Two Pekins!!!!

[folgerrd]

Just got two pekin ducks, one male one female. We got them for breeding they are currently about five weeks old, and messy! We set up a temporary pond and are living with our chickens in their coop(also temporarily). We had a naming epiphany. We wanted to give them famous couples names:
Romeo and Juliet and Brad and Angelina seemed to easy.
William and Kate was turned down because, according to tabloids, they had fertility issues and we didn't want to jinx it.
Neo and Trinity were awesome names, but our pekins are white and we thought it'd be cooler for black ducks.
Buffy and Angel were on top of my list but Angel is kinda a wimpy girly name for a guy, plus seemed like a name for buff birds(ie buff orprington).

Anyway took awhile but now sleeping in the coop are, Johnny and Baby!(Dirty Dancing) I was thinking earlier, "AHHHH nobosy puts Baby in the corner of the pool!"

Having fun with the ducks, have any tips to duck raising? Got any fun names to share(just for fun)?

 

[Marty1876]

We had shadrack, meshack, and abednigo. We also had dude and lady. I love dirty dancy!

Your going to love pekings, just love them. They are fairly friendly (for a duck) and hardy. Our are wonderful layors of large white eggs.

We feed ours hen scratch x hen layer food. Once she starts laying at 6 monthes, offer oyster shell. Come winter, shut them up at night, with a small light, and you'll have eggs still, and they won't freeze if the light is close enough and the room tight. They lay in the morning, so let them out after her normal lay time or you'll have trouble finding eggs, and they will be DIRTY. Not good sitters. Start listening in another month for their distinctive quacks, as thats the easiest way to sex pekings. Girls have very loud clear QUACK sounds, and the boy has a sort of muffled noise.

 

[folgerrd]

So my ducks, the one with a softer quack is my girl and the louder one is my drake? I thought it was the other way around...

Q: I know some use Dawn detergent to clean their livestock, is there any other soaps that are safe/usable?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

No, as Marty said loud QUACK is girl and a soft whasp is the drake.

Most don't bath their ducks, keep the pool clean and they bath themselves. You don't want to remove the protective waterproofing oils from their feathers.

 

[folgerrd]

The problem is that they are very dirty from the farm they came from(I'm talking nearly black bellies before they went in their pond, dark brown after) and they smell pretty bad(I can live with the smell but if it is removable that'd be nice)

 

[jdywntr]

Just give them a few days of clean water and they will clean themselves up in no time.

 

[folgerrd]

Okey doke! Thanks!