thinking of getting ducks

[sóley]

so I'm thinking of getting a duck, not sure tho, I love how beautiful the welsh harlequin duck is, do you like that breed?

here are some questions I have

1. I own chickens and allot of them and few different breeds, haha so I would keep the ducks in the same coop as the chickens, do the welsh harlequin ducks like living with chickens and are the welsh harlequin good egg layers?

2. my ducks would be free range like my chickens so I know they will probly fly away to play somewhere, but do I have to train them to come back home? or do they just learn that on there own

3. I don't have any water for them to swim in, so would it be fine to buy kids pool for them do have outside there coop to swim in or is that to small for them.

4. I hear ducks are messy, is that true and is there any way to prevent that, like maybe have the swimming water outside, do they still make a mess inside with the drinking water?

5. what breeds are good both for eggs and meat? are the welsh harlequin good for meat and eggs? (don't matter tho if there not good for meat, I mostly want egg laying ducks but just curiosity)

6. are the welsh harlequin friendly?

sorry if this are stupid questions, I just have never owned a duck before so I don't know anything about them

 

[sóley]

also how big are there eggs? similar to brahma eggs maybe or bigger or smaller?

 

[Pyxis]

I used to breed welsh harlequins I still have one drake as a pet. I've moved my focus to Calls now, but the breed will always hold a place in my heart.

For your questions:

1. You can keep them in the same coop with chickens. That's always how I kept mine. Ducks don't roost, so they'll sleep on the ground while the chickens are on the roost. Welsh harlequins are excellent egg layers.

2. You can free range ducks. I did for years. Welsh harlequins, and most domestic breeds, can't fly, so flying away is not something you have to worry about. There will be a learning period where you have to herd them into the coop each night, but once they learn the routine they will do it on their own.

3. A kiddie pool is fine. They love swimming and I would recommend you always have one available. They're going to turn the area around it into mud, but that's just what waterfowl do. Keep that in mind when you decide where you're going to put it. Muscovies are less interested in water than the mallard derived breeds, so they don't use a pool as much. Welshies, however, are mallard derived, love to swim, and I would never leave them without a pool. Plus, they always need water deep enough to cover their heads up to their eyes in order to keep them healthy, and most waterers that aren't pools don't provide water deep enough.

4. They're messy with water, there's no way around it. The best way to deal with this is to, firstly, put the pool in an area that you don't mind they're going to turn to mud, and secondly, keep no water in the coop. Just in the run. They don't need water overnight, as long as you also don't keep food in the coop, so keeping feed and water in the run greatly cuts down on any mess they can make in the coop.

5. Welsh harlequins are great egg layers, and good for meat in that they have white down, so they make for a clean carcass. However if you REALLY wanted a dual purpose breed, pekins are what I would recommend. They are much larger, so they're better for meat, and are also good layers. But since you only want layers anyway, welshies are fine for you.

6. Yes, they're a friendly, docile breed.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

You've gotten good advice.
I would also take a look at the sticky thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ducks-sticky-topics-index.256233/
Lots of good info!

 

[sóley]

thank you all for great advice
I think I will get Muscovy ducks and welsh harlequin duck if I find them her in Iceland, if not I know I can get muscovy duck in Faroe islands where my cousin lives and move them to Iceland if it doesn't cost to much.

I always remember when my grandma had ducks how messy it was so she quit keeping the chickens and the ducks together, but now when I gotten greet advice I'm going to try having the water out side and see if that works and I think I buy a kiddy pool if I find one on good price for them for treat

I think ducks are so cute and I been think of getting one for along time but always worry about if they would be messy, haha

Ducks are absolutely amazing. They aren’t for everyone but those who love them, really love them. FYI, Welsh harlequins and 99 percent of the other duck breeds cannot fly. They do not need a pond or even a kiddy pool. They will enjoy the pool but that’s where the “messiness” comes from. They splash the water everywhere. I recommend making the pool a once a week treat. Ducks do not smell as bad as chickens either. Ducks do best in groups of 3+ but 2 could work as long as you acknowledge the fact that if one dies, it will be very lonely so I would recommend adding a couple more before they get closer to the age when they could pass. Muscovy ducks are a LOT like chickens in many ways and are very friendly. They almost remind me of a chicken mixed with dog. They even wag their tell when happy. They are GREAT mothers and can fly just high enough to roost. They will adjust to the chickens setup well, while other duck breeds might not as they lack the claws and minor flight abilities of the Muscovy. They are not the prettiest breed but they will steal your heart. I get about 3-4 eggs a week from each of mine. Please feel free to ask any more questions you may have! I recommend using hanging troughs for their water.

I have been looking the muscovy duck up and I think they are really cute, (ok yes they look diffrent and weird but still I think there cute(weird little cuties, haha))

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I like my muscovies. Good luck!

 

[sóley]

does anyone know what this breed is? there called aliducks her in Iceland, but I can't find any information about them on google so that tells me they probably are called something else in English, does someone recognize this breed on the pictures?

I found out only 2 breeds of ducks are here in Iceland right now , the pekin duck, and this duck breed that is called aliducks her in Iceland.
I think I would rather want this aliduck because they can come in any colors, and I think that's pretty cool, but I wanted to read something about this breed before I go buy them but can't find anything probably because Iceland always has to choose new names for all breeds, haha

hopefully someone can help me, otherwise i check if my my neighbor know this breed because she knows a lot about poultry but I don't know if she has ever owned ducks tho but it's worth to try ask her about it tho

I am going to try find out tho how much it cost tho fly into Iceland some fertile muscovy egg from Faroe island, if it's not to much I'm going to keep muscovy duck and aliducks if I find out how kind of ducks they are.
but I seen pictures of the aliduck where they sometimes look a lot like the welsh harlequin so if I find that kind of color of aliducks and some more colors I would be really happy, haha
this are picture I took of the internet on google, if I google aliducks (or aliendur) I get a lot of pictures but no info about them tho

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

My guess is Swedish and Welsh Harlequin in the first two pics.

 

[sóley]

My guess is Swedish and Welsh Harlequin in the first two pics.

thanks but this I in all of the pictures the same breed, but they can be in any colors

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

Are they tiny? Could they be calls?