Waterfowl Forum Information

[mamaKate]

The duck forum is an excellent idea!

I'm starting with Muscovies in the spring. We'll see where it leads.

 

[Gloria]

Quote:
Some of my drakes dont have drake feathers. Did you listen to their voices to confirm that all are females?

Yes I have been listening to their voices. At 7 to 8 weeks old I still only have one of the 4 quacking. I also checked out a link I found from TerryLacy. It had audio of a male and a girl. And they sound just like the males. That's why I'm watching for this curl I keep hearing about. None yet. If they are all male I'll have to have a chat with MissJayne about trading.


Chel

girlie voices! not that i mind all the eggs, but more duckies would be nice!

i will keep listening though, just in case. that was a good tip!

Gloria...we can figure it out! we'll get them all straightened away and make sure your ducks aren't abused.

Thanks Rhandi, I'm trying not to freak out about it over here. But like you I would like to have some little ones too someday. lol Sorry, that kind of sounded like the Nanna in me coming out didn't it?

girlfriend!

 

[mehalliday]

Quote:
What I used to use, is boxes like you would build for your dogs, out in the coops, I have used plastic igloo's before too. I rebuilt my pens and pretty much still have the same size house on them (as a small dog house) for them to lay and nest in, they like darkish safe area's to nest. The dog houses with little doors big enough for the birds to get inside, and the roof lifting open so you can check on them works great for them.
Hope this idea helps

Thanks, I'll try that

 

[tmb3fan]

I am so happy this thread was started and yes I agree backyardducks, backyardguineas, backyardpeafowl and on and on.

I have 3 seven month old Rouens. They look like hens but only one quacks loud and the others grunt. None of them have the super curl feather, so I am completely confused.

I also have a hatchery mix of 19 six week old ducks (started with 21). These include so far:
2 Rouen hens (brown feathers all over and look just like my older ones)
2 Pekins (not sure of gender yet)
Several Blue Swedish with a mix of Black, Blue and Splash
A couple of questionable Blue Swedish or drake Rouens

Ideal told me that all I could have is the 3 breeds because that is all they had available at the time of shipping. I plan to take pics in a few more weeks and hopefully by then I can get full identification, either on here or by Ideal.

Ducks are so skidish. You would think that when you feed them everyday, they would become less scared of you, but that is just the opposite. Mine run over each other to get to the other end of the pen when I open the door.

The older ducks eat out of my hand but won't let me touch them. They stay on our pond. I plan to build them all a little hoop shelter near the pond, since I always see the 3 under a lawn chair that stays by the pond.

We originally got the ducks for a pond weed problem. But I am hoping for some eggs in the spring, that is if they will lay them in the shelter.

Does anyone else have total free-range ducks and actually gets the ducks to lay eggs in one place?

Thanks,
Teri

 

[conny63malies]

How about a waterfowl forum??

 

[mahsmaj]

Thanks for the idea!!!

I just changed the name / info on the first post. This is now The WATERFOWL FORUM...

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have 2 pair of pekins, one pair (plus 2 drakes) of Rouen, and one pair of Cayugas.

Not a very good pic, I will get better ones tomorrow when I go to feed!

 

[shelleyd2008]

The reason I have so many drakes is because I started with 4 ducks, supposedly a pair of rouen and a pair of pekin. This was in early June. Turned out to be 4 drakes.
In September, I bought 2 ducks of each breed, but since they stay on or near the pond, one of each disappeared. The pekin duck was mature, at least enough to quack and have no down, but the rouen duck was still quite young. I then bought another pekin hen, in late September/early October, who is also mature, and very loud!!
Also in late September/ early October I bought a pair of young Cayugas. The drake is not old enough to have his drake feathers yet, but does whisper and the duck does quack, although nowhere near as loudly as the pekins!

Anyway, my question is how old do they need to be to breed or lay eggs? I have not seen any eggs, but I figured it was because I got the ducks so late in the year. I have since seen many people on the forum talking about their ducks still laying, and was wondering what the deal was with mine? I haven't really looked for eggs, but they stay very close to the pond, so I doubt they would venture far to hide them.

The 4 drakes I started with are about 6 months old now. I'm not sure on the ages of the others, but the rouen duck is still not fuly grown, and the Cayugas don't look like they are either.

 

[shelleyd2008]

runamuck: How do you seperate your ducks? What type of enclosure do you use? I need to seperate mine, but wanted to wait till after the really cold weather is done, so they can keep each other warm. How much room would a pair need? I think I will put all 4 pekin in one pen, 1 pair of rouen in a pen, and the cayugas in another. The extra rouen drakes will be left out, unless I can find some more ducks!

 

[shelleyd2008]

eggchel: what ARE those geese?? I have never seen any with long feathers like that!