New to ducks... Help

[Miss Lydia]

To tell the truth I have not made a huge effort with the ducks because they are just so darn disgusting...I don't want to sit where they have been long enough for them to get used to me. It isn't like with the chickens where I can sit down in the coop and just watch them...for one the ducks act like I'm scaring them to death, secondly they are just so very very gross...they smell, so I don't find myself drawn to stay with them...I need to make more of an effort...they do like treats though. The Pekins...not the mallards. They ignore anything I give them until I am gone unless they are in the water...then they are happy with the treats. The ducks are for real no fun for me at all. Just a huge stinking mess all the time. I'm not so sure that we won't just eat them all and revert back to just turkeys and chickens. And all my ducks are still in their respective brooders...once they have their coop built I might be able to spend more quality time with them...I blow dry them after their baths and that is our up close and personal time. If ever it gets nice outside I plan on setting up a wire puppy enclosure to spend some time with them, but it's been cold cold cold here still

That is just too sad, research is so imporatnt before taking on any kind of animal, Yes they are smelly but you know what they can't help it one bit, working to keep their brooder big enough for them all and making sure it stays as clean as possible is very important. I'm truly sorry you feel this way, I just hope you are taking care of your lil charges as best you can while you decide what is best for them. Like Amiga says there is a rehoming thread for times like this. Spending time with them is very important if you want them to trust you.

 

[duckins]

Cookielee ducks are a wonderful experience but six may be a challenge for a first time two would be more ideal just keep your hands washed after handling. Can you get them outside easily and do you have the proper time for raising them? Keeping inside with diapers can be done its a great thing if you have the time I think the harness cost the most than you just buy maxi pads or baby diapers to insert in harness which is reasonable. I live in the country and prefer mine outside but that's me there are a lot of cuties living inside and they do wonderfully. Now not going to lie to you they are messy little babies but hey doesn't everything poop, they love and need water water and more water. Brooder management is key and can be done I recently brooded two sets two weeks apart totaling 9 ducklings at one time and very little to no stink! And I still had time to tend to11 older ducks 4 teenagers (much harder than ducks they smell to the boys anyway lol) 1 hubby 1 house 2 business's 3 dogs and 1 cat. Ducks are naturally wild it's our job as pet owners to domesticate them and clean/ care for them. its simple you put 10% effort into ducks and you'll get a 10% result out of them. I have 20 ducks can catch and work with each of them and with time and treats everyone of them has come to me for a treat out of my hand the more skittish ones its my own fault. Denverducky has a precious inside duck check out some of her post and I'm sure she d be happy to give you any advice.remember brooder management/schedule is the key just like you would do with a real baby. Goodluck with your decision we r here to help. Btw please please don't blow dry your ducklings its not quality time it's time with the devil and with continued use of a blow dryer rehoming or eating their meat will not be an option it is dangerous.

 

[BickeringToast]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I am not big on keeping ducks as inside pets simply because I am not up for diaper changing. It seems like a tremendous amount of work is involved. That being said there are several members on BYC who do keep indoor ducks and are very happy with the arrangement. Maybe start a thread titled 'Inside Duck Advice' or something like that-that should bring them in [/FONT]

Anyway go by a Feed store and give the duck bin a goo sniff and then rethink if this is something you want to do...I would rather change a hundred babies than one duck...their poops are so freaking gross. One hour or less after scrubbing out the brooder they smell like crap again. So gross. I have 4 Pekin outside in a brooder and had 2 mallards (later added 2 more) but those 2 tiny ducks make 4 times the mess and smell of the 17 chicks right beside them...I mean it's heinous. I will keep pigs in my house before I ever let another duck inside...

What kind of bedding were you using? I keep my 4 (who are over four weeks old now) on pine shavings and they have a wire covered 'watering area'. A couple times a day I sprinkle some PDZ in the watering pan and over the pine shavings. ONCE a day I go in with a kitty litter scoop and scoop out any wet shavings and the poop that clumps up.I have only scrubbed the whole brooder out once in the last 4 weeks (I put the covered pan back in wrong and it flipped over). The only smell back there is Pine. If your brooder smells that bad 24/7, something is not right.

I echo this sentiment... I have 4 ducklings and they lasted less than 2 weeks inside my tub in the second bathroom, the reason being that the bathroom smelled of ammonia from all of the poop and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I would really reconsider getting 6, I can't imagine adding another two to the mess I had to clean up in that bathroom once they were outside.

Good lord! What goes on at your place??? For the poop/ammonia smell to be that overwhelming, you could not have even minimally cleaned the area in those 2 weeks! What animal on earth would not absolutely reek while living in 2 weeks of built up feces? My 4 are in the master bathroom, but in a brooder. There is NO ammonia smell and if there is a poop smell at all during the day I sprinkle some PDZ over the offending areas- smell is gone and the poop clumps up so I can scoop it out with a kitty litter scoop once a day.

And another thing to think about, 6 Pekin ducklings are going to act like you are satan about to bite off their heads as suck out their souls..I thought they would like me, but nope...not a bit. Not at all. They run from me and I've tried handling and handling and handling them...

You said in an earlier thread none of your chickens or ducks are 'pets', just food. Why bother stressing your dinner out by forced handling? It sounds like the OP is looking for advice on a pet, not on next months dinner. Generally a person does not eat a pet when they get tired of it.

 

[DenverDucky]

If you would like honest insight from people that have house ducks (myself included) I recommend posting on the house ducks thread. You will see pics, stories, Q&A.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/632070/show-off-your-house-ducks

 

[jonhpdx]

Good lord! What goes on at your place??? For the poop/ammonia smell to be that overwhelming, you could not have even minimally cleaned the area in those 2 weeks! What animal on earth would not absolutely reek while living in 2 weeks of built up feces? My 4 are in the master bathroom, but in a brooder. There is NO ammonia smell and if there is a poop smell at all during the day I sprinkle some PDZ over the offending areas- smell is gone and the poop clumps up so I can scoop it out with a kitty litter scoop once a day.

Actually you're completely wrong. I lined the bathtub with garbage bags and towels and topped with straw/hay and repeated this process daily. It was an isolated room (not very big) and just started stinking very badly. 3 ducklings grow a lot in 2 weeks and they simply outgrew their living conditions. You might be mitigating the smell more by using PDZ in their pen, I've never tried any deodorizing solutions. They've been out in the garage now for 2 weeks and that's starting to stink that pen up too, but they're moving into their permanent home tomorrow so I can have my garage back and they can have a space that's properly drained and bedded.

 

[pastryman]

I agree with most here. We had 5 ducks inside after they hatched. It was lovely the first days. After one week we could not wait to get them out in the barn. Then we had them in the barn for 3-4 weeks. Now I cannot wait to get them out on grass.

It will take very long time and a lot of cleaning and diperchaning every day to make this work. Perhaps you will love this because you need to feel important and close to someone. But I think chances are much bigger you will regret this quickly.

Personaly I think it is wrong to keep an animal that has no chance to find some of its own food. And I think it is humiliating to give a healthy animal a diper. But even if you dont think this is wrong. There is little chance you will like this. Unless you are a lonely person (and there is nothing wrong with that - could happen to all of us some day), but why not get another animal more suited for living in an apartment?

If you had duck on a farm first, and knew the animal. Then you could make a better decision on this. But I think noone in than position would go ahead.

Most important, what do you do with the ducks if you need to stop this project after one week? After 4 weeks? After 1 Year?

 

[jdywntr]

I can't imagine any apartment complex would allow ducks as pets. They are illegal to own in most urban/suburban areas.

You need to check with the manager. If you try to do this quietly, what will you do with the ducks once you are told you need to get rid of them or move?

Your best bet is to wait until you are in a home of your own and then get ducks.

 

[DenverDucky]

Again, I really think you should post in the house duck thread. I'm quite sure there are some with apartment ducks in there. I do agree with one thing... If you don't know if your apartment will allow it, ask! It will make owning house ducks much more enjoyable openingly have ducks and not have to hide them.

 

[missnu01]

[COLOR=333333]I am not big on keeping ducks as inside pets simply because I am not up for diaper changing. It seems like a tremendous amount of work is involved. That being said there are several members on BYC who do keep indoor ducks and are very happy with the arrangement. Maybe start a thread titled 'Inside Duck Advice' or something like that-that should bring them in [/COLOR]

[COLOR=000080]Anyway go by a Feed store and give the duck bin a goo sniff and then rethink if this is something you want to do...I would rather change a hundred babies than one duck...their poops are so freaking gross. One hour or less after scrubbing out the brooder they smell like crap again. So gross. I have 4 Pekin outside in a brooder and had 2 mallards (later added 2 more) but those 2 tiny ducks make 4 times the mess and smell of the 17 chicks right beside them...I mean it's heinous. I will keep pigs in my house before I ever let another duck inside... [/COLOR] What kind of bedding were you using? I keep my 4 (who are over four weeks old now) on pine shavings and they have a wire covered 'watering area'. A couple times a day I sprinkle some PDZ in the watering pan and over the pine shavings. ONCE a day I go in with a kitty litter scoop and scoop out any wet shavings and the poop that clumps up.I have only scrubbed the whole brooder out once in the last 4 weeks (I put the covered pan back in wrong and it flipped over). The only smell back there is Pine. If your brooder smells that bad 24/7, something is not right. [COLOR=000080]I echo this sentiment... I have 4 ducklings and they lasted less than 2 weeks inside my tub in the second bathroom, the reason being that the bathroom smelled of ammonia from all of the poop and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I would really reconsider getting 6, I can't imagine adding another two to the mess I had to clean up in that bathroom once they were outside. [/COLOR] Good lord! What goes on at your place??? For the poop/ammonia smell to be that overwhelming, you could not have even minimally cleaned the area in those 2 weeks! What animal on earth would not absolutely reek while living in 2 weeks of built up feces? My 4 are in the master bathroom, but in a brooder. There is NO ammonia smell and if there is a poop smell at all during the day I sprinkle some PDZ over the offending areas- smell is gone and the poop clumps up so I can scoop it out with a kitty litter scoop once a day. [COLOR=000080]And another thing to think about, 6 Pekin ducklings are going to act like you are satan about to bite off their heads as suck out their souls..I thought they would like me, but nope...not a bit. Not at all. They run from me and I've tried handling and handling and handling them... [/COLOR] You said in an earlier thread none of your chickens or ducks are 'pets', just food. Why bother stressing your dinner out by forced handling? It sounds like the OP is looking for advice on a pet , not on next months dinner. Generally a person does not eat a pet when they get tired of it.

I have tried using sand, Pine shavings, hay, shredded paper, equine pelleted pine bedding, everything, but the ducks muck it up so fast. It's just that we can't keep the area dry for even a few minutes. I'm sure the ducks won't be so bad once they have their big shelter and grass and what not, but when they are in the brooders I'm not a fan... I don't see the harm in giving them a good blow dry...seems to be the only time they're alright with me. I preen their feathers and they just sort of chill in my lap... I have their waterers as various jugs with holes in the side, and they just get everything so wet there's no way I could possibly keep the smell down long...I use pdz and I change, scoop, and replace everything frequently. Whether I regret the ducks or not I will keep on keeping on, and if it turns out I never enjoy them at all then I simply will not get more when these are gone. Lol. No big deal. I'm thinking if in the outdoor brooder if I bottomed the whole thing in hardware cloth and then covered that with like cheesecloth, and then put soil on top of that, and then pine shavings or sand, that perhaps their water mess could drain out... If I could just find a way to keep them drier they wouldn't be so awful, but so far no bedding, lining or additives work. They can't even get their feet near their water but the while brooder ends up soaked within an hour after a change. And then all the bedding has lost it's absorbency, so all the poops just sit on top being gross and smelly. Not a fan so far. Perhaps my feeling will change when they are able to meander about on their own, who knows, but we will all survive it either way. The Pekin are almost totally feathered and are starting to quack. 2 if the mallards have all their underside feathers so half way there As for eating ones pets, the ducks are here for me to enjoy them, just like the chickens. So if I want to cuddle them before I eat them that is totally fine and within the normal realm of things. I want to enjoy the animals while they are alive before I get to enjoy them as delicious food stuffs...nothing wrong with that. Perhaps some people don't eat their pets, but that is what I love about the idea of having pets that can also be a food source...cuddles today, nuggets tomorrow.

 

[missnu01]

Oh and you asked what animal doesn't stink after 2 weeks of no cage cleaning? I can answer that...chickens. But I clean out the brooder pretty consistently at least every other day, usually everyday. If I do put it off til the next day I will add a layer of straw, shavings, paper, whatever and pdz because I can't just have them smelling til I get around to cleaning it.
I was going to build them a permanent coop, but I think instead I will make a bottomless hit on skids so we can move it to different spots in the yard because if they get the brooder this gross I have very little hope that their adult home will be less messy, other than the fact that they will only be in it at night. Anyway what do you guys do to keep their area dry?