Let’s Talk Ducks

[ruthhope]

What do you love most about keeping ducks?

They're very cute and entertaining, they make great fertilizer "tea", and they are gentle to my plants while providing pest control.

If you’ve raised both ducks and chickens, which do you prefer—and why?

I am still a chicken person. Both have their pros and cons, but the biggest cons to ducks is they need a lot of water and they are very messy with that water.

Do you let your ducks free-range, or do you keep them in a pen with water access?

My ducks have a large pen with a pool. I do not free range because of predators and to preserve my land/pond for the wildlife.

What’s your favorite duck breed for eggs, meat, or just plain personality?

I've only raised Muscovy. I chose them over other ducks because they are quiet and are less dependent on water.

Any funny or memorable duck stories you’d like to share?

Muscovies are always funny. It's adorable to watch them use the treadle feeder then waddle to the water to wash it down. They can be crazy when they are broody and I am currently being attacked daily.

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I love female muscovy ducks -- I see feral muscovy around retention ponds all-round the town where I live [St Augustine in Florida]. My own flock is all drakes -- muscovy and pekins that have been rescued and rehabilitated. I have always been able to rehome rescued and rehabbed females, but very few of my drakes. [I can just recall 2 rehomed drakes at the moment. There may have been others over the years but memory fades.]

If I ever have the opportunity to buy land with a lake, I would go for it so that I could have female muscovy as well as males. I would round up all the females living in horrible dirty retention ponds in commercial areas and bring them home to my lake!! One of my friends has a daughter and son-in-law that own 10 acres, of which nearly 9 acres are a private lake--they own a narrow strip of land all the way round with about half an acre in a larger plot on one side where they built their house. I have been able to release rescued and rehabbed juvenile muscovy there. In Florida muscovy can only be released onto private land, and with the landowner's permission. That lake being surrounded by a narrow strip of their private land is a boon. But I don't think they are thinking of selling!!

 

[cavemanrich]

1.Let's see.. what i love most about keeping ducks is their appreciation toward me and that they just keep me laughing. They are full of personality. Fluffy muffins I call them....lol
I have raised all my ducks from incubation so they literally see me as their mom. I taught them to swim with swimming lessons in the bath tube, forging, and alerting me when they have a booboo or not feeling well. Being with all my ducks from the beginning allowed me to learn their communication language well and same with them with human language. Other than study their individual looks and facial expressions I also learned all their individual sounds. Sounds that tell me I love you, excitement, sadness, loneliness, sounds that they want to be loved on, all the things. Im alittle obsessed as you can see lol. For me though when each of my ducks give me a look saying thank you mom, or excited when mom comes home is all worth it for me. I LOVE DUCKS.

2. I currently raise both ducks and chickens and I cannot say I prefer one over the other. I think they both bring different things to the flock. Each have both their difficulties and challenges.

3.My ducks are kept in a very large pen. Roughly 1 acre with 3 pools. This is to keep them safe and secure. I live out in wooded country and unfortunately I learned a lesson with free ranging and I'm not doing that again. So in a pen with an electric fence, with motion sensor lights for night and a solar trail of lights for walking around at so the can see and not bump into anything. The lights also brings in bugs so its a night feast for them.

4. My favorite breed is Pekin, but I also like Rouen and Cayuga . All have great personality and thats what I raise. I also have some black and blue Swedish to. Hybrids of Swedish and Pekin as well. Lol did I mention I have 23 ducks...lol

5. I think all my ducks have a funny story but I think the most memorable one for me and it came out of tragic event was my house duck Lucky. She was a victim of a dog attack and suffered from injuries to where she can not utilize her legs well. She was not doing very well for a while mentally and physically and I was unsure how to handle her. My rooster Chunky who was a rescued chick at the time somehow pulled Lucky out of a mental darkness. Chunky is Luckys support bird/ rooster. I truly belive without him I would have lost her. With Chunkys help I was able to hold Lucky again and began physical therapy with her in the tub to help her leg function. I was also able to become Luckys support in her eyes. 100% trust, our bond is unbreakable at this point. Lucky is thriving today, she starting laying eggs after 2yrs of not. She is eating and drinking and overall healthy duck, her legs she can walk some not great but some, however when she is in a tub she can fully swim and dive now. Its her one place she can truly be her duck self. She loves swimming. This yr she has turned 3 and im so grateful she is still with me. Picture below is Lucky and Chunky celebrating her 3rd birthday and few of my other ducks.

I love female muscovy ducks -- I see feral muscovy around retention ponds all-round the town where I live [St Augustine in Florida]. My own flock is all drakes -- muscovy and pekins that have been rescued and rehabilitated. I have always been able to rehome rescued and rehabbed females, but very few of my drakes. [I can just recall 2 rehomed drakes at the moment. There may have been others over the years but memory fades.]

If I ever have the opportunity to buy land with a lake, I would go for it so that I could have female muscovy as well as males. I would round up all the females living in horrible dirty retention ponds in commercial areas and bring them home to my lake!! One of my friends has a daughter and son-in-law that own 10 acres, of which nearly 9 acres are a private lake--they own a narrow strip of land all the way round with about half an acre in a larger plot on one side where they built their house. I have been able to release rescued and rehabbed juvenile muscovy there. In Florida muscovy can only be released onto private land, and with the landowner's permission. That lake being surrounded by a narrow strip of their private land is a boon. But I don't think they are thinking of selling!!

Both of your stories are beautiful.

 

[Sinadrea]

Ducks often take a back seat to chickens when people think about backyard poultry, but they’ve got so many unique qualities that make them worth raising! For one, ducks are natural foragers and can be excellent at pest control—goodbye slugs and beetles! They’re also surprisingly hardy. And let’s not forget their eggs—bigger, richer, and often preferred by bakers.

Some folks say ducks are messier, harder to contain, or less affectionate than chickens, while others insist they’re easier to raise once you understand their quirks.

So here are a few questions to get the discussion rolling:

1. What do you love most about keeping ducks?
2. If you’ve raised both ducks and chickens, which do you prefer—and why?
3. Do you let your ducks free-range, or do you keep them in a pen with water access?
4. What’s your favorite duck breed for eggs, meat, or just plain personality?
5. Any funny or memorable duck stories you’d like to share?

Let’s hear your experiences, tips, and maybe even some duck myths you’ve debunked along the way. Who knows—you might just inspire someone to add a few quackers to their flock!

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I like this new thread as I took home a rescue duck 2 weeks ago. It is a 5 week old black crested duck.
I just felt in my heart that I wanted to try to take care of a new species, or maybe just this animal in particular.

1. As I am brand new to raising ducks, I can't say what I love most yet, but I love how it follows me around when I'm outside and how I get cuddles from it when I pick it up. I'm not sure how long this stage will last, but the duck has imprinted on me.

2. So far, I prefer raising chickens because I am learning the duck ropes. The duck is getting used to being around 18 chickens and after our cold winter, I will hopefully get it a friend.

3. The duck is free ranging for now until we build a bigger run for all of the animals. We have a fenced in yard. I'm sure it will be able to fly in a few weeks though.

4. I am unaware of all the types of ducks but I saw a brown/grey type that has a iridescent blue/green shimmer stripe on their wings and will have to figure out what breed they are.

5. My duck is funny looking!
It's like others have posted, since it's a single duck, it comes to my back door and and continuously quacks to see if someone will come outside. I feel a bad for it when we're at work.

Last night, it didn't go to the coop, it hid in the tall weeds until I got home and sounded like a wimpering little puppy dog. I'm still training it to go to the coop on it's own.

 

[ruthhope]

I like this new thread as I took home a rescue duck 2 weeks ago. It is a 5 week old black crested duck.
I just felt in my heart that I wanted to try to take care of a new species, or maybe just this animal in particular.

1. As I am brand new to raising ducks, I can't say what I love most yet, but I love how it follows me around when I'm outside and how I get cuddles from it when I pick it up. I'm not sure how long this stage will last, but the duck has imprinted on me.

2. So far, I prefer raising chickens because I am learning the duck ropes. The duck is getting used to being around 18 chickens and after our cold winter, I will hopefully get it a friend.

3. The duck is free ranging for now until we build a bigger run for all of the animals. We have a fenced in yard. I'm sure it will be able to fly in a few weeks though.

4. I am unaware of all the types of ducks but I saw a brown/grey type that has a iridescent blue/green shimmer stripe on their wings and will have to figure out what breed they are.

5. My duck is funny looking!
It's like others have posted, since it's a single duck, it comes to my back door and and continuously quacks to see if someone will come outside. I feel a bad for it when we're at work.

Last night, it didn't go to the coop, it hid in the tall weeds until I got home and sounded like a wimpering little puppy dog. I'm still training it to go to the coop on it's own.View attachment 4225914View attachment 4225915View attachment 4225916

Thank you for compassion and caring. Your sweet duckling needs ducky companionship. Ducks are flock animals. Might you get another 2 ducks?

 

[Sinadrea]

I will but was waiting to see how my duck rearing goes 1st, I didn't want to raise more from chicks so I'm checking online to see if anyone is giving adults away.