The Duck Thread

[graham B]

Mine were hatched in July and, as Amiga has said, they waited until this Spring to lay.
8 1/2 weeks is close as far as a voice change...they will still be squeaky like akward teenagers, but drakes are more raspy and croaky sounding and hens don't hold back....have you ever heard a hunting duck call? That's pretty much what a female will sound like....if you still need more examples of the differences, youtube female duck quack or male duck quack and there are videos on there of them quacking....at about 3 mos. you may start to see a curl at the base of the tail too...tell-tale (get it? TELL-TALE?!? ) sign of a drake. Good luck!

Thanks for this... I have listened and listened to the ducks and watched the vids on YouTube and I still can't make my mind up.... As these are the first ducks I have ever had...I want to be sure before I have to trim down the flock of males....

They are also not very friendly as most of the time I can't get closer than 2 metres... No matter how hard I try... They run a mile... They won't take treats out of my hand and they hate being picked up.... Have I done anything wrong? I have had then since 3 days old and when they lived in the house, they were picked up constantly..... How does one make a duck like you? Lol

 

[Amiga]

They go through a phase of being very frightened of anyone taller than they are, which is most of us

During this time, sit near them (3.5 metres perhaps), roll peas toward them, sing, talk, just hang out. Stay low. Take a nap next to the brooder. It takes several weeks, but they most likely will come back around at least to the point of being happy to see you and stand next to you and take treats from your hand. This seems to be a survival mechanism as far as I can tell. My runners got over it eventually.

But they do not like being picked up.

 

[DonaldFan]

Got a weird question. I know ducks use gravel in their crop to break down food but our Daphne duck seems to have eaten actual rocks. You pet her in that area and you can hear crunching like rocks. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? I work for a vet and am going to take her into work with me tomorrow.

Thank you,

Jenn

 

[cluckcluckluke]

They are just 8 1/2 weeks old. I think that they are too young to have the curly feather. Not sure though as these are my first ducks. They are noisy little beggars though.... Not much quacking just squeaking really.....

wow, they are huge. I thought they where fully grown.lol.

 

[granny05]

thanks for your information,both of u. cluckcluck and amiga. now I have an estimate of when I may start getting eggs.

 

[graham B]

Yep.... They are very big.... The 6 go through a 20kg bag of feed every 15 days..... With little food being lost on the floor... They also free range all day every day and the slugs etc have really gone down in the garden.... Which
Now looks like a duck pluckers factory as they are shedding their baby feathers!!! Ducks are just so much fun to watch and video that going to work now seems like a huge waste of time... Lol... I just wish I knew how many would be staying... Oh, can anyone tell me at what age they will fly.... The little blighters are always trying to fly but can't get off the ground.... I think that their wings will need to be clipped soon....

 

[graham B]

...

They go through a phase of being very frightened of anyone taller than they are, which is most of us 

During this time, sit near them (3.5 metres perhaps), roll peas toward them, sing, talk, just hang out.  Stay low.  Take a nap next to the brooder.  It takes several weeks, but they most likely will come back around at least to the point of being happy to see you and stand next to you and take treats from your hand.  This seems to be a survival mechanism as far as I can tell.  My runners got over it eventually.

But they do not like being picked up.  

Amiga,
Thanks for the advice. I have started giving them peas every morning but weather in the UK at the moment is dreadful and sitting outside with them is not an option..... Hopefully our one week a year of great weather is only just around the corner...

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Quote:
wow, hungry little fellas!!! Well lets hope girls.lol.
lol a duck pluckers factory

!!!!!

Most domestic if not all domestic duck do NOT fly, My runner duck who would be much lighter than your flock can't even fly. I know scovies, KC'c, Pekins, Ancona's and Welsh Harlequins can't fly. Not sure about your white ones though, but I too suspect they don't fly.

 

[graham B]

wow, hungry little fellas!!! Well lets hope girls.lol.
lol a duck pluckers factory !!!!!

Most domestic if not all domestic duck do NOT fly, My runner duck who would be much lighter than your flock can't even fly. I know scovies, KC'c, Pekins, Ancona's and Welsh Harlequins can't fly. Not sure about your white ones though, but I too suspect they don't fly.

I hope that you are right.... Lol. If not I will post a picture of them flying off into the distance....lol.

I wanted runner ducks but the only place that I could find near me that sold them weren't very helpful. So I bought KCs and the chilterns... Which look very much like pekings!!!

I had to spend 20 minutes last night trying to chase one of the KCs through a wheat field on the back of my house as he/she refused to go to bed.... I am glad no one saw me!!!

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Quote:

, if those big fluffy ducks leave the ground I will be very surprised!!!
I like your chilterns, I don't think I would mistake them for a pekin though, they do have their separate look, very lovely though.
LOL, well you have told all of us now, so now we have to make our mental images.lol.