Multiple questions from breeding to winter care

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

I have only two ducks, indiana runners. One male, one female. Got them end of March/early April. I’ve seen them breed or atleast try. 6 months old and still no eggs. Is there anything I need to be doing like certain feed or something?

I’ve never dewormed them or even know if they have worms, do I need to worry about that with eggs when I do eventually get some? They’re pets and don’t plan to have babies.

This will be my first winter with them and all I’ve read is you don’t have to really do anything special for them unless it gets below a certain temperature. But water is their livelihood so how do you keep their drinking water and swimming area from freezing?

Thank you!

 

[IvysAnimals]

A certain feed ( layer feed ) will only give extra calcium for their shells to be harder. Make sure you're your female isn't the only one, especially since she's young. Males ( drakes ) need 4-6 females. Only having 1 female will make them extremely stressed and possibly kill them. If they're being overbred, that's also another reason she's not laying. She's still you and depending on where you live, it's getting cooler out which will also prevent her from laying an egg a day. Most domestic ducks aren't good at hatching and caring for babies, it usually ends in the death of a baby duckling most of the time, especially in first-time moms. For winter, don't have her keep laying all year round because it's very stressful so give her a few month break. A male will usually still be mating with her but not as often. Make sure she has a secure area where she's safe from predators and feels safe to lay eggs, she might be hiding them, too. Always make sure their area is clean and suitable for them to thrive. The best thing to keep their water source from freezing is to get a horse water heater for bigger areas. If you have a kiddie pool, there's not much you can do besides dumping a few times a day. If you only have a kiddie pool, don't ass hot water before it goes outside or it'll freeze quicker. Make sure they had soft bedding to sleep in that's easily cleanable, like pine shavings, straw, or sand. Having small river pebbles on the ground is easy to clean since ducks poop roughly every 15 minutes every day of their lives. Always do more research and ask more questions from people with more experience! Good luck!!

 

[CoriM]

I second the poster above - you're going to need to add a few more females to your flock. Also, a lot of people don't realize how many medically challenging, and sometimes fatal, conditions that can occur with ducks. It's really best to have a minimum of three or four for that reason alone, because having a solo duck is not good and they can become quite despondent.

I think others on this forum will have more experience with deworming, so hopefully someone chimes in with some good advice - I've never done my entire flock, just a bird now and then when she was ill and I was searching for the cause. At their young age they're probably just fine.

As for eggs, I don't think it's that unusual. The first time I got ducklings I had Pekins and Welsh Harlequins and the Pekins laid that fall and the Welsh didn't lay until the following spring. You'll get there!

 

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

So if I need more females, do they need to be the same breed?

 

[Canadian Wind]

No, you can mix and match all you want, but stay with the mallard-derived ones (aka, no Muscovy, just to avoid confusion between them). So, you could get, for example, Khaki Campbells, Rouen, Welsh Harlequin, etc. I would also stay away from Call Ducks and other bantam breeds since they are so much smaller.

 

[CoriM]

I think it's fun to try different breeds! Even though I have them and love them, I would avoid Pekins, just because they are much larger, eat more, poop more, and are prone to more health problems with their legs, due to their being meat birds.