The Duck Thread

[ringaring]

thanks amiga and it'sbob.
I am keeping a watch out just in case some addle brained cat does more than just window-shopping. As for exposure to cat feces; I watch my ducks rummaging through the mud and muck and runoff from their pond and I can't imagine how they could increase their exposure to more bugs, worms, bacteria, viruses and generally disgusting critters and organisms than they do now. I am, however, allergic to cats so I try to clear all their little land mines out when I find them. ...sneaky little fuzz balls...

 

[3birdies71]

We have Pekin ducks right now. Bought them as 3 day old chicks from a neighboring farm at the end of May 2013. We keep them in a homemade shed in our back yard at night and let them free range in our back yard during the day. I read somewhere that they cannot sense hot/cold in there webbed feet although they have seemed effected by the snow-they sit in the yard and pull their feet up under them. When their kiddie pools froze over last this fall they finally ventured into the frog pond my husband had made. LOL so funny! It has a de-icer so it does not freeze over but boy does it stink now!!

We feed them Blue Seal Poultry feed for Geese & Ducks as well as kitchen scraps of veggies and fruit. They love peas, corn, beats, cooked carrots, lettuce, cucumber, love, LOVE tomatoes.
During the summer months we have 2 vegetable gardens-they found our late summer batch of lettuce befor we got to it-also found many ripe tomatoes before we picked them!! We love watching them. Very fun pets to have. Wondering if we should be adding any supplements to there food since our hen has started laying eggs? She lays one about every day right now.

We are thinking of buying another hen duck this spring. Wondering if an Indian Runner would do well with Pekin ducks? Any other suggestions about ducks that that would do well with Pekin? ..also high egg yield since my husband loves to cook/bake (the eggs NOT the ducks!!) We have two elementary school age boys who love to interact with our family pets.

Love this thread,
3birdies

 

[Amiga]

We have Pekin ducks right now. Bought them as 3 day old chicks from a neighboring farm at the end of May 2013. We keep them in a homemade shed in our back yard at night and let them free range in our back yard during the day. I read somewhere that they cannot sense hot/cold in there webbed feet although they have seemed effected by the snow-they sit in the yard and pull their feet up under them. When their kiddie pools froze over last this fall they finally ventured into the frog pond my husband had made. LOL so funny! It has a de-icer so it does not freeze over but boy does it stink now!!

We feed them Blue Seal Poultry feed for Geese & Ducks as well as kitchen scraps of veggies and fruit. They love peas, corn, beats, cooked carrots, lettuce, cucumber, love, LOVE tomatoes.
During the summer months we have 2 vegetable gardens-they found our late summer batch of lettuce befor we got to it-also found many ripe tomatoes before we picked them!! We love watching them. Very fun pets to have. Wondering if we should be adding any supplements to there food since our hen has started laying eggs? She lays one about every day right now.

We are thinking of buying another hen duck this spring. Wondering if an Indian Runner would do well with Pekin ducks? Any other suggestions about ducks that that would do well with Pekin? ..also high egg yield since my husband loves to cook/bake (the eggs NOT the ducks!!) We have two elementary school age boys who love to interact with our family pets.

Love this thread,
3birdies

3birdies71,

what a wonderful intro! I would set out some free choice oyster shell. Layers need extra calcium. And in winter, maybe some vitamins in their water once a month or so. Reminds me, we are due for a little boost around here.

I would not bring in a runner with Pekins - I am very cautious about mixing sizes, especially larger drakes and smaller ducks. Some do. And sometimes there are problems for the little runners.

I would go with something closer in size to the Pekins, like a Swedish, Rouen, Ancona, which are a bit smaller than Pekins, but talking 5 to 7 pounds, where the runners are 3.5 to 4.5 pounds.

Did I miss how many Pekins you have? You mention one female. The best ratio for drakes to ducks (females) is one drake to three or more ducks. So if you have a Pekin drake, I would get larger females.

My runners and buffs most certainly feel the cold! It was about 10F here today and when I let them out of their pen they got a few feet from the door before the buffs all plopped down, yanking their feet into their feathers, and the runners hop-hopped from foot to foot for a minute before running back inside. I had to convince the buffs to get up and go back in. I think my drake wanted to just roll back into the shelter, he did not want to put his feet on the cold ground. Poor guy.

Welcome to Duckdom! Look forward to hearing more of the flock.

 

[itsbob]

     We have Pekin ducks right now.  Bought them as 3 day old chicks from a neighboring farm at the end of May 2013.  We keep them in a homemade shed in our back yard at night and let them free range in our back yard during the day.  I read somewhere that they cannot sense hot/cold in there webbed feet although they have seemed effected by the snow-they sit in the yard and pull their feet up under them.  When their kiddie pools froze over last this fall they finally ventured into the frog pond my husband had made.  LOL so funny! It has a de-icer so it does not freeze over but boy does it stink now!!

     We feed them Blue Seal Poultry feed for Geese & Ducks as well as kitchen scraps of veggies and  fruit.  They love peas, corn, beats, cooked carrots, lettuce, cucumber, love, LOVE tomatoes.
During the summer months we have 2 vegetable gardens-they found our late summer batch of lettuce befor we got to it-also found many ripe tomatoes before we picked them!! We love watching them.  Very fun pets to have.  Wondering if we should be adding any supplements to there food since our hen has started laying eggs?  She lays one about every day right now.

     We are thinking of buying another hen duck this spring.  Wondering if an Indian Runner would do well with Pekin ducks?  Any other suggestions about ducks that that would do well with Pekin? ..also high egg yield since my husband loves to cook/bake (the eggs NOT the ducks!!)  We have two elementary school age boys who love to interact with our family pets.

Love this thread,
3birdies

Manchester, NH? That's where I'm from, now in So MD..

But I had two Pekins, Drake and hen and two hen Khaki Campbells.. the khakis I hatched and raised anf the 4 got along GREAT. I lost the khakis to a fox, and the Pekins wandered the yard the next day quaking looking for them. I got the khakis for egg production but **** they were cute, my 7 year old fe in love with them, as did the wife. It was fun watching them and watching them interact with the Pekins..

I'm 5 days away feom my next hatch and have 5 Khakis and 2 Pekins in the Brinsea mini now, to add to our 3 Pekins 4 Muscovies, and 20 assorted chickens.0

 

[dazza1965]

Hk,
could I feed my ducks wild bird food for winter. Seen some fatty pellets for sale and thought itcmight be good for them?? Im in UK. Thanks

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

@dazza1965

I don't like wild bird food for ducks. I don't know exactly how adding that would impact their diets or nutritional needs, but I really don't think it would be enough or with the right protein content or the proper balance of amino acids. I have no idea what is available in the UK, or even if labels there reflect nutritional content like they do here. Here's a link. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/poultry/feeding/nutritional-requirements-ducks

 

[houseofknauss]

We have Pekin ducks right now. Bought them as 3 day old chicks from a neighboring farm at the end of May 2013. We keep them in a homemade shed in our back yard at night and let them free range in our back yard during the day. I read somewhere that they cannot sense hot/cold in there webbed feet although they have seemed effected by the snow-they sit in the yard and pull their feet up under them. When their kiddie pools froze over last this fall they finally ventured into the frog pond my husband had made. LOL so funny! It has a de-icer so it does not freeze over but boy does it stink now!!

We feed them Blue Seal Poultry feed for Geese & Ducks as well as kitchen scraps of veggies and fruit. They love peas, corn, beats, cooked carrots, lettuce, cucumber, love, LOVE tomatoes.
During the summer months we have 2 vegetable gardens-they found our late summer batch of lettuce befor we got to it-also found many ripe tomatoes before we picked them!! We love watching them. Very fun pets to have. Wondering if we should be adding any supplements to there food since our hen has started laying eggs? She lays one about every day right now.

We are thinking of buying another hen duck this spring. Wondering if an Indian Runner would do well with Pekin ducks? Any other suggestions about ducks that that would do well with Pekin? ..also high egg yield since my husband loves to cook/bake (the eggs NOT the ducks!!) We have two elementary school age boys who love to interact with our family pets.

Love this thread,
3birdies

sounds like fun--my ducks are stuck up and wont eat people food. sounds like you really need to get more female ducks. I would suggest rouen since that is my experience. they are good size. I have pekin, rouen, khaki and runners in my crew. I actually feed my chickens and ducks the same layer pellets and whole corn and they do fine. the chickens get all the table scrapes(they are scavengers) once a week I throw in oyster shells and grit for them. good luck this spring!

 

[dazza1965]

@dazza1965

I don't like wild bird food for ducks. I don't know exactly how adding that would impact their diets or nutritional needs, but I really don't think it would be enough or with the right protein content or the proper balance of amino acids. I have no idea what is available in the UK, or even if labels there reflect nutritional content like they do here. Here's a link. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/poultry/feeding/nutritional-requirements-ducks

9
Thanks. It was just a thought, was thinking it would help them through the winter months. I,ll look into the nutrients required in UK

 

[Amiga]

A couple of things BYC members are doing to increase available nutrients without adding to the feed bill are fermenting feed and growing fodder from seeds such as wheat, barley, oats and millet and sunflower.

 

[itsbob]

7 new ducks in lockdown.. 3 days til baby kahakis and Pekins.