How much to feed & how often? and egg question?

[fastrnrik]

Hello. I am new on here and have a few questions and hope someone can help me....

I have a large pond and recently acquired some ducks & geese. I don't eat them or pick up their eggs or anything, I just enjoy watching them swim & interact.
I have:
6 large Pekins- 2 drakes & 4 hens
2 large geese- 1 is Chinese & one a big ol brown w/ white.
2 medium sized geese
4 swedish looking- 2 drakes & 2 hens.
1 rouen / mallard colored drake- he hangs out with the 4 swedish looking birds

My first question is what to feed them? I currently feed them a mix of crumbles & crack corn. Is this OK? They free range on & around the pond all day so they eat lots of other stuff too, not to mention the veggie treats I give them LOL.

Also, how much / often should they be fed? I currently feed them a large coffee can twice a day, morning & evening. They obviously eat every time like its their last meal haha. I want them to be healthy, but at the same time I don't want to over or under feed them.


My second question...
The Pekin girls lay eggs. I find them various places, just randomly on the ground. I don't eat them, so I just leave them be. How long before the girls actually start laying on the eggs? I found a place rounded out like a nest with an egg in it yesterday, so I was thinking that maybe they would start sitting on it? I really don't care but my little boy keeps asking me when there will be babies LOL so I am trying to educate myself. I read somewhere on here that ducks have the libido of a 16 year old boy, and man is that true. All they do is eat and chase those girls trying to breed them. What a life haha.

Thank you for any input.

 

[Kevin565]

Hello. I am new on here and have a few questions and hope someone can help me.... I have a large pond and recently acquired some ducks & geese. I don't eat them or pick up their eggs or anything, I just enjoy watching them swim & interact. I have: 6 large Pekins- 2 drakes & 4 hens 2 large geese- 1 is Chinese & one a big ol brown w/ white. 2 medium sized geese 4 swedish looking- 2 drakes & 2 hens. 1 rouen / mallard colored drake- he hangs out with the 4 swedish looking birds

They free range on & around the pond all day so they eat lots of other stuff too, not to mention the veggie treats I give them LOL.

Also, how much / often should they be fed? I free fed in large pans and always fill them as need be. Ducks can be very greedy when it comes to food and can easily become overweight. If they free range then your current schedule should be fine.

I currently feed them a large coffee can twice a day, morning & evening. They obviously eat every time like its their last meal haha. I want them to be healthy, but at the same time I don't want to over or under feed them. Sounds fine to me.

My second question... The Pekin girls lay eggs. I find them various places, just randomly on the ground. I don't eat them, so I just leave them be. How long before the girls actually start laying on the eggs? Pekins rarely go broody.

I found a place rounded out like a nest with an egg in it yesterday, so I was thinking that maybe they would start sitting on it? I really don't care but my little boy keeps asking me when there will be babies LOL so I am trying to educate myself.

I read somewhere on here that ducks have the libido of a 16 year old boy, and man is that true. All they do is eat and chase those girls trying to breed them. What a life haha.

Thank you for any input.

 

[Oregon Blues]

You might get some goslings hatched out in the spring, if you have a pair of geese. If you do get some goslings, tell you child to stay well back away from them because the parents are super protective.

 

[fastrnrik]

Ok, so I will get some of the flock raiser feed for them. Thank you for all the helpful info.

Regarding the eggs... I don't have an incubator or anything, so if the pekins won't generally sit on them, should I find another bird to sit on them if I want them to hatch? Am I to assume they are fertilized? Sorry for all the questions, I guess I just have no idea of the process. Seems from reading on here that muscovy will sit on anything? I've not really wanted any muscovy because I usually don't like how they look, but after reading up on them I think I have had a change of heart. Seems they have a lot of personality, which I like so I may buy a few. It also seems that few muscovy quickly turn into a group of muscovy? I know in my area the local city duck ponds are always trying to get rid of muscovy ducks. They were going to kill like 200 one time and what a fight ensued over that! A local horse farm ended up taking them. Anyways, thanks again for the help.

 

[fastrnrik]

Quote:
Some goslings would be great. The two smaller geese are supposedly a male & female. I bought a trio of two females & 1 male, but lost one of the females to an alligator, which has since been relocated. I then bought two more large geese from a local guy off craigslist, one I have identified as a Chinese and I think is a male, and the other is big ol brown one, not sure if male or female. The two large ones are pretty, but somewhat grouchy haha. Not mean or bitey, but honk & carry on & occasionally hiss if you get too close.