Show off your house ducks!

[LadyHawkeAvry]

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Do they eat chicken feed

They need a slightly higher level of protein for the first few weeks, then you have to lower the protein to prevent angel wing. Too much protein can also cause liver problems. My adults are on a mix of scratch grains, layer mash, waterfowl finisher, oyster shell, and a vitamin topdress. It breaks down to around 16.5 - 17% protein, just slightly higher than the layer mash. They get fresh fruits and veggies as treats year round. (Don't tell my Feeds and Nurtition teacher I feed my ducklings the occasional marshmallow and frosted mini wheat... He'd kill me...) My flock is mixed ages, with several birds well below laying age, so I keep the protein slightly higher since it is pretty much impossible to feed a mixed age free range waterfowl flock separate feeds based on age. Now that it is warmer I am cutting back on the scratch grains since they don't need the extra energy to stay warm and have started eating pasture. Some people just feed everyone layer mash when they are mature. I mix based on season and age. Ducks will do best on a waterfowl specific ration, but will also do fine on 16% layer mash as adults. (I wouldn't feed straight layer to young ducklings - my 2.5 week olds are on an 18% starter, and are just about due for a protein drop. - they need enough protein to support growth, but not so much that their bodies outgrow their wings and legs)

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

So today's expedition had the babies discovering:

Snow!!

How to get one's ducks in a row!

Spring NY mud is gross. Mommy's jacket is better....

 

[Julie Birb]

So today's expedition had the babies discovering:

Snow!!

How to get one's ducks in a row!

Spring NY mud is gross. Mommy's jacket is better....

sweeet little jacket cozy snuggler, eeeeed. And the yellow webbed balls at your feet, àaaaahhhhhh.

 

[Kaessa]

You know, 'cuz..it's a joystick, and, and they have tournaments...for...fighting games...like Street...Fighter...


Okay, I keep forgetting I'm a nerd and you guys aren't. You're normal, well-adjusted people, LOL!

Fellow nerd here. Feel free.

 

[Julie Birb]

What a good mama!!!!! (And what a sweet broody!!!!) I'm in full cuteness overload tonight between her and Wobbles!!!
AND I LOVE IT!!!

I couldn't agree with you any more than that statement LadyHawkeAvry. That mama ducklet of AmandaVirus' in action is cute. Her face, the face of the duckie gets me. And Wobbles at his puter game was too much too. Love these Calls.

What a good mama!!!!! (And what a sweet broody!!!!) I'm in full cuteness overload tonight between her and Wobbles!!!
AND I LOVE IT!!!

 

[SilkieSensation]

I showed Misty one of her rubber duckies and this is what happened! I think I may have to get a duckling or two when it's time for her infertile eggs to "hatch"!

Definitely needs some babies. If she is past 2 weeks setting then you can give her a couple babies any time now & be fine. Not sure from video if she is call or mallard, but any of the smaller breeds will work for babies...calls, mallards, mini appleyards, black east indies, or even runners in a pinch since they are a light weight breed but get tall quickly.

 

[AmandaVirus]

Definitely needs some babies. If she is past 2 weeks setting then you can give her a couple babies any time now & be fine. Not sure from video if she is call or mallard, but any of the smaller breeds will work for babies...calls, mallards, mini appleyards, black east indies, or even runners in a pinch since they are a light weight breed but get tall quickly.

I'd love to try but I'm not sure how she would react, she hates other ducks. If she reacted well and wanted to brood them I would have multiple house ducks and I don't know if I could manage that! My main concern would be her losing her bond with me, she's never been super dependant even though she is imprinted on me, I would be afraid she would bond with them and not need me anymore. Then I would be heartbroken and not know what to do! If she didn't want them I could brood them myself and introduce them to my outside ducks, that wouldn't be a problem at all aside from the size difference.

She also won't let me near the eggs without biting me, she would probably never let me near her duckling(s). I'm not sure how I could bond with it without her letting me! If I got her one duckling and she kept her bond with me and it bonded to me as well, I think I could manage that. I don't think I could do river trips unleashed anymore, though. Watching one duck is hard enough! But, I have no idea how it would work out. She's a Mallard, BTW.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

I'd love to try but I'm not sure how she would react, she hates other ducks. If she reacted well and wanted to brood them I would have multiple house ducks and I don't know if I could manage that! My main concern would be her losing her bond with me, she's never been super dependant even though she is imprinted on me, I would be afraid she would bond with them and not need me anymore. Then I would be heartbroken and not know what to do! If she didn't want them I could brood them myself and introduce them to my outside ducks, that wouldn't be a problem at all aside from the size difference.

She also won't let me near the eggs without biting me, she would probably never let me near her duckling(s). I'm not sure how I could bond with it without her letting me! If I got her one duckling and she kept her bond with me and it bonded to me as well, I think I could manage that. I don't think I could do river trips unleashed anymore, though. Watching one duck is hard enough! But, I have no idea how it would work out. She's a Mallard, BTW.

Only half that fluffy pile of ducklings in the pictures I posted yesterday are ones that I hatched. 2 are assists (1 was breech, 1 failed to progress), one hatched out naturally in my incubator. The rest were brooded and hatched by my mama Saxony duck (who laid the entire clutch in my bathroom). I took the one cuddled up in my lap as a day old. You'd never know he wasn't hatched by me. The other two I took at a week old when I let Mama and her mate back out with the flock. Before I collected those 2, they did not recognize me as mother. "My" ducklings would follow me, and Mama duck's ducklings would follow her, even if we put them together in a group. As you can see, they all view me as their mother, even though half were not imprinted to me at hatching. They saw their parents out in the back field with the rest of the ducks yesterday, and ignored them. Mama is no longer broody, and acts the way she did before she made her nest.
You could consider letting her hatch an egg or two, then take the ducklings and brood them yourself until they are old enough to join the outside flock. Her hormones will settle after hatching "her" eggs, and you will have your single house duck back.

 

[SilkieSensation]

Definitely needs some babies. If she is past 2 weeks setting then you can give her a couple babies any time now

I'd love to try but I'm not sure how she would react, she hates other ducks. If she reacted well and wanted to brood them I would have multiple house ducks and I don't know if I could manage that! My main concern would be her losing her bond with me, she's never been super dependant even though she is imprinted on me, I would be afraid she would bond with them and not need me anymore. Then I would be heartbroken and not know what to do! If she didn't want them I could brood them myself and introduce them to my outside ducks, that wouldn't be a problem at all aside from the size difference.

She also won't let me near the eggs without biting me, she would probably never let me near her duckling(s). I'm not sure how I could bond with it without her letting me! If I got her one duckling and she kept her bond with me and it bonded to me as well, I think I could manage that. I don't think I could do river trips unleashed anymore, though. Watching one duck is hard enough! But, I have no idea how it would work out. She's a Mallard, BTW.

I would give her a baby or 2 for a few days to a week to get her out of broody mode & then take the babies if you want. You could even give her chicks as long as you switch her to a waterer & don't let her swim without taking them.

 

[meganblackwell]

Hi everyone! I was wondering if you could help me with something. A couple of months I was looking through this post and came across a link to a website that is dedicated to house ducks. I tried googling it and searching this post, but I couldn't find it. Is there anyone that knows what I'm talking about? Thank you!