The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[CityChicker]

It's awesome to have you here, Aubrey! I'm sure you are a wealth of information from hand's on experience (something I personally really value). Too many people just parrot what they have heard from others without a lot of first hand knowledge (not that this is always bad of course). I can't wait to see more of your birds and read about your experiences. I have never been as into ornamental waterfowl as I have been in domestics, but I have really been itching to get back into them. One of our primary problems here is adequate space (which may be remedied soon). My husband and I are keeping some of our birds here (a smallish .5 acre lot in town) and a lot at my Mother-in-law's farm, which is about 7 acres. So much of that though is mountainous, so just not enough room for us anymore. So much different than when I leased a farm and of course also had access to my family's farm and flock.

For awhile my Father (and Grandparents) did a lot of work with ornamental waterfowl as well, not just domestics. Dad had probably about 30 species, but really always focused more on domestics. Once you have had the more exotic waterfowl though, you always still want to keep a few in your collection. Their beauty is really something, even in the bird world outside of just waterfowl. They would go head to head in that department even with the most beautiful parrots, IMHO. Anyway, our birds almost across the board always did better when we had them in large planted flights (with actual flight room) and expansive ponds. I know that not all species necessarily need this, but I think ours always did better in that environment and we just don't currently have the space for that anymore (at least not here in CO). I know this thread is going to really make me want to push the hubby to buy a new farm! LOL

BTW- I can totally relate to starting early in life and having people think they need to be talking to your dad! LOL, I can't tell you the number of times that happened to me.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

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I hear ya, make 'em go for it!

And yes I fully agree with every thing you just said. Always bigger is better when dealing with these birds. If they arent comfortable and secure feeling, they will pase the fence, be super flighty, not produce for you, and the stress will make them susceptible to illness (they are all fairly hearty though). My smallest aviaries were 150x50 x 12 tall.
Not all have to have massive pens though, like you said. The teal for example being so small themselves can do well in 10x10 pens. But still need it well landscaped to feel hidden and safe. Also, for most, shelducks aside, the larger the pond area the better, especially for the divers. Some like ruddy ducks can barely walk on land and have to have water. For all of them water is essential in their preening and feather conditioning. Without it, they will loose feather quality, be more prone to mites and other external parasites, and just have a lower quality of life.
Whenever I would get new shipments of waterfowl in, it would only take one look to see how well they were cared for and how much water they were exposed to.
Got some from an unknown breeder once out of Kentucky, the boxes smelled like mud before you even opened them, birds had dry brittle feathers, and just looked pitiful. Took a full molt before I could ever get them back in good condition. So yes, good, clean water is essential for these species.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

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No problem.
And no, you will not have to do a report for this. As long as you are not selling,and not a permit holder, you are not under their license requirements for the annual report. However, any produced by you MUST still be properly marked in accordance to the laws of that permit.
You must either clip the right hind toe, pinion them, or properly band them regardless of being a licensed seller or not.
I was going to suggest if you werent pushed to sell any, to just wait til Jan 1, 2011 and get the permit. Them you would be 18 and have no trouble with it.

 

[1lpoock]

Yeah I will probably do that...I have lots of mandarin and ringed teal eggs about to hatch so I will probably sell some of those this fall, but they aren't under the migratory waterfowl act.

Yeah, I already marked them. I took the hind right toe off and while I was at it, I clipped the tips of their toenails, they are SO sharp.

 

[destinduck]

Great post Aubrey. I know everyone will benefit from you.Hope this could be a sticky.

 

[lcwilson2010]

wow aubrey thank you for sharing all that info. im still an early teen myself and only have chickens but i think it would be wonderful to have lots of exotic waterfowl. cant wait till im 18.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

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Thanks
terrielacey already made it one, it's in the top sticky group for the ducks!
Love that harlequin avitar too.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

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They are very addictive, and you'll be hard pressed to beat them in beauty. You dont have to be 18 to own they though!

and like I said a, all the forgein species are free of all that paper work anyway...
Kepp at it, always love to hear of all you young folks being into birds, yall are the future of the hobby!

 

[lcwilson2010]

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They are very addictive, and you'll be hard pressed to beat them in beauty. You dont have to be 18 to own they though!

and like I said a, all the forgein species are free of all that paper work anyway...
Kepp at it, always love to hear of all you young folks being into birds, yall are the future of the hobby!

ohhh alrite then. well im going to be building some pens soon so maybe i will just get me some of them. good thing for me to get into i think. thank again aubrey. lots of good info.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Here's a little break down on feed requirements for captive waterfowl.

Lots of breeders love the Mazuri brand by Purina. It is a great feed ration, you cant go wrong with it, but you can go broke on it!!
If you just have a few birds, you'll be in greatr shape, but if you were like me feeding 200 lbs of feed a day, in todays prices, that'd be close to $200 a day !

I always used Purina Gamebird chows, and or just Purina Layena. Both work great and really arent much different in quality.
Grains should be avoided during breeding season as they tend to pack the fat on them, with this in mind, I always changed over to about 30% whole corn during the winter months just to give them a little extra insulation.

To supplement the animal protein they get in the wild, I religiously gave a few bowls full of floating catfish food daily to all the species. It's a great treat too, allows you to interact with them, see them all well to look them over for problems, and they just love it. It's about 30% protein on average some are 40% and is made of fish meal for the most part so it's great for them. Most all zoos have it on hand for the patrons to feed as they pass by the waterfowl exhibits.
Now for divers, this is a must, especially the mergansers and smew as they are solely fish eaters in the wild and dont fair very well on straight feed rations. All divers need this as they all eat a lot more animal proteins than the dabblers do.
Sea ducks like the eiders, take it even further and really should be fed Mazuri Sea duck diet if at all possible, they are all expensive enough to fully justify the price of the feed.

BROODING
For ducklings, a lot of the species will start just fine on their own, but for the most part all divers should be given meal worms to start them off, as they arent really sure what to do with feed. The best way to do this is to place several small meal worms in the feed tray, then lightly cover them with starter (non medicated) . They will pick at the movement in the feed and in a few days have it figured out. For most dabblers, they figure it out on their own pretty quickly, if needed place a baby chick in there for a day or so and they get the hang of it. Once they are eating, get that chick out though, I never liked the risk of a chicken disease getting my high dollar babies too much.
Once you have a duckling going, you can then use it to teach new hatchlings how to do it as long as there isnt too much age difference.
Species like mergansers , smew, bufflehead, and goldeneyes will benefit from prolonged mealworm feeding just for the extra protein it gives them. Watch other species in the same brooder with them like woodies, they are much more aggressive feeders and will get all the good stuff before the mergansers have a chance. For that reason, once started, I always liked to brood those species separately to be sure they were getting what they needed to survive and be healthy. Also the dabbler speices do not need the extra protein at this time, it can actually cause problems in the like angel wing. The first 4 weeks of life a good average of a 20% or so starter is best, lowered to 15-18% from then on. Angle wing is more common in domestics and geese than wild species, but they too can get it if you arent careful with you feedings. I have never seen a diver species get this disfigurment though and always give them extra protein due to their natural level of animal protein in their diet.

As for brooders, for just a few, an ol cardboard box will do, but you must snip the toe tips off or they'll climb right out of it as soon as you turn your back, especially cavity nesters, dont matter how slick the box feels to you, those little needles they have for toes are made for getting out. Dont get into the quick, just snip the very tip.

There are 2 types of brooding methods generally used for waterfowl, dry and wet. Dry is no different than a chicken brooder. Mine were 3 foot wide, 8 foot long and 2 foot tall.
The back 3 feet was boxed in, the rest hardware cloth. This is the most common method and cleanest.
The BEST method is wet brooding, it is the same as dry brooding, but they have access to water to swim in. All of you know how messy baby ducks can be, but this method does give them a quick start on feather conditioning . They obviously can swim at day 1 , but they get a lot of their oils from their mothers feathers at this point, so for the first week or so, make water limited to them, they will build up their own oils pretty quickly when exposed to water and after a bit, you can fully wet brood them.
The feather benefits from this are very noticeable, but to be honest, I dry brooded most all of mine, some like the ruddy ducks, almost must be wet brooded though as their legs are set so far back on their body that they cant walk well on dry land.

If dry brooding is your way of choice, there are a few things to remember/ Their oils arent very well established on their feathers due to not being in the water. Water exposure will trigger their instinct to preen, and thus spread the oils over their feathers to properly water proof themselves. Oil is not the only part that waterproofs them, their outer feathers are just the first line of defense, the inner fuzz, and method of laying of the feathers plays a role in it too, but un oiled, they are just a big sponge.
When first introducing them to water, at any age, but especially younger birds still in or with some down, make it short monitored trips. At first you will notice they are holding some water when you get them out. But you should notice them go crazy playing and preening in it too. After a week, they will be fully water proofed you will notice the water bead right off them, at this point, you are good to go, they can now live their entire life ON water and never have to get out, aside from nesting and flying, some dont!

Well my fingers are tired, I'll break down the species here for long with generalized info on them for yall.
Thanks for all the support!
Aubrey