The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Quote:
Yep,
That's what I was going to say too.
As long as they are over 3 generations form the wild, no permits are required for mallards. Under 3 gen. yes you do have to have it.

Also to your landscaping question, sure thats a great idea. I live in a low area myself , have a 12 acre swamp and a creek that runs threw the property. I always dug up stuff from around the swamp and put in the pens for them. Cattails, reed grasses, black willow trees, anything like that to make it more "natural" will go a long way for any of them.
Mallards even the wild strains will fall into that "do not put them in with any other species" class though, they will cross breed everything in the pen with them.
No do not mix them with ANY upland birds, not so much for the ducks sake, but the upland bird's. The mess waterfowl create can be very deadly bacteria wise to upland birds, especially game fowl like turkeys, partridge, grouse, pheasants and quail.

 

[sgt_dane]

I hadnt originally planned to combine them, just their pens are connected but divided by wire, if theyre too close it is still early enough that i can make the flight pen somewhere else, i have another spot thats back about 40 ft from the pheasants and chukar, the only reason i didnt put it there in the first place is its more out of sight and closer to the neighbors who have dogs. They have chickens and stuff that run around their yard, but i know how dogs can be with the whole "its not on our property, its fair game" attitude some have.. But like i said, i CAN move it, i can build it completely different so its just away, itll just take a lot more work.. Im looking at eventually getting a larger property with more yard that i can work with, i want to have a flock of mallards, mandarins, wood ducks and maybe hooded mergansers.. When im rich and famous, right?

Anyways, im thinking some reed grass for their pond, they have natural wheat that will grow in the cage, it grows quite fast too so they shouldnt have an issue there.. What would you recommend for cover? In the winter time here it can get quite chilly, like -20 F.. Dont know what to build, if they need a place to keep warm or if theyll be alright? since the wild ones do great, im not too sure..
Thanks again for your input.

Greatly appreciated.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

As long as they arent IN the same enclose, most of the time you'll be just fine, it's when they are allowed into each others mess when you usually will have issues. You should be fine the way you are going, BUT the safest way is to have them totally separated.
As for the dogs, I hear ya there, lost a many a bird to neighbors dogs, and CATS.

As for cover, they'll be fine, they are tougher than people give the credit for, like you said, more birds winter there than about any where. There are a few cold sensitive species but mallards arent one of them. If you did want to do a small shelter for them where on those extremely bad night you could shut them up with a heat lamp, you might not be too bad off there. Just bare in mind, if you spoil them, you can kill them. By that I mean this. They build up for the winter, fat, feathering, everything. If they get used to warm nights, they will shed some of that protection, then say you forget to put them up one night, well they arent protected then by their natural insulation and can die for extreme cold. Which ever way you decide to go, stick with it, a night or two in a row with heat wont hurt anything, It has to be a prolonged exposure then a stop to it to mess up their system and cause a problem.

Mandarins and wood ducks arent bad if you get a decent seller, a lot of the web based deals are outrageous. Hoodeds usually run about $125-$150 per yearling pair though.

 

[sgt_dane]

Im going to have them separated by a thick grass wall as well, itll have a good month to grow up and itll be planted right beside the fence, on both sides. Maybe if i can get good pictures of the set up i have ill post them on here and see what you think. Yes im going to put netting on the top of the flights, its 6 ft tall at the shortest point going up to just above 7 ft at the peak. Theres large cottonwood trees growing thoughout the flight so i have to manouver around them when putting the netting up but thats not going to be an issue... I also find a liking to widgeons, theyre goofy and so majestic. Waterfowl is my passion and i cant get into it the way i would like to due to the lack of property to keep them.. I refuse to have something in a small cage just to have it, if i cant take care of it the way it deserves to be taken care of i wont get it until i can. Do you think the ducklings would eat meal worms or crickets? Also, do you know what angel wing is?

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Great you feel that way! So many people, in all walks of aviculture, just get them cause they want them, then worry about where to put them later, this almost always ends in a bad way for the birds. So I commend you for what you just said!!!

Yes, Angle wing is a protein deficiency, well actually a protein over load. People often get overly concerned with the need for protein, well in most all fowl, too much is worse than not enough. This is the case with angle wing. Too much will cause it, and make the wings curl upward. Ducks do best on about 20% for the first 3 weeks or so, then take them back down to 14-16% from then on. Same thing can happen to turkeys and peafowl , it effects their legs in their case.

As for meal worms and crickets, yes they'll love them, though they arent required for mallards, but they'll sure appreciate them....

 

[sgt_dane]

AtsTHAt's why I'm looking for the 'best type' of diet for the birds. I want them to be healthy and happy from the start. My babies are 8 days fom hatching soo excited. But yes I've always felt that way when it comes to living conditions for the birds, I love them as a hobby because they're just amazing little birds to have. It's a learning experience for my kids and a passion o mine that I can share every day. I often goto the marsh area down the road just to watch the birds fly aroud and live in their natural habitat. How better to learn to make the best living environment for these guys in captivity than to see how hey live ideally in the wild.. I would like eventually to get some Canadian goslings but that'll be far in the future when I can set up a large flight for them, by large I mean a good 20x20 enclosure for one pair. I'll get pictures set here possibly on Monday. That's when I plan on having my fncing all done by.. The pond will be shortly after.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Quote:
That's dead on there, study of natural habitate is the best way to go for any of them. Thats how I always try to make my aviaries for them. It's not what you think looks good, it's what they like that does best for them. Good luck with it all, sounds like you are right on track. Definately post some pics when you get time, would love to see the project.

 

[sgt_dane]

I just wish i had more space to build them a larger wetland area. It is just three ducks (hopefully!!) but i wish i had a bit more room than 8x12 area for them.. That was the main reason i was wondering about joining them with the pheasants because that would have made the flight 8x32 instead of one being 8x20 and one 8x12.. Maybe pheasants wont work well for me and i can knock down the divider after all

lol. Just chop it right directly in half and get some mandarins or wood ducks for the other side, or both! i know those can be housed together.

My pheasants went on lockdown today and are due to hatch somewhere between monday and wednesday. The ducks are in the same incubator, so its kinda tricky to have them on lockdown and still having to turn the ducks.. oof.. this staggering hatching is interesting thats for sure! Heres my dilema if anyone knows anything about hatching these guys.. im asking about the ducks here; Having them in the same incubator when some are on lockdown, the pheasants need a temp of 98 for the last three days and a raised humidity of 55-60% relative. thing is, my humidity has been 55-60% through the entire incubation process and everybody is doing good so far. The thing im wondering is; are the ducks ok with a slightly lower temp? or are the pheasants ok with a slightly higher temp through the hatching process? I have them separated so i can turn the ducks without touching the pheasants.. any thoughts?

Out i go to work on my enclosure! yay! its sunny and not raining for a change!! (been raining for two days straight) Time to go get the rest of the wire put on the pheasant enclosure and start on the ducks door and work my way around.. Will post pics soon! (It doesnt look like much on the pics, kinda have to see it to get the real feel for it. the trees are so big it makes it look so small but its really not)

 

[Matapatos]

I was thinking about raising upland game and waterfowl together, but not now... I do have a chukar in with my mandarins but its only them 3 in a 14'X24' pen... They seem to get along great! But after some thought I am only going to raise the waterfowl, they sit by the pond and preen themselves all day, and thus can do better in a smaller enclosure. The upland game need a larger enclosure because they move around a lot more... Their feathers get all ratty and they eat the grass down to nothing. But I hunt and try to get them looking their best. I'm not going to shoot these, thats just what I look for.

BBB,
Do the wigeon graze all over the pen or do they concentrate on one area? I don't want part of my pen to be dirt and another part to be mowable...

I need something in there to eat it though! My mandarins like to sit in the pond and pick at a couple plants I have right next to it. They never really do any damage, they just pick at it.

 

[sgt_dane]

Well i got the wire done on half of the enclosure, waiting for the rest of my wire to get here, and well for my daughter to go down for a nap so i can do more

. I took some pics, like i said, it doesnt look like much, well, its not much but i can do with what i have for the moment. Itll work for the pheasants, chukar and i have one single quail, not sure what im gonna do with the little turd.. lol.

These are only the pheasant enclosure, i havnt done really anything for the ducks as of yet.
They were taken with my phone so bare with me here.. lol

Heres the front of it with just the wire along the bottom half, shows my little door made from 2x4s

The back side of the coop, against the neighbors field. Wiring is done on this part. Taken from inside the coop.

This is taken from where the duck enclosure will be. its a good size clearing for them and im thinking about changing the dimensions a little for the ducks.

And this one was taken from the right side , the side the wiring is also complete on..

The framed section of wiring is 6 ft tall, going up to a peak of just above 7 ft. The trees are pretty good size in there.. Still have to do the planting, covers, and allow the hay to grow up a bit in it.. (weed wacked it down before i decided that it was a good place to put the cage

)

Anyways this gives you the idea of what im doing, what kind of situation the birds will be living in. Yeah its not the ducks enclosure but it gives you the right idea.