Tips for the new duck owner!!!!!!!

[bigtrout]

Just some tidbits of info for a newer duck owner, I will add when I have time!

1. Build a bigger coop first, seems like everyone with ducks builds a small coop for a few ducks, then because of duck math(addicted to ducks and adding more), ends up building bigger housing within a year.

2. In a Duck coop poop goes everywhere, so use something cheap to line studwalls on the inside so the poop doesnt go into hard to clean places, ideas are old tin roofing, or old bathroom Marbelite stuff. Simple is better, and a mix of straw/Hay and wood chips work the best for litter.

3. Figure out how the water situation will work before winter comes!

4. Ducks like a routine, anything new causes them to freak out until they seen it a few times.

5. If you use a baby pool for a pond, get the biggest one the first time, and add a drain valve to save your back!

6. Ducks are sex maniacs, and you cant do much to stop it unless u seperate males and females!

7. Other than vent sexing, the only way to tell sex, is by adult feathers, or voice. Females QUACK, males softly say "RRRAAABBBB!"


Feel free to keep this thread going for all the new duck owners. Last year I was a new duck keeper, Ive learned alot from my ducks and on here, but sometimes its the little things that help alot when planning for ducks as pets!

 

[m.kitchengirl]

Something I have learned over time with my ducks is that, when I am near them, less is more.

I try to make myself smaller, less of an intrusion, move slowly & deliberately, and always speak / sing in a quiet voice - even before I get to them.
(As soon as I walk onto the breezeway, before I open the door to go outside I start to talk to them. They hear that door, and they want to know - is that the food monster, or one of the little monsters?)
I have also found this to be true in moving them from place to place, or getting them into their house at night. If I just sit in my usual place & ignore them, they will go right into the house. If I go outside with the intention of trying to get them in I have a much harder time.

I try to spend as much time with them as I can, but I try to do very little some of that time, except talk to them.

We have a secure night pen that is big enough for 10 ducks (technically), and I have 3 in it now.
I think I could get one more duck in before it reached capacity.

I think it is important to get your ducklings used to you being around, used to you handling them some - check feet, wings, legs, eyes - and used to you being the water bearer, pea giver, food monster. It will come in handy when they hit their puberty phase around 3-6 weeks & think you are here to eat them - again. It will also come in handy when you put them outside & give them some space. You want them to see you & think - PEAS? WATER? SWIM? Otherwise you may have a little more trouble with your adult ducks than you bargain for.

Unless you are raising loads & loads of ducklings, in which case you are probably not going to be able to have the personal relationship with all 100 that some of us have with our small flocks.

That's the great thing about raising ducks, most ways are right enough. It is challenging as a new duck owner to pick & choose through all the info out there, especially since there are so many ways to practice duck husbandry, and they are all good in their context.

I think another good bit of advice is - they are not as fragile as they can sound. Common sense & instinct will serve you just fine 99% of the time. Remember, very few people post to BYC saying, "My ducklings are healthy as all get out again today!", and for every worried duck owner who posts here there are thousands of duck owners just sitting by the pool, or hosing off the deck, like they always do.


... Wow, that was long. See what happens when I take a few days away ...

 

[Amiga]

do they really need a coop of their own? i have 15 adult chickens (2 of which are broody now with the new mama), 3 1-day old hatchlings under a mama, 5 1.5 week old chicks in a brooder. can the ducks live in the coop with the chickens? or can they roost outside? seems alot of old-school fowl owners around here just let them do whatever (sans coop). i have a large pond that would be their's.

i guess my question is, can i just get some young adult or adult ducks and let them loose out by the pond? no coop or box....

Hi, ronikins,

Sounds like chicken wonderland at your place! I had a Rhode Island Red when I was a kid. She was a great egg layer, and pretty, too!

The short answer to your last question is yes. Here is the big HOWEVER: Ducks are quite vulnerable to predation. So, while I have my own feelings about losing an animal, do you want to invest any time, energy and money into animals that will -poof- disappear overnight? Sometimes an entire flock is wiped out in one night. Sometimes they are picked off one at a time. Domestic ducks don't generally fly. And they aren't particularly fast, or wary, and they don't roost, they are ground-nesters . . . I won't go on.

Maybe ducks don't fit with your flock management style. If you want pond ducks, think about planting a waterfowl food plot near the pond, to attract wild ducks and geese, and perhaps some nesting boxes.

 

[Tahai]

Niacin. Don't forget the Niacin.

 

[Amiga]

Beautiful topic!

Amen and amen!

Thoughts I had while reading the first two posts:

Figure out the water and heat situation in case you lose electricity (for those who use lights and pumps). We have lost electricity three or four times since getting the ducks, twice for days-long periods of time.

Niacin is a concern especially when you feed chick starter. Ducklings need three times the niacin that chicks do, and you can supplement with 100 to 150 mg of niacin in a gallon of water (get a bottle of niacin capsules, not time release, at the drugstore) or you can sprinkling brewer's yeast on their food. Once outside, if they can eat all the bugs they want, they should be fine for niacin. Some folks never have a problem. Some have seen very sad neurological damage. I would play it safe.

Manage the water in the brooder before the ducklings arrive. They cannot help it, they are waterfowl. They splash, they dribble. Set up a watering station that will catch the water instead of letting it soak into the bedding. This will reduce the frequency of cleanups, and keep odors at bay.

Some ducklings will eat sawdust pellets or wood chips or the insides of puppy pads (voice of experience here). Watch closely for a while after you make any changes in the brooder or pen.

Ducklings need to be kept warm, but not too warm. From what I read on this forum, the exact temperatures are going to depend on your ducks. Again, please watch them closely.

Other pets, small children, inattentive adults can cause injuries.

Ducklings can get themselves into improbable situations (I will never forget the duckling inside the bottle reservoir of a waterer). Did I mention they need to be watched?

Ducklings need to be able to wash their heads frequently to avoid eye, sinus and ear infections.

They need to always have water with their food, and always have food available until they are several weeks old. I feel this can greatly reduce anxiety and skittishness.

Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks and The Ultimate Pet Duck Guidebook have been very good print resources for me. The Duck Forum has filled in many gaps.

 

[bigtrout]

Some more I can think of to add:

8. Brooder...for four or a max of six ducks a 50 gallon plastic tote with holes cut into the lid worked well. For more ducks than that cleaning was a chore every day. I had good luck with a baby pool with a piece of orange snow fence wrapped around it for brooding more than six. Double duty as the baby pool can be used later outside for swimming!

 

[Mum]

Talk to them! They will get to know your voice and it will help when it comes to herding them home when they are older.

Remember that they have their own needs and these must come first (before your desire to "pet" them

)

 

[destinduck]

Heres the best tip I know on ducklings. Make sure the water you give them is not cold. Believe it or not this is what mysteriously kills alot of baby ducks growing up and I rarely if ever do you see it mentioned.

 

[heidihas2ducks]

I found that using fresh cut or fresh picked grass as the layer in the brooder keeps the smelly munchkins less smelly...I have 5 two week olds in my kitchen in a very large tub that we cut the top and put screen in...I manage food and water time as they waste 90%oif the water, and also I put them either in the tub (on cold days) or in a saucer sled filled with warm water once to twice a day for them to bathe and drink and swim! They are so precious...I then pop em back in their house and flip on the light and its nap time for all!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I found that using fresh cut or fresh picked grass as the layer in the brooder keeps the smelly munchkins less smelly...I have 5 two week olds in my kitchen in a very large tub that we cut the top and put screen in...I manage food and water time as they waste 90%oif the water, and also I put them either in the tub (on cold days) or in a saucer sled filled with warm water once to twice a day for them to bathe and drink and swim! They are so precious...I then pop em back in their house and flip on the light and its nap time for all!

How can you live in upstate NY and already have fresh cut grass? lol