Never had ducks and would like some???

[xxleandraxx]

Please could i have some input on what are the best to start me off??? i will be hatching them myself!!!!

Any advice would be great

 

[awesomefowl]

Great question! I was thinking of doing this myself. I would like maybe to get one goose egg to hatch along with the duckies. is this okay?

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
The ducklings will hatch a bit earlier than the gosling, unless you start the goose egg sooner. It's doable, it's just that they're different species, so they don't incubate exactly the same!

xxleandraxx - Are you asking for a breed recommendation? That all depends on what you're looking for in a duck - do you want an egg-layer, a meat-bird, a pet?

 

[La Mike]

Think of your accomodations for a duck and what you want a duck too be and we can help a little better
As far as having ducks
What bird loving person wouldnt have them

You will love watching and interacting with ducks more than most any other for sure

 

[Amiga]

Also, if you like or at least don't mind reading, Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks helped me out quite a bit. It is organized well, at least from my point of view, with sections on breeds, incubation, raising ducklings, managing the flock, injuries and illness, diet, etc.

It would be nice to read what you like about the idea of ducks and how you imagine having ducks would be.

I decided on ducks initially because I needed help with slugs in the garden.

 

[Wifezilla]

Me too. Ducks are awesome slug hunters

 

[katharinad]

Great bug and weed eaters. They are messy and require daily work. It seems that runners are a favorite, and they love to panik. Pekins are also a favorite, but they tend to be noisy. Beyond that they are all very messy. Love to dig in the mud and poo everywhere and anytime. I still love them.

 

[chicksbestfriend]

Ducks are awesome!! I have been raising ducks for quite some time now, and have had quite a few different breeds, by far, my favorite breed is the muscovy! They are very entertaining, very social which is often times looked after as aggression. They eat every bug imaginable, (my property is literally bug free!). If there aint no bugs around, they will seach them out, spiders and all! They love to fly around, but they dont fly away. I have a little pond for them; they only use it to bathe, they are not swimmers or floaters like other ducks. Best of all, THEY DONT QUACK, THEY HISS! The downside, the poop like crazy and everywhere. I have 16 of them! Their poop droppings make excellent fertilizer in my garden beds and I have the greenest lawn in our hood. Like with chickens, you only need 1 male for however many females you have, having two males around can get pretty ugly. I switch out my male ducks close to 2 yrs of age because for whatever reason, they become sexually aggressive and the females will get physically exhausted from the persistant abuse, they end up dying. The muscovy duck meat is one of the leanest of all duck meats, does not taste gamey in any sense, its just as compatible with eating a nice cut of veal or a fine steak. I get 4 hatchings a year per duck, with anywhere from 15-21 ducklings. It takes 36 days for them to hatch their eggs because their shells are really thick, where as other ducks is 28 days. They are the only breed of ducks that you can not sex at hatching. Good luck duck hunting, hope this info helps some.

 

[tomingreeneco]

They can be a real pain in the A-- sometimes, but they really crack me up! Messy and not too bright but a joy to have around. I have pekins and they can be noisy, but then I have no close neighbors. They get along with the other fowl just fine. Lock them up at night and you will love having a few around. Go for it!