The khaki-Campbell duck Thread !!!!!!!!

[Amiga]

I have not been doing epsom salt compresses. How do i do them is there a thred on here? Also last night I stopped at a local feed store and they had an antibiotic because it is definitely an infection. His foot is cold but the top knuckle is hot to the touch. Its also 2 times the size of the other leg. He has no reflexes left in that leg and im praying its not late for him. He is using his wing as a leg to get around. I put some warm water in a tote last night and let him float around for a while because someone had recommended that. I mixed the antibiotic in his water and he is drinking that i noticed this morning. I do have the Storeys guide to raising ducks book but it doesn't have much info on a case like this.
Will his reflexes come back after the swelling goes down? Have you seen this before? and how can I prevent it from happening.

Ducks can rebound from some very tough injuires, I would not give up. And nerves can recover. We just have to see how it goes.

You are right, I think, to go to an antibiotic. I might also consider putting an antibiotic ointment on the joint, externally, to try to get at it that way. I do not know, though, how different antibiotics would react and interact, so please if you think about doing this, look into it first.

 

[Abesinger]

Can someone enlighten me as to how ducks are claimed to be better than and even easier to maintain than chickens?  Mine seem to be more trouble and lot more messy.

Tbh the only things ducks have that are superior to chickens is their healthier eggs, but any thing else chicken hold the standard

 

[Amiga]

Can someone enlighten me as to how ducks are claimed to be better than and even easier to maintain than chickens? Mine seem to be more trouble and lot more messy.

I don't have chickens, so I cannot compare. Since ducks are waterfowl, if one is not used to that, then it must be quite a difference. Here are some links that deal with ducklings and water.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/679433/water-water-everywhere/10

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/858161/feed-water-solution-for-brooder#post_12901321

http://frankiemakes.blogspot.ca/2012/06/watering-solution-for-ducks.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/259876/do-your-ducks-have-water-at-night/10#post_13568197

post number 8 from this
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/959603/ducklings-getting-stuck-on-their-backs#post_14939819

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/969751/help-baby-ducklings#post_15125952

For my adult ducks, I use a watering station.





This works to keep the bedding from getting really wet and sloppy.

Also for outdoor pens, a 2% to 3% slope keeps water from ponding in the pen. At the downhill side, a shallow channel can be used to direct runoff water into garden or mulched areas. I use a bit of chopped straw in the day pen, and that mixes with manure, smells earthy, not unpleasant, and I pull out some of the compost that it makes and use that in the garden.

 

[Duck Love88]

Can someone enlighten me as to how ducks are claimed to be better than and even easier to maintain than chickens? Mine seem to be more trouble and lot more messy.

LOL, At first I thought so too. Bought some from my local Tractor Supply and no matter what I did I could not keep their coop dry! Water was EVERYWHERE...but after trial and error I put their water outside the coop in the run and problem solved. They are also noted to have less health problem than Chickens and can forage for a lot of their food in the summer time if you let them free range. I love my ducks and they dont try attacking my vehicles because they see themselves in the chrome. HAHA had that happen with Chickens and Turkeys lol.

 

[Duck Love88]

@Amiga Yes, hes not drinking the water. He may sneak a nibble on me tho! lol

 

[TiffaStar]

Quote:
Originally Posted by nchvac

Can someone enlighten me as to how ducks are claimed to be better than and even easier to maintain than chickens? Mine seem to be more trouble and lot more messy.
Are they still ducklings in the brooder or ducks that are outside?

Mine are still ducklings, and the first week was fine. The second week was hell. Their entire brooder was SOAKED by the time I got to them in the morning. They had food/water all night. I almost started taking it out at night. But, I changed their water bowls. I have two different ones in there now. one is a milk jug, it is not pretty but it works! Just a hole cut out so they can put their heads in. I actually should've made the hole smaller, but it's okay. Another is a stoneware type thing. Not really sure how to describe it. I placed each of those inside of another container. Then the overflow just goes into the second bowl. Their brooder stays almost completely dry, with the exception of right around the water bowls. Some still gets out. It's a lot more doable, and I don't want to rip my hair out anymore.


I'll have to post back once mine go outside.

I've never had chickens, but I knew that ducks were messy with water. So I somewhat knew what I was getting into.

 

[TiffaStar]

Quote:
Originally Posted by mzmolly65







I let the "kids" out today. It took them all of 5 minutes to find the pool and jump in. They were SO happy. They splashed, swam, dove, splashed some more .. they got out and back in again .. out and in again, LOL! They were so tired that Katherine was losing her balance and falling down and Wanda fell asleep in the pool. While they were entertaining themselves I cleaned their coop, added fresh bedding and refilled their water and feed buckets.

When they were finally exhausted from swimming they all found a sunny spot and preened until their feathers were fluffed and shining. How nice to be clean again. I went around the garden shed/coop to get something and the cheeky birds squeezed under the fence and got into the main part of the back yard (escaped but still safe). I can see I'll have to solve that problem before they can be left alone during the day (because if I wasn't watching they could have made it out to the front yard and the road or the creek and the wild ducks and I don't know if I could have got them out of the creek). So I herded them back into their pen and they decided it was time to grub around for creepy crawlies and eat lots of grass. They were finally so tired and the sun was starting to go down so I herded them off to bed for the night and they haven't made a quack since.

Wow are they thin. When they're wet and not fluffed up you can see every bone, it's so sad but I'm glad they had a happy day and filled their bellies (well crops) with all kinds of good things.
What's the ramp thing you have in the pool??

 

[nchvac]

I don't have chickens, so I cannot compare. Since ducks are waterfowl, if one is not used to that, then it must be quite a difference. Here are some links that deal with ducklings and water.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/679433/water-water-everywhere/10

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/858161/feed-water-solution-for-brooder#post_12901321

http://frankiemakes.blogspot.ca/2012/06/watering-solution-for-ducks.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/259876/do-your-ducks-have-water-at-night/10#post_13568197

post number 8 from this
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/959603/ducklings-getting-stuck-on-their-backs#post_14939819

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/969751/help-baby-ducklings#post_15125952

For my adult ducks, I use a watering station.





This works to keep the bedding from getting really wet and sloppy.

Also for outdoor pens, a 2% to 3% slope keeps water from ponding in the pen. At the downhill side, a shallow channel can be used to direct runoff water into garden or mulched areas. I use a bit of chopped straw in the day pen, and that mixes with manure, smells earthy, not unpleasant, and I pull out some of the compost that it makes and use that in the garden.

I like this idea for the water.

 

[mzmolly65]

What's the ramp thing you have in the pool??

Just some old pieces of concrete sidewalk that I stacked to make stairs for them.

 

[KJ6485]

Can someone enlighten me as to how ducks are claimed to be better than and even easier to maintain than chickens? Mine seem to be more trouble and lot more messy.

I have my ducks outside in a small coop with attached small run, during the day I open the door of the run and they free range (they dont go far from home) They swim in our small hand dug backyard pond (20 by 8 feet) and at night i throw some worms in the coop and they go to bed where they get locked in. They hardly eat any feed now that they wander during the day, they eat weeds and whatnot. I dont even have to water them since they have access to the pond all day. Honestly, they are effortless. Unfortunately trying to keep ANY animal confined to an unnatural area will naturally make for a messy situation. In a brooder they are a disaster but once they reach 3 weeks old and go outside they are great!