RAISING DUCKS?

[NorthGeogia]

I have successfully raised chickens before for eggs. I live at the end of a dead end road. I have one neighbor to the north, an 11 acre pond to the east, and forest to the south and west. I assume this would be perfect for raising ducks. The pond has wild mallards and migrating Canadian Geese.
QUESTIONS;
1. I take cholesterol reducing meds daily. Duck eggs are high in cholesterol. Therefore, I've never considered ducks for eggs. Is that reasonable?
2. If I decided to raise ducks for eggs, what do I need other than the pond?
3. Do they retire to a chicken coop structure at night, and need to be locked in?
4. Should I build them a coop they can fly in/out? Do I need to lock them in at night?
5. What would be the best breed for eggs and survivability in the wild (pond)?
6. If I'm just going for eggs, would I need a drake?

 

[Sosalty]

1 Cholesterol levels can vary widely. 80mg of Astorvastatin can cut the amount in your blood in half. So, as 190 is considered a sort of threshold, and you have a measured 220 before starting a prescription, (such as I have) and are taking Statins; eating duck eggs would be great to discuss with your cardiologist !!
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-you-should-expect-from-statin-therapy/
2-5 With a few exceptions, most here recommend keeping ducks in a locked coop at night. Your place sounds very attractive to our fine feathered friends. Know that ducks have an obsession about ponds. Without an incentive, they'll spend more time near the far bank neglecting swimming to you and be perfectly content to spend their nights on the water. With Mallard derived breeds, you might could clip their wings, feed and give 'em treats to entice 'em into their coop. I say "might" as 11acres is quite an expanse with a variety of enticing wild edibles out there. Another consideration is the Muscovy duck, (or goose according to the conspiracy). The adult females have decent survival traits, likely can tolerate the Georgia winters, and are less likely to fly away, IF, they love their pond home. Putting out a 50 lb feeder, surrounded by 'coon cage traps with an auto coop door that opens it during the day; along with daily visits providing some snacks and people socialization, could work. Then again, Muscovy like to hide their eggs and may take to living in the lakeside forest. You might find an occasional egg but that's all.
6 You could skip having a drake.

You maybe batting strike 1, 2, and foul ball with keeping pet egg laying ducks on a big pond. But let's cross our fingers that you get a couple of insightful answers here that'll make it practical. I'll check your post in the coming days. We might learn of ways of keeping ducks on a big pond without them flying away or getting taken by predators.

 

[NorthGeogia]

1 Cholesterol levels can vary widely. 80mg of Astorvastatin can cut the amount in your blood in half. So, as 190 is considered a sort of threshold, and you have a measured 220 before starting a prescription, (such as I have) and are taking Statins; eating duck eggs would be great to discuss with your cardiologist !!
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-you-should-expect-from-statin-therapy/
2-5 With a few exceptions, most here recommend keeping ducks in a locked coop at night. Know that ducks have an obsession about ponds. Without an incentive, they'll spend more time near the far bank neglecting swimming to you and be perfectly content to spend their nights on the water. With Mallard derived breeds, you might could clip their wings, feed and give 'em treats to entice 'em into their coop. I say "might" as 11acres is quite an expanse with a variety of enticing wild food out there. Another consideration is the Muscovy duck, (or goose according to the conspiracy). The adult females have decent survival traits, likely can tolerate the Georgia winters, and are less likely to fly away, IF, they like their pond home. Putting out a 50 lb feeder, surrounded by 'coon cage traps, and has an auto coop door that opens it during the day; along with daily visits providing some snacks and people socialization, could work. Then again, Muscovy like to hide their eggs and may take to living in the lakeside forest. You might find an occasional egg but that's all.
6 You could skip having a drake.

You maybe batting strike 1, 2, and foul ball with keeping pet egg laying ducks on a big pond. But let's cross our fingers that you get a couple of insightful answers here that'll make it practical. I'll check your post in the coming days. We might learn of ways of keeping ducks on a big pond without them flying away or getting taken by predators.

Thank you. Lots of good info!!!

 

[quackingdom]

1. I take cholesterol reducing meds daily. Duck eggs are high in cholesterol. Therefore, I've never considered ducks for eggs. Is that reasonable?

The cholesterol in eggs does not actually increase your blood cholesterol, at least for most people. They are very high in antioxidants, which can negate the potential harmful effects of cholesterol. Duck eggs are also much more nutrient-dense than chicken eggs and contain much higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and many other things.

2. If I decided to raise ducks for eggs, what do I need other than the pond?

Like @Sosalty said, some kind of shelter or coop for the night.

3. Do they retire to a chicken coop structure at night, and need to be locked in?

They won't on their own. You can train them to come to a coop at night, but this could be tricky with an 11-acre pond. We have a pond, not nearly as large as yours, probably less than half an acre. Getting the ducks off of it in the evening can be difficult. If we don't feed them at all during the day, then they're usually hungry enough by evening to come to their pens. If they don't come, we do happen to have a little toy remote-controlled boat which works quite well to herd them off the pond!

4. Should I build them a coop they can fly in/out? Do I need to lock them in at night?

Depends on the predators in your area. If predators are a major risk, a coop/night shelter would be important.

Predators aren't an issue for us, but we still need to lock our Saxony and Khaki Campbell ducks up at night just to be able to consistently collect the eggs in the morning. They don't usually make nests and will just drop their eggs wherever, and I've heard some people's ducks will even lay their eggs in their ponds. So we try to wait until they've laid their eggs before letting them out. If we let them out early, then we usually find eggs scattered around the pond bank or in some tall grass near the pond bank.

As for Muscovies, they will hide their nests, and locking them up at night doesn't stop them--they'll just wait until they're let out and then run to their nest. Finding nests in a large area can be difficult. We often find hidden clutches of 10-15 or more eggs.

I also have a pair of Mulards (infertile Muscovy/Mallard hybrids) that found our larger pond in one of our sheep pastures. They live in it 24/7 and only occasionally visit our main yard for a snack. They're very independent. But we don't get eggs from them.

One note--domestic ducks can't fly. Muscovies can, Mallards can, and the bantam breeds can, but the others generally can't. They will only use a ground-level coop and also don't roost like chickens.

5. What would be the best breed for eggs and survivability in the wild (pond)?

I would say Magpie ducks if you can find them. They were bred to be close to self-sufficient and they are also very good layers.

Muscovies are very hardy and good foragers, but they don't lay much, their eggs could be hard to find, their wings might need to be clipped every year, and they also don't like water as much as Mallard-derived ducks. Many of my Muscovies don't even swim daily. This could mean they'll be easier to bring to a coop for the night, though.

6. If I'm just going for eggs, would I need a drake?

No.

 

[Sosalty]

"If they don't come, we do happen to have a little toy remote-controlled boat which works quite well to herd them off the pond!"

Quackingdom; such an insightful response.
I almost spit out my iced tea when reading this. Priceless info! Always wanted a remote-control pond boat, gotta try one soon.

Didn't know about the magpies, will read up on 'em.

 

[CoriM]

I don't suggest getting ducks for eggs and putting them out on a pond. It's just too hard to get them off, and domestic ducks are defenseless when it comes to predators from air, land, and sea. For all the trouble and expense, you're better off finding a source to just buy duck eggs.