Just got a new duck! :D *GOT ANOTHER ONE! PAGE THREE FOR PICTURES!*

[aoxa]

I have a single duck with my 18 chickens. Will she be okay with out one of her own kind?

She was kind of a second thought while picking up four pullets from a favourite breeder. My fiance gave me those puppy dog eyes. She wanted this duck.. I don't know a thing about them.. She doesn't want to swim in the big tub of water I put out for her.. Is this weird? I thought all ducks loved to swim

She dunks her head in it and makes a mess, but doesn't get in. It's big enough for her to do so.

What treats would you recommend? Can she eat whatever the chickens eat? Anything I should keep her away from? Oh and is the ramp for the chickens okay for her to get into the coop with? So many questions!!

She is a mixed breed. A runner mixed with something. I will post pictures later today if anyone is interested. She is young and hasn't laid any eggs yet. How old are ducks when they start to lay? Give me any/all pointers you can think of to keep my little Ruth happy!

 

[featherfinder]

She will be OK with the chickens but will always be happier with another duck like them. If it turns out to be a drake it can actually harm your chickens when mating season comes along. As long as you have water for it to dunk its head in it will be fine. Just have to let it get use to the new place.



And https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=242460



Let us know of any other questions!

And looking foward to pics

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

sorry, but your gonna need to get her a new ducky buddy

I feed my ducks chicken scratch and they are fine with it.

I feed my duckies peas

they like them, but would rather have carrots. Lol.

Do you have any odea how old she is?

Yes, yes! Pics

You should definetly get her another female duck, or a mate. (a male)

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Chicken scratch is not a good feed for ducks, it has very little nutritional value to it. You can feed a kid candy all day and she/he will be quite fine with it aswell, doesn't mean its good for them.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
Did I say that I fed her scratch? I have grower crumble for everyone

Scratch is just a treat. I just bought some frozen peas for her today.. Probably better than scratch anyway

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
Did I say that I fed her scratch? I have grower crumble for everyone

Scratch is just a treat. I just bought some frozen peas for her today.. Probably better than scratch anyway

Sorry, I was referring to DUCKGIRL's post.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
She is definitely a girl they said. She doesn't have that curly tail feather thing..

They gave her to me for free. Said I could take her back if she wasn't a she. I will post pictures and see what you all think of the sex of her.

I just bought some frozen peas today for her!

Hope she loves them! She enjoyed the cut up zucchini I served to them all this morning. She especially liked it when I let it float in her bucket of water.

I am going to get her a friend soon! Maybe tomorrow. I want to get one she was in the same area with so she has someone familiar. I will post pictures in a couple of hours when I get home from work. Yes.. I'm 'working'.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
Did I say that I fed her scratch? I have grower crumble for everyone

Scratch is just a treat. I just bought some frozen peas for her today.. Probably better than scratch anyway

Sorry, I was referring to DUCKGIRL's post.

Oh, okay

But scratch wouldn't 'hurt' her anymore than it would hurt the chickens right? Scratch isn't toxic for ducks, is it? :S

I make my own scratch. I find my girls seem to prefer millet over any other seed, so there is a lot of that in there. Millet, oats, barley, cracked corn, BOSS and regular sunflower seeds. Nothing is salted. I got a lot of their favourites like millet in bulk. They seem to like the tininess of the seeds.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
Sorry, I was referring to DUCKGIRL's post.

Oh, okay

But scratch wouldn't 'hurt' her anymore than it would hurt the chickens right? Scratch isn't toxic for ducks, is it? :S

I make my own scratch. I find my girls seem to prefer millet over any other seed, so there is a lot of that in there. Millet, oats, barley, cracked corn, BOSS and regular sunflower seeds. Nothing is salted. I got a lot of their favourites like millet in bulk. They seem to like the tininess of the seeds.

No, its not toxic to them, or chickens for that matter. It just makes a poor feed.

Your duck will be fine on grower crumbles and scratch as a treat, just like you feed your chickens. When your chickens reach laying eggs, then you can feed them all layer feed.

 

[jdywntr]

Quote:
Oh, okay

But scratch wouldn't 'hurt' her anymore than it would hurt the chickens right? Scratch isn't toxic for ducks, is it? :S

I make my own scratch. I find my girls seem to prefer millet over any other seed, so there is a lot of that in there. Millet, oats, barley, cracked corn, BOSS and regular sunflower seeds. Nothing is salted. I got a lot of their favourites like millet in bulk. They seem to like the tininess of the seeds.

No, its not toxic to them, or chickens for that matter. It just makes a poor feed.

Your duck will be fine on grower crumbles and scratch as a treat, just like you feed your chickens. When your chickens reach laying eggs, then you can feed them all layer feed.

X2
I feed my chickens and ducks Flockraiser and they get veggies and scratch as treats. My ducks aren't that found of the scratch and don't really like sunflower seeds but pretty much everything else they will "taste".