416bigbore
Ruffus and Big Boy
Hello all ! Semi retired Newbie here from NC with a new hobby, Ducks! LOL I have raised Chickens and farrowed a few Hogs years ago but never raised any Ducks/Ducklings and thought that this might be kind of fun. After spending many hours on the net researching information, this looked like a great Forum to be a part of. Looks to me like a lot of great members with very valuable information on Poultry and who are more then willing to help out other members with their questions, Priceless!
I started our little flock on 3/21/20 with two, two week old Mallard chicks (not sexed) and four one week old Isa Brown (sexed) chicks to keep them company while laying eggs. I had hoped for a pair of Mallards but ended up with two hens Miss Piggy and Porky, appropriately named if you seen these two girls go crazy over fresh earth worms, two funny to watch!
Once I was certain we had two Mallard hens and no Drake I was on the hunt to find the girls a BF for a little company, this is where things get a little more interesting. Knowing the two Mallard hens are wild and not domestic and can fly off at anytime if they get out. I Found a gentleman in the area who had newly hatched ducklings, Mallard, Rouen, Peking, mix. So after chatting with Rob who is very knowledgeable we decided to add ten newly hatched un-sexed ducklings to the flock to hopefully assure a Drake out of the mix for the girls.
There is about a 4-5 week difference between the first two Mallard hens and the second batch of mixed Rouen duckling. They have all been together now for a few weeks and luckily we didn't have any issues with their size and age difference when we put them all together. I had them divided off in their coop and I think that helped a lot before I mixed them together, so it wasn't a big surprise for the first group.
The birds have mixed well and everyone is fat and happy and growing like crazy. The Rouen Peking mix are starting to come into their colors and are very beautiful looking waterfowl, not sure the Drake to Hen count just yet. I do plan on down sizing after I know for sure what I have going on. I have been busy with expanding their coop to assure everyone has their own space and since the Rouen's wont fly, hope to let them run around the fenced yard during the day.
Since this is a new venture for us, I have been busy researching how to keep everyone healthy and happy. Being an animal lover, nothing worse then to have a sick pet and not know what to do for it, so here I am on your Forum trying to do a little preventative maintenance in case something unexpected pops up.
I am looking forward to meeting other members and being an active new member to your Forum because I don't see these new little additions to our family going away anytime soon. LOL Have a great day, Mike
I started our little flock on 3/21/20 with two, two week old Mallard chicks (not sexed) and four one week old Isa Brown (sexed) chicks to keep them company while laying eggs. I had hoped for a pair of Mallards but ended up with two hens Miss Piggy and Porky, appropriately named if you seen these two girls go crazy over fresh earth worms, two funny to watch!
Once I was certain we had two Mallard hens and no Drake I was on the hunt to find the girls a BF for a little company, this is where things get a little more interesting. Knowing the two Mallard hens are wild and not domestic and can fly off at anytime if they get out. I Found a gentleman in the area who had newly hatched ducklings, Mallard, Rouen, Peking, mix. So after chatting with Rob who is very knowledgeable we decided to add ten newly hatched un-sexed ducklings to the flock to hopefully assure a Drake out of the mix for the girls.
There is about a 4-5 week difference between the first two Mallard hens and the second batch of mixed Rouen duckling. They have all been together now for a few weeks and luckily we didn't have any issues with their size and age difference when we put them all together. I had them divided off in their coop and I think that helped a lot before I mixed them together, so it wasn't a big surprise for the first group.
The birds have mixed well and everyone is fat and happy and growing like crazy. The Rouen Peking mix are starting to come into their colors and are very beautiful looking waterfowl, not sure the Drake to Hen count just yet. I do plan on down sizing after I know for sure what I have going on. I have been busy with expanding their coop to assure everyone has their own space and since the Rouen's wont fly, hope to let them run around the fenced yard during the day.
Since this is a new venture for us, I have been busy researching how to keep everyone healthy and happy. Being an animal lover, nothing worse then to have a sick pet and not know what to do for it, so here I am on your Forum trying to do a little preventative maintenance in case something unexpected pops up.
I am looking forward to meeting other members and being an active new member to your Forum because I don't see these new little additions to our family going away anytime soon. LOL Have a great day, Mike
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Glad you joined.
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