Rescue duck help

[shawluvsbirds]

A lady listed 12 on craiglist. Said she got them and decided she didn’t want ducks. I asked if she had a female and this is the one she brought. I was sure it was a male but took it anyway because she obviously wasn’t caring for him properly because his leg had 3’ of string wraped around it. I’m in northern CA near Roseville

Love that you rescued this duck!

that it wasn't being treated well at its previous home

I hope it works out for you and your chickens

 

[Ravynscroft]

Looking up more info on the breed I think you are right. His color is all wrong and he is the size of the mallards I had when I was a kid. He is mostly black with a beetle green head and green bars on his wings. He also has a white spot on his chest and while his feet are mostly black, there is some orange in them. Probably a mix I would think. I don’t care all that much. I don’t plan on breeding, just wanted ducks because they are fun and the slugs are destroying my garden. The chickens take care of everything else but they won’t touch slugs because “eeeewwww! They’re slimy”

Then I agree, either Cayuga or mix... Cayugas *can* have white spots, it's called a defect, but common...

He is a very handsome fellow though! I hope you can find a girl or 2 to keep him company...

Ducks are amazing slug patrol, just beware of 'stash piles'!

 

[heatherlaw]

I contacted someone looking to get rid of a female. Looks like I will be rescuing another duck tomorrow. What have I gotten myself into
I think duck math may be worse than chicken math

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I contacted someone looking to get rid of a female. Looks like I will be rescuing another duck tomorrow. What have I gotten myself into
I think duck math may be worse than chicken math

And the poop is worse too
But they are worth it

 

[heatherlaw]

My yard isn’t landscaped yet (trying to remodel the people coop first) so there is nothing I care about getting pooped on besides my veggies. Poop is no problem here! The chickens own the back yard and boy, do they know it

 

[Ravynscroft]

I contacted someone looking to get rid of a female. Looks like I will be rescuing another duck tomorrow. What have I gotten myself into
I think duck math may be worse than chicken math

It is! But that's ok, we won't tell nobody...

My yard isn’t landscaped yet (trying to remodel the people coop first) so there is nothing I care about getting pooped on besides my veggies. Poop is no problem here! The chickens own the back yard and boy, do they know it

Just rinse the veggies... nothing better for a veggie garden than duck poop! Seriously, it's not 'hot' like chicken poop...

 

[heatherlaw]

It is! But that's ok, we won't tell nobody...



Just rinse the veggies... nothing better for a veggie garden than duck poop! Seriously, it's not 'hot' like chicken poop...

Interesting! I didn’t know their poop was better for that. I am so excited to be learning about them because I was 9 the last time I had ducks. They are so different from chickens but I love them both!

 

[Ravynscroft]

Interesting! I didn’t know their poop was better for that. I am so excited to be learning about them because I was 9 the last time I had ducks. They are so different from chickens but I love them both!

They are definitely different! I wouldn't trade my ducks for the world, lol... and yep! Last year I emptied their pool right into our mint bed... it was 4 feet tall and thick as could be!

 

[heatherlaw]

They are definitely different! I wouldn't trade my ducks for the world, lol... and yep! Last year I emptied their pool right into our mint bed... it was 4 feet tall and thick as could be!

Oh I will have to do that! Anything else I should know about ducks? I swear, I usually do my homework a lot better than this but when hubby finally agreed to let me get ducks I jumped in head first before he could change his mind. Typically I would spend 6 months researching and trying to become an expert before starting. Guess I jumped the gun a bit

 

[Ravynscroft]

Oh I will have to do that! Anything else I should know about ducks? I swear, I usually do my homework a lot better than this but when hubby finally agreed to let me get ducks I jumped in head first before he could change his mind. Typically I would spend 6 months researching and trying to become an expert before starting. Guess I jumped the gun a bit

Lol! It's all good, that's what we're here for... water bowls always need to be deep enough to dunk their entire heads, they have to be able to clean their nares and eyes... but swimming water doesn't need to always be available, they can 'sponge bath' quite well from a deep water dish for lengths of time...