New to ducks, need some help

[Cbrock2]

Hi,
We just bought a house with a really nice and fairly big garden, and we have a huge problem with slugs. We have read that ducks are great slug hunters, and as we are doing everything organic, we thought it would be fun to adopt a couple of ducks.

So here are my questions:
1. What are the best duck breed for bug/slug control?
2. Are cats going to bother them(our yard is frequently visited by cats ;( )
3. We have a dog (very friendly and no interest in chasing birds), can you get ducks used to the dog?
4. And are they friendly with kids?
5. And does anyone know where to get ducks in the Eugene, OR area?

Thank you all so much.

 

[mnferalkitty]

Ducks also eat broadleaf plants that includes garden plants

 

[Cbrock2]

what kinf of plants? we are pretty new to gardening, only have tomatoes and strawberries and some onions and pumkins so far, and we have a area in the back where we can block of, and are putting i a coop and a wading pool

 

[Amiga]

Slugs are the reason I have ducks!

Bill Mollison wrote, years ago, that "You don't have a slug problem. You have a duck deficiency." Those words rattled around in my mind for months, and finally after some research, I chose Indian Runners. They are wild about slugs, are good layers, sweet personalities, energetic but (my flock is) not skitterish like some say, few health problems, fine with our cats in our case (we have no dogs). Their manure is some of the best fertilizer and compost activator I have ever found.

I have poured countless hours into working with the ducks, and time spent with them is correlated with their friendly adult behavior.

There is some strategy involved with having them as garden helpers. They will step on plants, and often eat tender shoots. They love lettuce. I developed a system of temporary fences in addition to permanent fences and they have access to certain areas only part of the year.

Currently, we go on slug patrol outside our fenced areas, with close supervision. I walk with a big stick!

Ducks are (forgive the virtual raising of my voice here) EXTREMELY SUSCEPTIBLE TO PREDATORS of all kinds, day and night. As a BYC DF member's signature says, "Protect the Flock!!!!"

Many members have good relationships between their domestic dogs and ducks. But we do see stories of dogs killing their ducks. Are your dogs well trained? I did not introduce the cats and ducks until the ducks were taller than the cats.

My runners don't bite. Toddlers can hand feed them. My only safety worries with kids and ducks is that (more when the ducks were adolescents) on a few occasions when my face was close to a duck, she poked at my eyebrows or mouth (probably thinking she was going after a caterpillar or slug). So I make sure little faces are a couple of feet away from eager duck bills.

 

[Cbrock2]

So we actually ended up getting 3 acona ducklings, they are really cute, and seems to thrive in their new enviroment, we threw a baby slug in there and one of them went nuts over it =)

So far they are just hanging out in the garage, so we need to start building a coop, any ide of dimension to hold these 3 aconas?

 

[Amiga]

I mentioned on the other thread I think a minimum of 3'x3', but I would lean toward 4'x6' just in case.

And those are such sweet looking little ones!

Don't forget to use heavy duty metal hardware cloth over all openings, serious door closures (I use keyed locks), and other security measures. Too many predators enjoy duck dinner.

What's the temperature in the garage? I liked keeping a terrarium thermometer in with my ducklings to be sure.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are precious and like Amiga said we can't over state the safety issue as far as coops and runs for your ducks. And also if your going to be introducing other food besides their starter you need to offer chick grit. They need to be able to grind up that slug you fed them.

And

 

[70%cocoa]

Cuties!

They will do a wonderful job of demolishing your slug population when they are a bit older.

I keep each of my veggie garden beds fenced with fine plastic mesh, to stop ducks snacking. Each bed is fenced separately so the ducks can walk around each one, for maxium slug and snail access. You don't need a high fence - even 1.5 to 2 feet will do (as long as they can't reach over, under or through it).

Snails and slugs carry tapeworm, which ducks can get, so make sure you worm your ducks every 6 months with a wormer that covers tapeworm.

I agree with Amiga on the coop size - 6 x 4 feet would be ok, if they got out into the yard every day for a roam. If you are going to need to shut them up (e.g. if you go away for a weekend..) then I'd go for something a bit bigger, like 7 x 6 feet, with strong mesh on walls, roof and floor. I have found that deep litter works really well for ducks. For ages I stayed away from it, thinking that it'd turn into a giant slab of poop. If you just left it there without putting in any effort, then it would. But if you dig it over a bit every day then it is fine and just breaks down into lovely earthy compost, just like deep litter in a chicken coop. All my pens are now deep litter - works a treat! So, in your pen, I'd recommend flooring of a nice deep layer of dry plant material of some kind - can be wood shavings, chopped straw, dry leaves, pine needs....or all of the above!! Stir it a bit every day and then every few months pop it on your garden and refill with new litter (or just take out composted litter as you need it and top up with fresh).