I know nothing...What duck to lay eggs and doesn't need a pond?

[KcChick]

The little organic farm that I help with is now requesting organic duck eggs. We don't have a pond. I know a tiny bit about chickens, but nothing about ducks! Is there a breed that regularly lays eggs but is happy without a pond? We can of course, provide a wading pool thing. From reading it would be emptied daily to fertrlize the gardens. Again, I know nothing about ducks!

 

[animalpro24]

Runners are great ducks, come in many colors, most hatcheries and local feed stores carry them, and lay big nice eggs regularly.

All ducks love swimming though........ my runners isn't a big fan of swimming and doesn't do it very often(once a day maybe)

How deep would your pool be? It needs to be deep enough so they can splash themselves all over and can dip their whole head in.

Here is some duck basics:

Feeding: You can feed them UNmedicated flock raiser or game bird raiser. At night they do not need have to have food and water (if it's really hot out then give them water)
Make sure they always have food and water together, never just give them food.

night time: keep them locked up at night in a safe hut/coop that is predator safe.

Bedding: straw, shavings, or animal pellets.

Predators: Birds of prey(Eagles, hawks, etc.... Big birds) Coyotes, skunks, opossum, RACCOON!, dogs, Big cats, Etc.........

Ask as many questions as you like!

 

[BirdBrain]

Metzers has a mice looking hybrid layer called a Golden 300 or something like that. My ducks are Muscovy and Welsh Harlequins. The have a wading pool--the biggest kiddie pool I could find--and low buckets sitting all over the place. The closest thing to a water source they will ever see is a hose. They are fine and look great. Muscovy are not great layers as they go broody SO often. Give them additional Niacin in their water as they are growing to prevent rickets. Prepare to be amazed---that you didn't get any sooner. They are adorable and funny.

 

[Krissy7]

I have a Khaki Campbell duck who isnt the best egg layer but if are looking for ducklings I would get a Khaki Campbell or Pekin as they are very good parents and are very reliable.
You will have to have some source of swimming area. I dug a big whole in my ducks daytime area and just hosed it out when needed. You will not have to have a source of swimming water at night as they are locked up and are sleeping and sitting on there eggs (hopefully).

 

[FenDruadin]

You've gotten great suggestions so far. Most ducks are perfectly fine with just a kid's wading pool. For additional information comparing ducks and chickens, and basic care requirements (as well as ideas for turning a profit off of them), try this article:

http://www.grit.com/animals/livestock/raising-ducks.aspx

Good luck!

 

[AugeredIn]

I have both khaki Campbells and Buffs and they lay well and don't need a pond. Ours use a pond, but we have folks local to us that have both breeds that don't have a pond and they do just fine.

We recently aquired some year old buffs that had never been in water. Watching them the first couple of days with the water was a treat.

The Golden 300 duck mentioned above is another great duck that is also a very good producer. There is a flock local to us that is about one year old and mixed with Khakis. They seem to be great, friendly ducks. They do not have a pond. If I were going to buy ducks to lay from the beginning I would choose these.

 

[Amiga]

I have a flock of nine runners and in the summer we get six to nine eggs a day. In the winter I keep them in a shelter that is 45F, and we still get four to six eggs a day in the depths of winter.

My runners are light (about 4 pounds) and produce eggs that are about the size of a jumbo chicken egg. The shells are thicker than chicken eggs. A close look at the comparison of nutritional value between duck and chicken eggs will probably encourage you to get the ducks! The cholesterol is higher, but the amount of B12 per egg is much higher, as well as some minerals.

Mine bathe in a concrete mixing pan which I empty and refill daily (twice in the hot weather). The runoff goes to the grape arbor. The grapes are loving it!!!!!

I can put duck straw on the gardens and it is amazing what it's done for my garlic, my lilies, my blueberries, and raspberries.

My runners love to eat slugs, they also like japanese beetles and squash bugs. Mine don't like red lily leaf beetles.

They love peas, and lettuce if it's in water. Cabbage and kale, not so much.

They sleep in a very sturdy house with half inch hardware cloth over every opening. They are ground sleepers.

From time to time they get bumblefoot, but I check for it frequently and treat it early. So it's just a matter of slathering a duckie foot with triple antibiotic twice a day for several weeks, then it's gone.

 

[Denninmi]

Yes, no duck needs a "pond" -- any kind of container large enough for them to get in works. Its a lot easier, cleaner, and more sanitary to have a small container that you can dump, sanitize, and refill than it is to have a small pond that gets full of fecal matter in short order. A small pond would need a fairly elaborate mechanical and biological filter system to keep up with more than one or two ducks. A larger natural pond would be able to absorb the waste of a small flock and neutralize it through biological processes.

I'm becoming partial to the cement mixing trays as well -- cheap, easy to clean, and a good size.