Teach me everything Pekin duck!

[The Cave]

As the topic states, my DH desperately wants ducks. Specifically two "Donald and Daffy" . I am a chicken lady so I do all my own hatching and raising. I've never considered raising ducks but I am all about supporting his goals as he supports my crazy chicken lady ones so much. He is dead set on Pekin Ducks ps.

Here's a list of things Id like to know more about...and I know I could scour the internet but I enjoy reading everyones personal experiences and feedback a lot more. I also have found some links to be misleading since getting into chickens.

1. Incubation
2. Feeding
3. Living accommodations (bedding, sleeping area, space etc) (Can they live with chickens? Including one Rooster)
4. Water source- Pond or pool?
5. Winter requirments
6. Anything else you think I should know!



Thank you for you help!

 

[CoriM]

I love the personal feedback as well, and wish I had known of a place to seek it out before getting my ducks. I read some books, but they were not nearly as informative as BYC! I have three pekins who are a couple of years old. I think I've imprinted on them more than they on me. I just love them. However, I've also had issues with them due to their size. When they are babies, they often don't get enough niacin with the traditional feeds. I had one who developed splay leg and another one with mild pigeon toe. I was able to reverse the splay leg and she healed to where she is totally fine now. But I've had ongoing issues with my largest pekin with bumblefoot and limping. They eat about three times as much as my Welsh Harlequins, and poop about three times as much as well. It's really amazing! If I were to get ducks again I might try the white layers. They are much smaller, similar in appearance, and I've heard on this site that they have similar fun and quirky personalities. I love my girls personalities and I'm more attached to them than my Welshies, maybe because their personalities are just bigger. Nonetheless, they aren't without their drawbacks.

As for care, just babysitting chickens and observing friends with chickens, I think ducks take a lot more work. Due to the constant water they need for eating and playing, things are messier and it's more work to keep their substrate dry and clean. I scoop poop from my ducks run at least three times a day, and replace their water that often as well. I have a good sized run, but it's not grass and their main desire is to be out in the yard foraging, so I spend a good deal of time supervising them out there. I know that a lot of people have better set-ups that way than I do, or live in areas with less predators.

In the winter I have a sweeter heater that I use in their night time area if it falls below freezing. They seem to lay under that only if it gets that cold.

I'm right now feeding Mazuri waterfowl food and Scratch and Peck fermented grains. Supplemented with kale, zuchinni, peas, and meal worms for treats.

I have a little preformed pond in my duck run, and a bigger one in my yard. It's a bit of work to keep them clean, but we installed drains and it just takes some scrubbing down and regular re-filling, as they get them dirty so fast.

I've never had chickens, only ducks, so I bet others will give you much more information on your other questions.

I really love my ducks, but they're definitely a commitment as far as the work involved!

 

[fatty and friends]

pekin ducks get more leg issues than smaller breeds because of their weight, so definitely make sure you are able to treat any issues they will have

chicken feed isn’t okay for ducks, they need duck specific food with lots of niacin

pools are fine, i clean and refill our duck pools daily and mine love it

pekin are the best, here are my 2 boys

 

[CoriM]

I would also add that if you want a male you will probably want at least four females to keep a safe ratio so there isn't over-mating. A minimum of three ducks too, in case something happens to one of them. From what I read a single duck will be distraught without their friend.

 

[LT71689]

Pekins will be more than happy to eat you out of house and home - they're specifically designed for meat production so they grow fast and they grow big. Because they're meant for eating, they're not built for longevity, keeping them as a pet is working against their nature a bit. Not to say it isnt worth it, you're just best off going into it with open eyes.

As others said, theyre prone to leg and foot issues so you have to be extra diligent with keeping an eye on those things from the very beginning and you'll probably want the fancy good duck food (mazuri) instead of trying to fuss with niacin supplementation in chicken food. The bottoms of all ducks feet are also more meaty and sensitive than chickens and again, pekins are especially heavy, so your bedding/run cover might be too rough for them. They're basically the show dogs of the duck world in terms of needed care.

Female ducks can live with chickens, but ducks - especially big pekins - are messy and chickens dont love mess. If you house them together you'll probably be expanding/modifying your coop. Ducks dont roost so they need somewhere on the floor where chickens wont be above them pooping on them all night. They generate a lot of moisture so your venting and bedding might need adjusting, especially because of the poop. They'll need a water source and if you hatch chickens that might be dangerous for the babies (chicks drown easily) Ducks need to be able to dunk their whole heads into their drinking water so your existing chicken waterers might not be suitable. They dont love steep ramps so if your coop is elevated you might struggle to get them to go in and out on their own. Ducks should have at least 4sq ft per bird to call their own.

Male ducks need at least 3 or 4 females, sometimes even more to prevent overmating, so I'd stick to females unless you're prepared and happy for a larger flock. If you get any male ducks they should be permanently separated from the chickens as a duck mating with a chicken can kill it.

It's tough to accurately sex ducklings, so if you really want to go through hatching yourself be prepared to rehome/cull if having a male duck turns out to not be what you want/need for your flock.


A lot of folks do fine with a kiddie pool or two, but a pond is of course nice. They'll eat anything you put in a pond so dont count on fish. They'll mess it up in about 5 minutes.

Ducks are pretty cold-hardy, so whatever you're doing for your chickens already is probably good

 

[The Cave]

I would also add that if you want a male you will probably want at least four females to keep a safe ratio so there isn't over-mating. A minimum of three ducks too, in case something happens to one of them. From what I read a single duck will be distraught without their friend.

Thank you so much everyone for these helpful replies! I had no idea Pekin were meat ducks. I was hoping to set 6-12 eggs and see how it goes, so hopefully we get 3-5 for sure. Are male ducks similar to Roosters? Herd protection/can be aggressive? Does anyone have advice on incubating them? I am thinking they will need their own coop for sure, the thought of any duck beaking my chickens is not something I want to deal with. I will have some discussion tonight with the DH to let him know about all these things and see if we can figure something nice out for his duck flock.

 

[SolarDuck]

You can put them with the chickens but only if you get 0 males. If he is dead set on Pekin then I guess just be prepared to spend more on vet bills than other breeds, as others have stated they are bred for meat and have many problems due to it. Yes male ducks are similar to roosters in some ways, you definitely will want many females per male definitely at least 3 females per male but really as many as possible. If you want a duck that is similar looking to Pekin but not as big and therefore not as prone to weight related problems, a white layer is a great consideration.

 

[Ratchnick]

Just make sure they get lots of niacin as babies. Pekins have a greater requirement then other breeds. Besides that ducks are similar to chicks except they are better in every way. Ha ha, just kidding..... but seriously....


P.s. pekins are kinda like cornish cross in that if you keep a meat bird as a pet they tend to get health issues. You might think about white layers instead.

 

[The Cave]

You can put them with the chickens but only if you get 0 males. If he is dead set on Pekin then I guess just be prepared to spend more on vet bills than other breeds, as others have stated they are bred for meat and have many problems due to it. Yes male ducks are similar to roosters in some ways, you definitely will want many females per male definitely at least 3 females per male but really as many as possible. If you want a duck that is similar looking to Pekin but not as big and therefore not as prone to weight related problems, a white layer is a great consideration.

I am in vet med but gosh darn I don't want any health scares. Is it just their feet and legs that seem to be the problem? Or are there more issues (not including feeding deficiencies)

 

[SolarDuck]

I think its mostly leg and foot related, and they don't live as long most of the time. Google says the lifespan of a Pekin is 5 years. If you are getting them as pets that is definitely a downside compared to other ducks like Muscovy which I have that live 10-20 years.