The Duck Thread

[Miss Lydia]

My mom took my limper to the vet and sadly he said he had a neurological issue and it would not heal so he put him down.

was this the one you posted the pic of in the tub? so sorry... how are the other 2 doing?

 

[bloonskiller911]

This seems to be the most active thread in the Duck Forum. So to preface this I have never incubated anything but chicken eggs. I have a duck egg that should have hatched yesterday, but nothing. So very frustrated right now. I've been trying to keep the humidity up, and when I last added water I must say that I did candle the egg and it appeared to being moving inside, but I did not see any internal pip. Any advice from those of you that have incubated duck eggs before!?! Thank you

Also these are Pekin duck eggs, if that helps any.

 

[Miss Lydia]

This seems to be the most active thread in the Duck Forum. So to preface this I have never incubated anything but chicken eggs. I have a duck egg that should have hatched yesterday, but nothing. So very frustrated right now. I've been trying to keep the humidity up, and when I last added water I must say that I did candle the egg and it appeared to being moving inside, but I did not see any internal pip. Any advice from those of you that have incubated duck eggs before!?! Thank you Also these are Pekin duck eggs, if that helps any.

Ducklings have there own time table so patience is the virtue here, if you saw movement then hopefully all is well. I can say this to you and I have Never incubated eggs before

but my ducks have. Hoping you see internal pip very soon, oh and I guess you know once internal pip happens it can still take 24-36 hrs for hatch? So sit on those hands.

 

[bloonskiller911]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Forest of Ducks]

Yes it

was this the one you posted the pic of in the tub? so sorry... how are the other 2 doing?

was and by the time my mom put the other one up she was gone I don't know how there getting In the coop is lined with bricks and there aren't any holes under the fence soooo....

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes it
was and by the time my mom put the other one up she was gone

I don't know how there getting In the coop is lined with bricks and there aren't any holes under the fence soooo....

Must be a breech somewhere, I'd go over it again and again, it only takes a small 1" hole for a mink to get through or a weasel. I'm very sorry. How many are left? I was thinking 2.

 

[vwright0401]

I have just 2 ducks and about 40 chickens of various breeds. The 2 ducks we have are crested one white hen, she's the only one that quacks, I'm assuming pekin and the drake is a beauitful black with purple on his wings. I didn't know anything about crested ducks, we were at a swap and my daughter had been asking for ducks for months so I caved and bought just the 2. And no I won't be breeding them, now that I've read up on why they are crested. They are about 4 months old now, and I have a pool for them which is fed several times a day by our sump pump in the basement. The water is crystal clear and cold and it gets circulated several times a day. Even in winter it doesn't freeze, I've seen water flowing under the snow. I usually feed scratch grains to the chickens in the evenings and the ducks always show up for that out at the barn but spend much of their time around the "swampy" area around the pool. I'm thinking this winter they will still have access to water if I let them stay in this area and just buy them a big dog house to stay out of bad weather. I actually have a totally separate fenced in run area that I use for meat chickens, that is empty now, but the ducks could use that all winter and it has a nice enclosed buidlng they could stay in. The problem is getting water out there in the winter. I wouldn't be able to give them the pool, just a heated stand for their drinking water. At night now, instead of bedding down with the chickens they just sleep next to the pool together. Any suggestions are always welcome, these are my first and only 2 ducks, so I'm definitely still learning.

 

[Forest of Ducks]

I h

...

Must be a breech somewhere, I'd go over it again and again, it only takes a small 1" hole for a mink to get through or a weasel. I'm very sorry. How many are left? I was thinking 2.
[/quote I have none left sadly

 

[Miss Lydia]

I h
Quote:

I'm so sorry.

 

[Amiga]

I have just 2 ducks and about 40 chickens of various breeds. The 2 ducks we have are crested one white hen, she's the only one that quacks, I'm assuming pekin and the drake is a beauitful black with purple on his wings. I didn't know anything about crested ducks, we were at a swap and my daughter had been asking for ducks for months so I caved and bought just the 2. And no I won't be breeding them, now that I've read up on why they are crested. They are about 4 months old now, and I have a pool for them which is fed several times a day by our sump pump in the basement. The water is crystal clear and cold and it gets circulated several times a day. Even in winter it doesn't freeze, I've seen water flowing under the snow. I usually feed scratch grains to the chickens in the evenings and the ducks always show up for that out at the barn but spend much of their time around the "swampy" area around the pool. I'm thinking this winter they will still have access to water if I let them stay in this area and just buy them a big dog house to stay out of bad weather. I actually have a totally separate fenced in run area that I use for meat chickens, that is empty now, but the ducks could use that all winter and it has a nice enclosed buidlng they could stay in. The problem is getting water out there in the winter. I wouldn't be able to give them the pool, just a heated stand for their drinking water. At night now, instead of bedding down with the chickens they just sleep next to the pool together. Any suggestions are always welcome, these are my first and only 2 ducks, so I'm definitely still learning.

My first concern is that the ducks have a very secure place especially at night. Predators, seems to me, prefer duck. So they will start coming out of the woodwork. I don't know for sure from your post that they are in a place where raccoons, weasels, owls cannot get to them, so keep them safe.

In winter, a number of us have trouble getting as much water to the ducks for swimming as we can the rest of the year. Ducks can manage, of course the ideal is for them to be able to bathe daily. At the least, they need to be able to wash their heads and necks frequently, to avoid disease. If you can set up a secure shelter near the pool that can get water during the winter that sounds best.