The nitty-gritty of ducks

[tweetysvoice]

There is no comparison when it comes to poo.. ducks poo are about 4xs the size of chicken poo and for some reason it seems as if they go 4x as often!
There are ways around dealing with the water mess that ducks create, only because they need the water to wash out their noses. I do find that they "talk" to me much more than the chickens do, so if you have neighbors that need quiet - that's something to think about. I love the sounds though. Their nutrition requirements are a bit different, so you have to be able to supplement them with niacin, BUT>> other than those things. The ducks are the most wonderful addition to my flock (They are housed with chickens and the two groups basically ignore each other), and I wouldn't trade them for the world!!

 

[Wynette]

WOW - interesting on Runners liking to swim! I have two different friends in two areas of the U.S., and both offer water in the way of a small/shallow pond for their small Runner flocks, and both have told me separately that their ducks simply turn their bills up at the water. So, I just assumed (apparently wrongly) that Runners in general aren't much on swimming. Thanks for correcting me!

 

[kelidei]

I am new to Runners too and mine don't like to swim either... we got them a big tub and built up flat stone for them to climb in and out but while they will stick their heads in it they will not swim

 

[tinydancer87]

I have 1 female runner, 1 female cayuga, and 2 male cayugas. Up until recently they were in a coop and run with the chickens, no problems getting along. They were raised around the chickens. I had to stop giving them a pool bc it made the run stink so bad to dump it out and rinse it.

Now that we got our fence up and they can free range, they have their pool back and LOVE it. Eating grass, quacking up a storm. I like the ducks, they are so funny when they start playing in the water.

They are not any worse than chickens, IMO. They can smell worse though bc of the water issue. My runner does get in the pond, but she is not as wild in the water as the cayugas are.

I say, get you a trio of medium to small size ducks and see how you like it.

ETA: Since you plan on letting then roam during the day, the mess will be nonexistent. The poop will just fertilize the grass, and mine love to roam around and nibble the grass.

 

[wildpeas]

My runners act just like the rouens and campbell. If the others are in the water, they are in the water. They dont dive as much as the others but they love to float and snake their heads under water. I cant wait until my second group is old enough for swimming. I'm interested in how the goslings take to it.

 

[TLWR]

First thing my 2 runner girls do in the morning is run to their pond, jump in and start snacking at whats on the bottom, their butts up in the air. They used to get out of their house, grab a few bites of food and then run to the pond, but I guess the stuff in the bottom of their pond is much yummier than their food now.

And my girls are in the pond a lot.

 

[ambrose]

Interesting, my local store was also suggesting Runners "because you don't have to give them a pool." I guess I would at least offer and see!

 

[zooweemama]

I only have babies so far. I am rather surprised by the poop. They poop constantly, wherever, whenever- they can run backwards and bump into whatever then poop- sometimes that's on a brood mates head. That one was hard for me because I have lizards, dogs and cats. They are all once or twice a day poopers- not every hour or more often each bird. Yeesh! But I did get used it. It's not really smelly- but then again they haven't begin to forage yet. I have 10 babies right now. No chickens so I cannot compare. Water- oh good golly they love water. Some more than others but they passionately love water so it is messy. Likely less messy for free roamers during the day since they roam across the yard. Mine will have access to a pond when bigger so I *hope* that helps with some of the mess. They also eat a lot- a little more than I suspected they would. Specialized duck feed is like impossible to find- so know what ducks need at a certain stage in their life so you can supplement where needed.

I chose ducks over chickens because of their multi-purpose use. We have a pond. We have mosquitos. We will have a garden- we will have slugs and other annoying garden pests in that garden. Our pond is weedy from being duckless (previous owners yearsss ago obviously had ducks). We have cold wet winters (seldom now and the pond will only occasionally have a thin layer of ice on it) and they can handle that kind of weather. Plus they can give us eggs (can't wait!) and meat (although we haven't yet chosen to go that route yet). For our needs- the ducks really fit the bill. hahaha Pun intended. They are fun to watch, cute as all get out (to us anyway) and my 3 older kids are not as intimidated by the ducks as they are the chickens when full sized. Plus the previous owners had already built a nice duck house. It just seemed the perfect thing.

Even that said- I would like to try half a dozen chickens next year.

 

[wildpeas]

I only have babies so far. I am rather surprised by the poop. They poop constantly, wherever, whenever- they can run backwards and bump into whatever then poop- sometimes that's on a brood mates head. That one was hard for me because I have lizards, dogs and cats. They are all once or twice a day poopers- not every hour or more often each bird. Yeesh! But I did get used it. It's not really smelly- but then again they haven't begin to forage yet. I have 10 babies right now. No chickens so I cannot compare. Water- oh good golly they love water. Some more than others but they passionately love water so it is messy. Likely less messy for free roamers during the day since they roam across the yard. Mine will have access to a pond when bigger so I *hope* that helps with some of the mess. They also eat a lot- a little more than I suspected they would. Specialized duck feed is like impossible to find- so know what ducks need at a certain stage in their life so you can supplement where needed.

I chose ducks over chickens because of their multi-purpose use. We have a pond. We have mosquitos. We will have a garden- we will have slugs and other annoying garden pests in that garden. Our pond is weedy from being duckless (previous owners yearsss ago obviously had ducks). We have cold wet winters (seldom now and the pond will only occasionally have a thin layer of ice on it) and they can handle that kind of weather. Plus they can give us eggs (can't wait!) and meat (although we haven't yet chosen to go that route yet). For our needs- the ducks really fit the bill. hahaha Pun intended. They are fun to watch, cute as all get out (to us anyway) and my 3 older kids are not as intimidated by the ducks as they are the chickens when full sized. Plus the previous owners had already built a nice duck house. It just seemed the perfect thing.

Even that said- I would like to try half a dozen chickens next year.

Mine are foraging now for part of the day and I haven't noticed a difference in the smell of their poo. Color and consistency change depending on what they snacked on, I'm afraid to see what the poo from the slug they ate today is going to look like.

I'm getting chicks next year too.

 

[tweetysvoice]

I'm afraid to see what the poo from the slug they ate today is going to look like.

Made me spit my coffee!!! I'm sure that it won't be pretty! LOL