seem happier outdoors, but if you ever have to rehome them make sure the new owners, if they arnt keeping them as house ducks, are prepared to having them try to get in the house.

I was given two house ducks because a lady decided they weren’t happy in the house. They had a temporary pen while I was introducing them to being outside all the time. And they somehow broke out, and got into the back yard, and we didn’t know they were there until the dogs found them. Luckily our dogs are well trained and the ducks only lost the feathers that they threw.
But it was still a very scary experience for everyone but the dogs, and I really wished I knew that even ducks that arnt happy inside will be like “that’s a house and we need to be in that house”

 

[quailheart]

That made me laugh! And yes, it isn't going to be very sanitary. But again they will really only be in the four seasons room or outside. And I haven't exactly checked my city laws but I know plenty of people who have ducks or chickens INSIDE their house like ALL THE TIME. Not just part time like me and they have gotten away with it just fine. And who is this Dexter you speak of? It would be great for him to share some tips.

 

[KaleIAm]

My ducks bring me a ton of joy, and I hope yours do as well. We have plenty of members with house ducks, full or part-time.

I have an all female flock, and they usually get along well. I don't keep drakes because of overmating issues.

Female ducks can be pretty loud. They make that characteristic quack, while the males tend to mutter and be more quiet. All of my female ducks quack loudly. One in particular shout quacks most of the day, it seems. My neighbors can hear her from nearly a mile away. The only female duck breed who is guaranteed to not be loud is the muscovy.

If you spend a lot of time with your babies after getting them they may imprint on you. Other members have had this experience. I did not. My ducklings imprinted on each other. They still love me, come when I call them, and like to be near me. They just don't enjoy being touched.

My advice for house ducks is to make sure you have a non slippery soft surface under their feet. Linoleum or hardwood is unsuitable for them. It might make sense at first because it is easy for us to wipe up the poop, but my veterinarian told me they need traction and cushion to avoid foot and leg issues. When I keep my ducks inside I have them on 3-4 layers of fluffy towels and do a lot of laundry.

I also recommended you keep them on a natural daylight schedule. It is easy to overlook that when they are inside and you might stay up until midnight. But birds are triggered to lay eggs according to how long their daylight schedule is. So if you keep them up until midnight with noise from the TV or lights, and then light from the sun comes in at 7am or earlier all year around their bodies will think it is summer all year and might never take a break from laying eggs. This can lead to reproductive disease and earlier deaths.

Don't forget to post photos of your babies after you get them!

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Thanks! This was great help. And I'm glad you told me that because my 4 seasons room has a tile floor. I guess I will be making some changes in my plan! And I don't think they should have trouble with the natural daylight schedule, I don't stay up that late anyway. And if I do I'm usually watching TV in bed. I also really hope they imprint on me so that they are much easier to be handled as adults (Touching-wise)

Also, what breed of duck do you recommend for a part time house duck? Muscovies and Mallards are out of the picture because I don't want any flying ducks. My original plan was Fawn & White Runners, but the company I am ordering from can't get two females in until late July. Which is fine, but something earlier would be better. I am ordering off of My Pet Chicken which only has so many different duck breeds.

I'm very partial to Pekins myself, but I'm a bit bias as I've been raising them for many years. They have such sweet personalities and are so loving. They do have their issues (leg problems, and can become overweight), so you have to watch for that.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

I know others have mentioned this, but the poop is probably going to be your biggest challenge besides water. Ducks projectile poop (meaning they squirt it about 3-4 feet). A diaper may not stop this as duck poop is usually loose or watery. It's also pretty difficult to get out of carpet or pretty much any surface. It can also stink pretty bad (sometimes worse then chicken poop).

The other issue here is ducks absolutely /love/ water. They will splash, jump in, tip over, and pretty much go crazy in their water dish. When I was raising my 2 ducks Raspberry & Blackberry, I had to change their brooder bedding out every single day. They would jump into their dish, and spray it on the walls.

They will also make a paste out of their food, because they have to eat with water. So you'll be battling a lot of smeared and splattered on food in a lot of places.

It would be best to have a designated area for them on tile, or something like a mud room. Ideally they would do best outside.