Pekin Duck Club!

[DonaldFan]

Any hints on training my guys to go up their ramp for the night?
They love my hand (if it's not to fast) for peas. As soon as I have some help I plan on trying that. I can't hold 2 barriers and hold peas. I've lost that 3 hand you need when u have kids! lol
I love the way they nibble my clothes and legs when they think I have something. It's so much nicer than that 3 foot barrier. But! When it comes to bedtime, you'd think I grew horns!

I would train them the same way we train dogs. Start with baby steps. Make a small ramp elsewhere and put treats at both ends to get them to use it. Once they are comfortable get them to do it by their house. You may need an extra person for that third and fourth arm for a bit. They will catch on quick. All my birds responds to "Bed Time" now and run to their perspective houses when free-ranging. Took alot of work to get to that point, though.

 

[bonnylass79]

Cull??? WHY?!????? Have you thought about rehoming? I can get you through to some great resources on finding homes for your drakes.

I'm into homesteading and self-sustainability. We're trying to produce all of our own food. I got the ducks to raise for meat, but plan to keep the females and one drake for breeding (and future meat production). I also raise chickens, turkeys and pigs for meat.

 

[DonaldFan]

I'm into homesteading and self-sustainability. We're trying to produce all of our own food. I got the ducks to raise for meat, but plan to keep the females and one drake for breeding (and future meat production). I also raise chickens, turkeys and pigs for meat.

This sounds like me and my neighbor. I do duck rescue and she raises for meat. We've agreed to disagree since our kids are best friends.

 

[bonnylass79]

Any hints on training my guys to go up their ramp for the night?
They love my hand (if it's not to fast) for peas. As soon as I have some help I plan on trying that. I can't hold 2 barriers and hold peas. I've lost that 3 hand you need when u have kids! lol
I love the way they nibble my clothes and legs when they think I have something. It's so much nicer than that 3 foot barrier. But! When it comes to bedtime, you'd think I grew horns!

Mine never took to it. They don't have an instinct for going to roost like chickens. They make their nests on the ground. We ended up building them a house closer to the ground.

 

[bonnylass79]

This sounds like me and my neighbor. I do duck rescue and she raises for meat. We've agreed to disagree since our kids are best friends.

LOL, yeah, it can be a touchy subject. I was raised in a farming community, so I'm used to having some animals as pets and some for meat. I'd much rather know that my meat was raised humanely than in a factory or feedlot somewhere. My animals are very spoiled.

 

[bonnylass79]

Beautiful flock <3

Thank you. I love to watch them free range in the woods.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Got a weird question.  I know ducks use gravel in their crop to break down food but our Daphne duck seems to have eaten actual rocks.  You pet her in that area and you can hear crunching like rocks.  Has anyone ever dealt with this before?  I work for a vet and am going to take her into work with me tomorrow.

Thank you,

Jenn

Our female that died had pea gravel in her crop... we had her x-rayed when she was egg-bound once and you could see the larger rocks. After she died we had her autopsied and got the contents... I was worried she might have eaten some metal, but it was all rocks, grit, and sand. The pea gravel was in the driveway and she must have ingested some while foraging. We had the smaller gravel removed and replaced with 3/4" the ducks can't swallow. I don't think the gravel contributed to her death -- a tree she was eating under had toxic seeds -- but it is better to keep rocks out of their sytem. Once they're in there, they're in there. Maybe they could break them with ESWL, but that would be expensive!

 

[bonnylass79]

Our female that died had pea gravel in her crop... we had her x-rayed when she was egg-bound once and you could see the larger rocks. After she died we had her autopsied and got the contents... I was worried she might have eaten some metal, but it was all rocks, grit, and sand. The pea gravel was in the driveway and she must have ingested some while foraging. We had the smaller gravel removed and replaced with 3/4" the ducks can't swallow. I don't think the gravel contributed to her death -- a tree she was eating under had toxic seeds -- but it is better to keep rocks out of their sytem. Once they're in there, they're in there. Maybe they could break them with ESWL, but that would be expensive!

Actually, the rocks aid in their digestion. The gizzard grinds the rocks together to break down whole grains. The rocks slowly wear down until they are small enough to pass into the intestines. Then the birds pick up more rocks. It's something they do naturally. They would have a difficult time digesting whole grains without them.

 

[DonaldFan]

Actually, the rocks aid in their digestion. The gizzard grinds the rocks together to break down whole grains. The rocks slowly wear down until they are small enough to pass into the intestines. Then the birds pick up more rocks. It's something they do naturally. They would have a difficult time digesting whole grains without them.

Still going to have her checked out just in case. My other ducks never ate so many that they rattled. Rather unnerving. It would be nice if they do break down over time but want to make sure she is not in danger until they do.

 

[bonnylass79]

Still going to have her checked out just in case. My other ducks never ate so many that they rattled. Rather unnerving. It would be nice if they do break down over time but want to make sure she is not in danger until they do.

Yeah, can't say I've ever had that happen. But there have always been stones in the gizzards of all of the birds I've butchered.