SHOULD I GET DUCKS!?!?!

[Owenp_2]

I am so very sorry for your experience, @KaleIAm . It sounds heart-breaking. :-(

I do want to add for others that I don't think KaleIAm's experience is typical. My general understanding (and our personal experience) is that quality ducks tend to be hardier and less prone to a wide variety of illnesses than say chickens. Yes, we have had ducks on oral medication (e.g., antibiotics) for simple issues like bumble a handful of times, but it is the exception rather than the norm. Yes, we did have to cancel our anniversary trip one year because we had a duck on an HIV med that needed to be administered 3x/day and cost a small fortune...lol...long story, but it was really a small sacrifice for us given the joy that duck has brought (she's 3.5 yo now and doing great!). Again, very much the exception and not the rule in our experience.

Regarding bedtime, I'm not sure why you put your guys to bed at 5 pm year-round, but that is not the norm for the ducks we've known. Our ducks follow a natural light cycle with no artificial light because we don't want to push them to lay all winter (although they pretty much do!). Being in Maine, that means they are out until late in the summer but set for the night by five or earlier during the shortest winter days. Our duckhouse has an attached, covered, predator-proof run, and they have 24/7 access to water and food in the run and can come and go from the duckhouse as they like. As such, if we can't be there at bedtime for some reason, we just load them up with food, and they are fine for the night.

For someone considering ducks, absolutely do your homework and decide what is best for you, but there is no reason that ducks can't be excellent, hardy, beneficial, and relatively low maintenance animals (even pets!) to have on the farm.

One major caveat: We always suggest people look into heritage breeds from reputable breeders--that can make a huge difference.

Okay, thank you!! Also, what do you do when it´s cold outside how do you keep them from freezing in the water?

 

[3bird]

Okay, thank you!! Also, what do you do when it´s cold outside how do you keep them from freezing in the water?

We use a heated 5-gallon bucket in their run in the winter. We covered about half of it with a plywood lid, as we were worried they would use it as a hot tub. I'm not sure that worry was justified.

We have two places on the property where water runs most of the year. They are groundwater and spring-fed, so they often have open water even when it's quite cold. The ducks do like to play if there is open water, and we generally free range them in that area 2x per day in the winter (if they want to). We do not provide any supplemental pools in the winter, and they are fine so long as they have their 5-gallon bucket in which they can immerse their heads. That bucket gets changed 2x/day in the winter usually.

 

[Owenp_2]

We use a heated 5-gallon bucket in their run in the winter. We covered about half of it with a plywood lid, as we were worried they would use it as a hot tub. I'm not sure that worry was justified.

We have two places on the property where water runs most of the year. They are groundwater and spring-fed, so they often have open water even when it's quite cold. The ducks do like to play if there is open water, and we generally free range them in that area 2x per day in the winter (if they want to). We do not provide any supplemental pools in the winter, and they are fine so long as they have their 5-gallon bucket in which they can immerse their heads. That bucket gets changed 2x/day in the winter usually.

Okay, I didn't know if a heat source over the water would work or not>