new and have some duck care questions..?

[BarredRockGirls]

Hey !
OK first off i am OBSESSED w this site lol loooove it . i am new to it by a lil over a week but i cant get off it lol

i had broilers a loooong time ago( 10+ yrs ago ) ... now I'm starting a layer flock w 15 Barred Rock pullets that are currently 8 days old. and OMG I AM IN LOOOOVE. hahah its awesome! they are so funny to watch . i cant wait till they are bigger .

heres the problem ... at least for my hubs LOL

now I'm wanting DUCKS too! the Rocks are like a Gateway animal haha

so I've been looking some things up and i think if i were to get some I'd get 2 Cayuga females. is that enough or do you have to have more ?

also i don't have a pond here AT MY HOUSE. but my father in law does ... its like 1/4 a mile away .. at the bottom of our drive way ... i want them to stay HERE at my house .. but id also like to let them free range like the chickens will - but there's no fence at all - just a coop for at night and such . will a kiddie pool be good enough? or will i lose them to the pond ? how far do they actually go from "home base" ?

if the kiddie pool is OK will the chickens drown in it ... ?

my chicks are already 8 days old and by the time i get ducklings it'll prolly be April.. is it hard to integrate ducks to chickens if they don't grow up together ?

also can ducks eat the same feed as chickens ? starter/ grower then layer or is it different for ducks?


I'm very new to all this any help is much appreciated ! thank you

 

[HouseMouseHens]

Hey !
OK first off i am OBSESSED w this site lol loooove it . i am new to it by a lil over a week but i cant get off it lol

i had broilers a loooong time ago( 10+ yrs ago ) ... now I'm starting a layer flock w 15 Barred Rock pullets that are currently 8 days old. and OMG I AM IN LOOOOVE. hahah its awesome! they are so funny to watch . i cant wait till they are bigger .

heres the problem ... at least for my hubs LOL

now I'm wanting DUCKS too! the Rocks are like a Gateway animal haha

so I've been looking some things up and i think if i were to get some I'd get 2 Cayuga females. is that enough or do you have to have more ?

also i don't have a pond here AT MY HOUSE. but my father in law does ... its like 1/4 a mile away .. at the bottom of our drive way ... i want them to stay HERE at my house .. but id also like to let them free range like the chickens will - but there's no fence at all - just a coop for at night and such . will a kiddie pool be good enough? or will i lose them to the pond ? how far do they actually go from "home base" ?

if the kiddie pool is OK will the chickens drown in it ... ?

my chicks are already 8 days old and by the time i get ducklings it'll prolly be April.. is it hard to integrate ducks to chickens if they don't grow up together ?

also can ducks eat the same feed as chickens ? starter/ grower then layer or is it different for ducks?


I'm very new to all this any help is much appreciated ! thank you

Haha! My husband calls our chickens the gateway drug too. I am getting ducks next month, and if I had the space (and you know, didn't live smack dab in the middle of Portland) I'd have goats too!! My neighbor actually has five goats that he keeps on his double lot down the street from me. He walks them all on leashes through the neighborhood like dogs.

I am new to ducks as well, and have only had chickens, but from what I've read, you feel the ducklings the same food as chicks as long as it is NON medicated. You also need to supplement their niacin because they need more than chicks. I don't know yet as far as raising ducks and chickens together, but since yours will probably only be a month or two old when you get the ducklings it would probably be fine, since ducklings grow SO fast. My chickens are all 8 months old, so we can put the ducks in with them until they are a few months old and can hold their own... I'll let you know how that goes in a few months, Haha!
I'd say two is probably enough. You just can't have on duck because it will be sad and lonely. We're getting three (and possibly a drake) of different breeds: Kahki Campbell, Ancona, and Welsh Harlequin.

I'm planning on getting a kiddie pool for them and keeping in the run with the chickens, I don't think the chickens will want anything to do with it.. But other people on here know SO much so take my advice with a grain of salt since I don't even have ducks yet.

 

[BarredRockGirls]

thanks! i have a GIANT flemish rabbit that is the size of a small dog - hes 25 lbs lol we got him last yr hes only 15 m old LMAO hes inside tho but he does go outside on a leash and harness hahaha its too funny . my hubs says hes drawing the line at goats or horses! our sons are going to have steers and hogs soon in 4-h but no way to goats and horses .


id love some ducks tho and any help is appriecated! let me know how it goes!

 

[BarredRockGirls]

bump.... for new day new eyes

 

[Kevin565]

Hey !
OK first off i am OBSESSED w this site lol loooove it . i am new to it by a lil over a week but i cant get off it lol

i had broilers a loooong time ago( 10+ yrs ago ) ... now I'm starting a layer flock w 15 Barred Rock pullets that are currently 8 days old. and OMG I AM IN LOOOOVE. hahah its awesome! they are so funny to watch . i cant wait till they are bigger .

heres the problem ... at least for my hubs LOL

now I'm wanting DUCKS too! the Rocks are like a Gateway animal haha

so I've been looking some things up and i think if i were to get some I'd get 2 Cayuga females. is that enough or do you have to have more ? That's enough but I always order at least 3 in case something happens to one of them. Then I don't have to wait to find a replacement duckling.

also i don't have a pond here AT MY HOUSE. but my father in law does ... its like 1/4 a mile away .. at the bottom of our drive way ... i want them to stay HERE at my house .. but id also like to let them free range like the chickens will - but there's no fence at all - just a coop for at night and such . will a kiddie pool be good enough? or will i lose them to the pond ? how far do they actually go from "home base" ? A kiddie pool will suffice but honestly if they discover the pond they will probably try to stick around there.

if the kiddie pool is OK will the chickens drown in it ... ? It has happened to some people in the past,

my chicks are already 8 days old and by the time i get ducklings it'll prolly be April.. is it hard to integrate ducks to chickens if they don't grow up together ? Depends on the individuals but many people have success free ranging the two.

also can ducks eat the same feed as chickens ? starter/ grower then layer or is it different for ducks? They need more Niacin than chicks. You will need to supplement that. They only need layer feed when they are actually laying. There is no need for the excess calcium in their body when they aren't laying.


I'm very new to all this any help is much appreciated ! thank you

 

[Amiga]

Welcome to the Duck Side!

I am a very protective duck mom, so free ranging might not be the way I would go. Ducks sometimes seem to be predator magnets, and I hate the thought of losing any to a violent death. So, I got that said.

Our ducks are wonderful, friendly, sweet, make delicious eggs, fabulous fertilizer, eat weeds and garden pests and just generally make life better around here.

Cayugas are beautiful. jdywntr has posted some helpful summaries on duckling and duck care, we have the stickies, too.

They don't have to have a pond - in fact, ponds can be a liability - ducks can refuse to come in at night, there are snapping turtles and other predators in and around ponds.

 

[Going Quackers]

They don't need a pond, a kiddy pool is just fine in some ways better as there is no risk of snappers or a pond turning sour. 2 is okay, especially if female. Raising them together... you can, if they are only females there is no drake risk to the chickens, the only issue is the water.. ducks love it, and i mean LOVE it, love the mud, will make a hot mess whereas chickens kinda prefer drier more dirt like area and only drink there water lol

Mind you with 2 it won't be that bad, but still be prepared especially around the pool area. You can free range them, i free range mine BUT you assume risks, predators are out there. I do have a fence around about 1/3 of an acre that surrounds where the ducks mini barn is, that way i can fence them down if need be, there out today because were nice but on horrible days i don't bother and leave them in the fenced area.

Can't help much on integration as my chickens are separate from my ducks(i have drakes, not a chance i am willing to take) mind you if there all pretty young it shouldn't be too bad, i have integrated various ages of ducks and it's gone ok.

Food wise, i feed a flock raiser, it's good for all poultry ANY age, all my ducks and my chickens have been raised on it, i provide free choice oyster shell when they start to lay instead of switching to layer because again the drakes don't need layer... also makes my life simple no seasonal changes of feeds, no changes for ages etc...

 

[BarredRockGirls]

thank you all !!! im very excited . i just worry about having to go get them down at the pond - and my father in laws dogs that are down there - since theyd wander too far off i couldnt keep an eye on them. if they pretty much stay around " home base " even when free ranging then i think w a large enough kiddie pool ( i thought about getting fish once and awhile for a treat in it ?) a giant garden and a field to Muck up when it rains they should be pretty happy . we do live in the country so coyotes and foxes racoons and such are always a risk - ill have 15 barred rocks too but they'll all be shut up during the night safe from those . a hawk once got one of my Mother in laws Bantams - do they go for ducks & Large chickens tho ?

also since i plan to keep them in the chicken coop and they dont use nest boxes like the Rocks would lil basin bins or something on the floor work for them ?

and this may sound dumb but - when ya'll are gone all day say idk you go to the zoo that day or something idk - do you still let your duck / chickens out if they are free range or keep them in?

thank you

 

[Amiga]

No dumb questions, I have a 10' x 16' day pen with attached 32sf covered porch they get locked into.

The day pen is covered with fence top bottom and sides. Small diameter coated chicken wire along the bottom two feet of the sides to prevent something reaching in.

And the way I look at it, gone is gone, if I suspect a danger to my ducks, if it is at all possible I deal with it before it is a problem. That does not make me immune from surprises, though, or senior moments, so I don't feel real confident that I will never lose anyone. But so far, so good.

 

[RileyB]

I have two ducks with my chickens and they all get along great. The ducks free range during the day with the chickens and they all go to the coop together at night.