Wanted: Candid advice on raising ducks

[Gigglebox]

The time is near...in 20 days we will be receiving our shipment of 50 ducks--our very first flock of any type of bird!

I have been reading about ducks for months and have my Storey's Guide next to me, but I want to know...what advice would you give that wouldn't necessarily be in the book?

Also, to my shock I am finding out people with duck houses that have fencing around them also leave the doors to the duck houses open. Is this common practice? If we make our fence as impenetrable as possible (to include hot wires on the bottom and the top, and the fence being buried a foot into the ground all around, possibly also with netting covering the entire yard area), is it advisable to leave the doors to the house open?

Thanks everyone ^_^

 

[needlessjunk]

The time is near...in 20 days we will be receiving our shipment of 50 ducks--our very first flock of any type of bird!

I have been reading about ducks for months and have my Storey's Guide next to me, but I want to know...what advice would you give that wouldn't necessarily be in the book?

Also, to my shock I am finding out people with duck houses that have fencing around them also leave the doors to the duck houses open. Is this common practice? If we make our fence as impenetrable as possible (to include hot wires on the bottom and the top, and the fence being buried a foot into the ground all around, possibly also with netting covering the entire yard area), is it advisable to leave the doors to the house open?

Thanks everyone ^_^

Netting for the top will not work if you are leaving them in their run all night. I lock mine into a house and they free range my fenced in back yard during the day. Most duck would rather sleep outside and if you have a very well secured run they could be out all night. It means that there would not be any openings large enough to allow snakes and mink through, raccoons wouldn't be able to reach in and grab a duck or dig under. Personally I think it's easier to just build a secure house and lock them up. Since your flock is so large Storey's Guide should really be helpful. Ducks are messy and grow fast! Post pics when you get them. Have you read through the sticky at the top of the page? I'm on my phone or else I would link it.

 

[Gigglebox]

Grrrr.... I had a whole response written but then my Internet shut down and erased it...

To sum up, I didn't even think of snakes so thanks for mentioning them! I think we will have 1 inch galvanized hexagon wire fencing snuggled up against coated wire rectangle fencing (1"x2" rectangles, i believe). The hexagon wire will be burried a foot. We are hoping that combination along with a hot wire on the top and a hot one on the bottom, on separate boxes, will do the trick.

Do you have experience with geese? We are planning on getting four French toulouse for a little extra security.

The biggest thing I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is feeding the ducks. A place near us has non-GMO, non soy Started feed which is what we intend to feed them from birth, however there is the problem of niacin as the food is actually chick starter...not sure if tablets in the water is more cost effective and better for the birds versus sprinkling powder on their food...

We also intend to sprout some seeds (sunflower, barley, wheat) to supplement their winter feed and mitigate food costs. Anyone do this?

 

[needlessjunk]

Grrrr.... I had a whole response written but then my Internet shut down and erased it...

To sum up, I didn't even think of snakes so thanks for mentioning them! I think we will have 1 inch galvanized hexagon wire fencing snuggled up against coated wire rectangle fencing (1"x2" rectangles, i believe). The hexagon wire will be burried a foot. We are hoping that combination along with a hot wire on the top and a hot one on the bottom, on separate boxes, will do the trick.

Do you have experience with geese? We are planning on getting four French toulouse for a little extra security.

The biggest thing I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is feeding the ducks. A place near us has non-GMO, non soy Started feed which is what we intend to feed them from birth, however there is the problem of niacin as the food is actually chick starter...not sure if tablets in the water is more cost effective and better for the birds versus sprinkling powder on their food...

We also intend to sprout some seeds (sunflower, barley, wheat) to supplement their winter feed and mitigate food costs. Anyone do this?

Oh man, I hate it when that happens. I know nothing about geese except that they will not protect your flock. They can sound the alarm but that is all the protection they can provide. They also will need their own area once breeding season starts.

I find it much easier to just add brews/ nutritional yeast to feed. About a tablespoon per cup of food. You can't really OD on nutritional yeast like you can on niacin tablets. Also nutritional/brews yeast has added vitamins.

 

[RichnSteph]

Grrrr.... I had a whole response written but then my Internet shut down and erased it...

To sum up, I didn't even think of snakes so thanks for mentioning them! I think we will have 1 inch galvanized hexagon wire fencing snuggled up against coated wire rectangle fencing (1"x2" rectangles, i believe). The hexagon wire will be burried a foot. We are hoping that combination along with a hot wire on the top and a hot one on the bottom, on separate boxes, will do the trick.

Do you have experience with geese? We are planning on getting four French toulouse for a little extra security.

The biggest thing I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is feeding the ducks. A place near us has non-GMO, non soy Started feed which is what we intend to feed them from birth, however there is the problem of niacin as the food is actually chick starter...not sure if tablets in the water is more cost effective and better for the birds versus sprinkling powder on their food...

We also intend to sprout some seeds (sunflower, barley, wheat) to supplement their winter feed and mitigate food costs. Anyone do this?

Wow, 50 ducks....

I've not read the book you're talking about so I don't know if this advice is in there, if it is please feel free to ignore me. Ducks are messy messy messy. The reason for this is that they'll take a beak full of food and head to the waterer to wet the food before they swallow it. This means the area where the waterer is located is going to be a wet nasty mess all the time. They also waste a lot of feed for the same reason that they make a mess. We only have three ducks at the moment (one adult Cayuga and two Mallard chicks) that make some small messes, I can't imagine having 50 of them.

My advice would be to set up a pond of some sort with a pump to keep the water moving a bit. You might need a filter set up also. I'd advise one of the $5 bucket feeders that folks on here have made since it'll keep the ducks from slinging feed on the ground. I'd also recommend setting up a kiddie pool somewhere that the ducks can't get to and start growing duckweed in there, you can use the water out of the pond to keep the nutrient levels high in the duckweed pond. Duckweed is high in protein and has the amazing ability to double in size every 30 hours or so. In no time you'll have plenty of duck weed to supplement your flock. Hmm.. with 50 ducks you may need more that one kiddie pool. To feed them just throw handfuls of the duckweed into their pond and watch them gobble it up.

As far as store bought feed goes we feed our entire flock of chickens and ducks a game bird starter that is very high in protein (28%). We do this because our birds free range on an acre all day and don't spend a lot of time hanging out at the feeders. I don't offer free choice feed as others do since I want them to wander and forage (it keeps bugs and snakes and things out of our yard and gives them some exercise) and eat more "natural" things. They do get fed in the morning when I leave for work and right before they coop up for the evening. So far no issues with the ducks on the game bird feed. Do ducks count as "game birds"??

Anyway there you go. I hope it helps a bit.

RichnSteph

 

[Gigglebox]

Wow, thanks so much for the information! I'll have to look up the feed bucket you're referring to.

I'm actually planning on growing some duckweed in my 55 gallon fish tank there should be nutrient from the fish there and obviously the ducks can't get to it (it's an established tank with fish i've had for a bit so i know they're healthy).

We've got two kiddie pools and will be using them to help rehab our soil via distributing the mucked water where needed. The land here is a wreck (we bought the place in october).

 

[localife]

The number one thing most books, and most people, leave out of their planning -- in my experience -- is what to do when things don't go as planned. So....have a plan about what you will do if some of the ducklings develop health issues or get injured -- will you treat, or cull? Have a plan about where they will be at various stages from brooder to breeder -- will they all always stay together, will they be separated into mating groups, etc? Have a plan for pasturing (if you are planning to do that) -- what rotation system will work for your setting, and what will you do if you thought it would work, but it actually doesn't? Do you already have a "hospital" space for ducklings/ducks that need to be separated from the others? If not, I'd make that now -- it is a real drag to need to separate someone from the flock NOW and not have anywhere functional to put them. In other words, think through all your plans, and then think through what you'll do if those plans don't work out.

And the number one piece of advice, which I always fail to follow -- have everything ready before they arrive. I mean everything, like not just where they will be when they are ducklings, but where they will be when they are all grown up, and where their feed/bedding will be stored, and all the other miscellaneous supplies. They go from being cute little ducklings to being full fledged ducks extraordinarily quickly, and playing catch up is a bummer. Believe me, I know whereof I speak

And finally, and probably most importantly -- have fun. If it isn't fun for you, it probably isn't fun for your birds, either.

 

[jak2002003]

The most important thing to consider, after the basic care and feeding... is PREDATORS!!!

They are so helpless to predators.. much more than chicks... that can run fast and fly.

Everything seemed to eat my ducks.. from owls eating ducklings, pythons eating adults.. and dogs breaking in and killing them in the night.

Make sure they are locked away in a safe coop every night... don't leave them out.. even if you pond has an island in it. Things will swim over to the island and get the ducks when they are sleeping.