SWEDISH Duck Thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jsmith2065]

Has anyone tried wheatgrass before??

 

[slordaz]

Hey first winter with ducks and chickens, I was wondering what should I be doing for feed to replace the frozen grass.

we give ours lettuce, vegetable peelingsa, little alphalpha and a hand full of meelee worms not all at once but they get something every day and have done fine

 

[Meg the Egg]

Has anyone tried wheatgrass before??

Mine love it! I have a pot i keep replanting with the Wheatgrass for them. They also like watercress.

 

[gholmomma]

So excited to find the Swedish Duck thread! We have 3 Blacks (mom, dad and kid) and 3 blues. Hoping to set up breeding pens in the spring.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I've been thinking about adding some ducks and Swedish is one of the main breeds I'm considering but my problem is I don't know what color to get.

One hatchery only carries one (I forget which one) but that hatchery is more expensive anyway.

The other one carries both blue and black.

I know they're technically the same breed and should be exactly the same besides color, right?

But the issue is I only want maybe 4-6 ducks (well I WANT more but am forcing myself to start small lol) and I wanted to try other breeds, basically getting one of each breed.

So basically, what would you get, blue or black? Is it just personal preference?

Or do I splurge and just get both anyway? Haha

Other breeds I was considering were Rouen, Welsh Harlequin (thinking about a pair), Buff, Khaki Campbell, and the Swedish. And maybe a Pekin or Runner.

 

[gholmomma]

Yes- same breed. Black is the typical Donald Duck look. Blue is more difficult to obtain and is the one with an APA standard. Unless you're planning on showing or starting a breeding operation, black is MY preference. They just look more---Duckish!

 

[MandyJ]

I've been thinking about adding some ducks and Swedish is one of the main breeds I'm considering but my problem is I don't know what color to get.

One hatchery only carries one (I forget which one) but that hatchery is more expensive anyway.

The other one carries both blue and black.

I know they're technically the same breed and should be exactly the same besides color, right?

But the issue is I only want maybe 4-6 ducks (well I WANT more but am forcing myself to start small lol) and I wanted to try other breeds, basically getting one of each breed.

So basically, what would you get, blue or black? Is it just personal preference?

Or do I splurge and just get both anyway? Haha

Other breeds I was considering were Rouen, Welsh Harlequin (thinking about a pair), Buff, Khaki Campbell, and the Swedish. And maybe a Pekin or Runner.

I'd get both! LOL You know...duck math!!! One black and one blue! Just enjoy! They are a hoot!!

 

[Tevyes Dad]

@KDOGG331 Black has wonderful Iridescence, blue has many shades and texture, they are both beautiful. I love my mixed flock. Personally, if you do get a runner, I would get 2. I'm sure a solitary runner with other ducks would be perfectly happy, but at least in my flock, runner-runner interaction is on its own level (like they have a secret language only they share) plus they come in many great colors, so you don't have to get two of the same. I love my mixed flock and if you are not planning on breeding ducks I highly recommend a mixed flock - easy identification makes it easy for you to know personalities and flock dynamics which is so much of the fun of having pet ducks. Also if you aren't breeding, you want to get them from someplace where you can have them sexed and get all girls. Drakes can be very aggressive and if you have more than one (in a 4-6 duck flock), they may even kill your other ducks. Also if a drake tries to breed with a chicken, they can kill them (ducks are built much different than chickens). I have 2 drakes in a flock of 15. One isn't too much trouble, the other is nothing but trouble (from April - November anyway) enough that he needs his own place to stay, his own food and water and his own pool because he can't be left unsupervised with the rest of the flock. We love him a lot so we won't rehome him or send him to freezer camp, but he is nearly as much work in the spring/summer/fall as the rest of the flock together.

 

[MandyJ]

@KDOGG331 Black has wonderful Iridescence, blue has many shades and texture, they are both beautiful. I love my mixed flock. Personally, if you do get a runner, I would get 2. I'm sure a solitary runner with other ducks would be perfectly happy, but at least in my flock, runner-runner interaction is on its own level (like they have a secret language only they share) plus they come in many great colors, so you don't have to get two of the same. I love my mixed flock and if you are not planning on breeding ducks I highly recommend a mixed flock - easy identification makes it easy for you to know personalities and flock dynamics which is so much of the fun of having pet ducks. Also if you aren't breeding, you want to get them from someplace where you can have them sexed and get all girls. Drakes can be very aggressive and if you have more than one (in a 4-6 duck flock), they may even kill your other ducks. Also if a drake tries to breed with a chicken, they can kill them (ducks are built much different than chickens). I have 2 drakes in a flock of 15. One isn't too much trouble, the other is nothing but trouble (from April - November anyway) enough that he needs his own place to stay, his own food and water and his own pool because he can't be left unsupervised with the rest of the flock. We love him a lot so we won't rehome him or send him to freezer camp, but he is nearly as much work in the spring/summer/fall as the rest of the flock together.

I hear what you're saying about identification! I have 5 pekin hens!!! I can't tell one from the other! Yes to all hens!!!! I can't handle the aggressiveness of the drakes. BUT hens can get pretty loud, with 5 of them! Whew!!! Glad we're in the country with no neighbors! LOL So like you, I agree, all hens! Love 'em!
Mandy

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I hear what you're saying about identification! I have 5 pekin hens!!! I can't tell one from the other! Yes to all hens!!!! I can't handle the aggressiveness of the drakes. BUT hens can get pretty loud, with 5 of them! Whew!!! Glad we're in the country with no neighbors! LOL So like you, I agree, all hens! Love 'em!
Mandy

And Pekins are the loudest ones! My runners make more noise (frequency and intensity), but when Allie (my Pekin) wants something to be known, I can be indoors with the radio going and I know it!