Mimi13
fuhgettaboutit
I have had chickens now for four years and absolutely love them and I am now ready to delve into the duck world.
I need you die hard duckers to sell me on the breeds.
Of course I have been feverishly reading everything I can about ducks and have come up on more than one conflicting subject, particularly concerning to me are feed and breed gentleness. I do have several breeds in mind already, but I would like to hear what long-time duck lovers have to say.
A little about my poultry husbandry. (So you can help me decide on the best breed(s)).
I have 24 hens, 12 pullets and one rooster. (He is the light of my life.) They are housed securely in two coops and adjoining run until I release them each morning where they have run of the yard and barnyard until roosting time.
There are predators around. I have personally seen/heard coyotes, possums, hawks and owls, but I’m sure there are others. I do have two outside dogs, one that is a GS/GP mix and doing a fabulous job patrolling the property. Our pastures are not completely fenced with field fence (some barbed wire), but our 4 acre yard is completely fenced with field fence.
My main predator concern is the infamous hawk. They are here, unfortunately. I have been very fortunate to have only had ONE encounter with a hawk in four years. He must have been a juvenile and thankfully only posed a scare to my big bottomed Cochin. No punctures, just a few loose feathers. There are plenty of tree lines, bushes and buildings (barn, sheds, coops and run) for my chickens to hide and I will surmise they have used them wisely.
We have six horses and I have been known to shoot bottle rockets to ward off the occasional neighboring dog that finds his way into our pastures, which may or may not be helpful keeping the aerial predators at bay.
No scientific data there.
I do have three barn cats that seemingly have gotten along well with the chickens, as long as you don’t count the time Tiger Lily was accidentally closed in the run one night. Let’s just say both birds and cat were horrifically surprised that next morning when the pop door opened. I don’t think Tiger Lily has gone anywhere around the run since.
Also, even with the dogs and cats, I have been successful at raising several clutches, both broody and bator chicks, in my coop/run and then out into the yard between 2-4 weeks old. (The broody took hers out sooner than I took the bator chicks out.)
I feed Purina Flock Raiser w/oyster shell on the side and have sand in my coops and shavings, leaves, etc. on the run floor.
My ducks will be housed separately from the chickens, with their own house and fenced and covered run with a small pond. I do realize that my ducks most likely will not be successful free ranging in my yard like my chickens have been. I just don’t see them as being as predator and escape savvy as chickens.
But I could be wrong, IDK. It is my intention to let the ducks out of their run only when I am out working in the yard/garden. I do want them to be able to dabble around for greens and grubs regularly.
I am not concerned with copious amounts of duck eggs or succulent meat. I only want ducks for pets, for myself and my grandson. Well, and for the duck poo water for my garden. Many of my chickens are nothing more than big pets and then some just prefer to be left alone.
I want no more than 4 ducklings (3 really, but I didn’t want the possibility of 2 picking on 1). Preferably all females...a drake maybe at a later time.
It was my hope that I’d be able to feed them all FR, but I’m not sure that is best for the ducks. Supposedly they need lower protein and higher niacin than FR provides, but could that be only in the early stages?
Please, please let me pick your collective brains on my new adventure. And also please add anything that I need to know that I might not have mentioned.
Thank you all so much for your advice, knowledge and wisdom...and more importantly, for your willingness to share.
BYC is the best site, bar none!
I need you die hard duckers to sell me on the breeds.
Of course I have been feverishly reading everything I can about ducks and have come up on more than one conflicting subject, particularly concerning to me are feed and breed gentleness. I do have several breeds in mind already, but I would like to hear what long-time duck lovers have to say.
A little about my poultry husbandry. (So you can help me decide on the best breed(s)).
I have 24 hens, 12 pullets and one rooster. (He is the light of my life.) They are housed securely in two coops and adjoining run until I release them each morning where they have run of the yard and barnyard until roosting time.
There are predators around. I have personally seen/heard coyotes, possums, hawks and owls, but I’m sure there are others. I do have two outside dogs, one that is a GS/GP mix and doing a fabulous job patrolling the property. Our pastures are not completely fenced with field fence (some barbed wire), but our 4 acre yard is completely fenced with field fence.
My main predator concern is the infamous hawk. They are here, unfortunately. I have been very fortunate to have only had ONE encounter with a hawk in four years. He must have been a juvenile and thankfully only posed a scare to my big bottomed Cochin. No punctures, just a few loose feathers. There are plenty of tree lines, bushes and buildings (barn, sheds, coops and run) for my chickens to hide and I will surmise they have used them wisely.
We have six horses and I have been known to shoot bottle rockets to ward off the occasional neighboring dog that finds his way into our pastures, which may or may not be helpful keeping the aerial predators at bay.
No scientific data there.I do have three barn cats that seemingly have gotten along well with the chickens, as long as you don’t count the time Tiger Lily was accidentally closed in the run one night. Let’s just say both birds and cat were horrifically surprised that next morning when the pop door opened. I don’t think Tiger Lily has gone anywhere around the run since.
Also, even with the dogs and cats, I have been successful at raising several clutches, both broody and bator chicks, in my coop/run and then out into the yard between 2-4 weeks old. (The broody took hers out sooner than I took the bator chicks out.)
I feed Purina Flock Raiser w/oyster shell on the side and have sand in my coops and shavings, leaves, etc. on the run floor.
My ducks will be housed separately from the chickens, with their own house and fenced and covered run with a small pond. I do realize that my ducks most likely will not be successful free ranging in my yard like my chickens have been. I just don’t see them as being as predator and escape savvy as chickens.
But I could be wrong, IDK. It is my intention to let the ducks out of their run only when I am out working in the yard/garden. I do want them to be able to dabble around for greens and grubs regularly.I am not concerned with copious amounts of duck eggs or succulent meat. I only want ducks for pets, for myself and my grandson. Well, and for the duck poo water for my garden. Many of my chickens are nothing more than big pets and then some just prefer to be left alone.
I want no more than 4 ducklings (3 really, but I didn’t want the possibility of 2 picking on 1). Preferably all females...a drake maybe at a later time.
It was my hope that I’d be able to feed them all FR, but I’m not sure that is best for the ducks. Supposedly they need lower protein and higher niacin than FR provides, but could that be only in the early stages?
Please, please let me pick your collective brains on my new adventure. And also please add anything that I need to know that I might not have mentioned.
Thank you all so much for your advice, knowledge and wisdom...and more importantly, for your willingness to share.
BYC is the best site, bar none!
