thinking about raising ducks

[Zigapor]

hey there duck people!

Today we got the ok from our township for the raising of livestock, including poultry. We have researched the heck out of chickens, but then it dawned on me, why not get ducks too???!!!!

I have a few questions. Are ducks complicated? Can they live alongside chickens? Do they need a seperate house? Will they coexist in the same yard? How are their eggs? Are they relatively easy to care for? How would they do in a cold canadian winter? Is one breed better than the other?

There are plenty of ducks for sale locally, but I have so many questions before i venture into the wonderful world of ducks

 

[Kevin565]

hey there duck people!

Today we got the ok from our township for the raising of livestock, including poultry. We have researched the heck out of chickens, but then it dawned on me, why not get ducks too???!!!!

I have a few questions.


Are ducks complicated? Not anymore complicated than other bird besides the mess


Can they live alongside chickens? Yes but I'd suggest just getting females

Do they need a seperate house? Many people house them together

Will they coexist in the same yard? With enough space permitting most likely yes.

How are their eggs? Many people love duck eggs.


Are they relatively easy to care for? Yes they are fairly easy to take care of

How would they do in a cold canadian winter? With a proper shelter they should be fine


Is one breed better than the other? Nope they are all way too awesome

. Are you looking for eggs,pets, or meat?

There are plenty of ducks for sale locally, but I have so many questions before i venture into the wonderful world of ducks

Welcome to the duck section

 

[Amiga]

Welcome, Zigapor!

Ditto what Kevin565 said.

Be warned . . . ducks have a very interesting effect on some of us. We start to really love the little critters. sigh. They can change lives (for the better). They make it difficult to stay in a bad mood. Some of them shed cuteness and sweetness all over the yard, in addition to molt feathers and poop.

We start taking videos and photo's of them, and start uploading them to public places like BYC and other web sites. We write blogs about them. We develop recipes for food for them. We make clothes for them. They get their own medicine cabinets, their own pools. We sweat bullets while their eggs are incubating. We name them after presidents, movie stars, or car parts. . . .

 

[veronicasmom]

Amiga, how true!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Zigapor]

bwahahahaha, you guys are too funny!

I'm thinking eggs, oh and pets... not big on eating my animals though (i'm cool if you do, just not for me)

now.. is there anything i should know concerning ducks and small children? I'm talking like diseases or anything of the sort...

and one last question (well, for now, i'm sure i'll come up with a million more) do you think they would have a problem with cats? we have a few outside barn cats that love to chow down on mice, ducks will chase them off though, right? My cats like to think they are tough, but really they are chickens, lol, i quack myself up!

 

[Kevin565]

bwahahahaha, you guys are too funny! The duck section is full of BYC Comedians

I'm thinking eggs, oh and pets... not big on eating my animals though (i'm cool if you do, just not for me)

now.. is there anything i should know concerning ducks and small children? I'm talking like diseases or anything of the sort... If kept in proper conditions I seriously doubt it.

and one last question (well, for now, i'm sure i'll come up with a million more) do you think they would have a problem with cats? I doubt it. We have about 30 feral cats in my neighborhood and they have never bothered them.



we have a few outside barn cats that love to chow down on mice, ducks will chase them off though, right? My cats like to think they are tough, but really they are chickens, lol, i quack myself up!

 

[Zigapor]

i am amazed at how fast I get replies on this site, crazy cool!

thanks guys, i appreciate all your help, and look forward to asking you a gazillion more questions in near future

 

[Kevin565]

We'll be glad to answer them all

 

[Amiga]

bwahahahaha, you guys are too funny!

I'm thinking eggs, oh and pets... not big on eating my animals though (i'm cool if you do, just not for me)

now.. is there anything i should know concerning ducks and small children? I'm talking like diseases or anything of the sort...

and one last question (well, for now, i'm sure i'll come up with a million more) do you think they would have a problem with cats? we have a few outside barn cats that love to chow down on mice, ducks will chase them off though, right? My cats like to think they are tough, but really they are chickens, lol, i quack myself up!

The one thing I would note about ducks and small children is based on my own ducks, when they were a few weeks old trying to help me out a time or two by nabbing those caterpillars that were sitting just above my eyes (those would be my eyebrows). And once, Zehn stole a kiss, pulling my lower lip. Ptew! So some ducks get a little smoochy sometimes if faces are too close to theirs. Now that the ducks are grown up, they don't make any moves like that any more. But I try to keep little human faces a couple of feet away from little duckie faces to be on the safe side.

Again, ditto Kevin565, if people and animals are kept healthy, their environment is kept healthy, I don't see how there could be a problem. I make sure kids wash hands after being around the ducks, just to make sure. Oh, and be careful with duck legs. They are easily hurt, and sometimes little people grab them, or put the ducks down from a height that can injure the ducks.

Two of my cats are afraid of the ducks, one wishes she could be part of the flock. If a duck charges at her, she just hunkers down and squints, though a few times she has hissed back when Sechs hissed at her first. And I have had to warn the ducks off from grabbing the big caterpillar on the cat's behind (also known as a tail).

 

[Zigapor]

ok great! my kids are small, but they aren't _that_ small, as in 10, 8, 6 and almost 4, but they have been around animals their whole lives, and we used to foster orphaned kittens for years, so they are used to having to be gentle, and understand that sometimes animals hurt you by no fault of their own

I thought of another question... I live in Canada, about half way between Toronto and Ottawa. It gets cold here in the winter, like, -40C with the wind chill cold! (not often, maybe a handful of times a season, but it still happens)... are there precautions I should take to keep my ducks warm?

They will be housed in a converted tractor shed that has three walls and a roof. We will be adding a fourth wall, sort of, and a door. The ground is poured concrete, I'm assuming they will need a better surface? The roof itself is solid, but there are gaps between it and the walls, should those be closed up, or kept for ventilation (can I post pics in here? it would be easier to explain with pics) Also, it has no running water or electricity (yet, will add if needed). DO you think solar panels would bring in enough juice to add a heat lamp (if needed) and to run a heated water area?

Do ducks need boxes for laying like chickens do? (I suppose I could google this stuff, but I rather get my info from people i know actually own ducks, lol)

I was informed earlier that my chickens may need a chicken tractor... do ducks need duck tractors?

How big of a kiddie pool do they like? How frequently does the water need changed? Will they try to get to our small koi pond? Can koi hurt them? can they hurt the koi? Should I just fence off the fish?

Are there special duck vets or are farm vets generally knowledgeable of ducks? do they even need a vet? Do ducks require shots? (i'm not the biggest fan of vaccines but will do if needed)