What to do.....Need some advice

[LuvBantums]

I have 3 crested pekin ducks 2 drakes and 1 hen not by choice.....we adopted them from a friend that asked use to hatch his duck eggs last year in our inc and these 3 were late to hatch. We have kept them out of a pen next to our chicken coops and they were doing very well with 2 ponds loads of food and water. About a week ago they started getting closer to the road and I had to cage them for the first time since they were babies. The hen (has wry neck) started laying and now that she is laying, I'm trying to decide if I should take her eggs or should I let nature take its course? I really would like to have more ducks, but I hate to have them locked in a cage They would get their own extra food from nature but I still laid out corn, scratch feed and laying pellets. I guess my other questions is, should I feed her extra laying feed that I give my chickens? If I do leave the eggs in with all of them in there.....would it be safe for the babies????? They have a huge covered dog house with straw a large kid pool they love and I give them worms my husband gets for fishing. is there anything else I need to do or not do? Also, does she need extra oyster shells that we give or chickens for her eggs? I noticed that one egg I picked up from the yard seemed very thin. Thank you for your help!!!!

 

[Pyxis]

Hi!

So, a couple things to consider here. Firstly, yes, do give her oyster shell free choice on the side. She will take what she needs

Secondly, being a pekin, chances are good she will actually never go broody and want to hatch those eggs. I'm not saying it definitely won't happen, because I have a broody pekin that broods every year, but in general, pekins are not broody. They were bred for egg production, and a duck doesn't lay while she's brooding, so broodiness was bred out to increase production.

Thirdly, the fact that she and your drakes are crested. Crests in ducks are caused by a lethal gene. That means that, if a duckling gets two copies of the gene, it simply dies in the egg, unable to properly develop. 25% of her offspring would inherit two copies, so 25% of her eggs would simply die before they could hatch.

In addition to that, crests are caused by a gap in the skull right over the brain. This means that crested ducks are especially prone to brain injuries. Your female could become brain damaged by something as simple as the drakes mating with her, if they grab her roughly by the crest when mating.

And, the crest can and does cause neurological issues. What you think is wry neck in your female is quite possibly just a result of her crest, something that will never go away and she will have to deal with for her whole life. If you breed her, you will likely pass these issues on to her offspring, so that is something else to consider.

I don't want to discourage you from getting more ducks or hatching ducklings if you want to, but in your case, for the reasons above, it might be better to get eggs from non-crested pekins or a different breed and hatch those or let her hatch those if she goes broody.

Also, it sounds like before you get more ducks you need to get a good coop and run built for them, since you really can't keep a lot of ducks in a cage for a long time and have them be happy. Although you did say that they have a dog house and kiddie pool so maybe you did mean you have them in a run and I just read the part about keeping them in a cage wrong

 

[Sara Ranch]

Ducks need a higher protein diet that a laying hen.

I ferment meatbird for the ducks. (And chickens.) And supplement with other high protein foods.

 

[LuvBantums]

Hi!

So, a couple things to consider here. Firstly, yes, do give her oyster shell free choice on the side. She will take what she needs

Secondly, being a pekin, chances are good she will actually never go broody and want to hatch those eggs. I'm not saying it definitely won't happen, because I have a broody pekin that broods every year, but in general, pekins are not broody. They were bred for egg production, and a duck doesn't lay while she's brooding, so broodiness was bred out to increase production.

Thirdly, the fact that she and your drakes are crested. Crests in ducks are caused by a lethal gene. That means that, if a duckling gets two copies of the gene, it simply dies in the egg, unable to properly develop. 25% of her offspring would inherit two copies, so 25% of her eggs would simply die before they could hatch.

In addition to that, crests are caused by a gap in the skull right over the brain. This means that crested ducks are especially prone to brain injuries. Your female could become brain damaged by something as simple as the drakes mating with her, if they grab her roughly by the crest when mating.

And, the crest can and does cause neurological issues. What you think is wry neck in your female is quite possibly just a result of her crest, something that will never go away and she will have to deal with for her whole life. If you breed her, you will likely pass these issues on to her offspring, so that is something else to consider.

I don't want to discourage you from getting more ducks or hatching ducklings if you want to, but in your case, for the reasons above, it might be better to get eggs from non-crested pekins or a different breed and hatch those or let her hatch those if she goes broody.

Also, it sounds like before you get more ducks you need to get a good coop and run built for them, since you really can't keep a lot of ducks in a cage for a long time and have them be happy. Although you did say that they have a dog house and kiddie pool so maybe you did mean you have them in a run and I just read the part about keeping them in a cage wrong

Wow thank you so much for all the great information. I'm not sure if I said in my post that these were left by my husbands friend after we incubated his duck eggs, but I am new to this breed and really didnt want ducks anymore unless they were dwarf and we had no place to take the ducks once they were born. I'm a true die hard animal lover n will fall in love with anything I see. I want them to be happy but I don't want them to get hit by a car or the big semi's that take a short cut on our country road to get to the freeway. I would like to know what I can do for them since they are in a big dog lot. I wish there was a bird sanctuary to send them to but I don't know where to look in my state.

 

[Pyxis]

Wow thank you so much for all the great information. I'm not sure if I said in my post that these were left by my husbands friend after we incubated his duck eggs, but I am new to this breed and really didnt want ducks anymore unless they were dwarf and we had no place to take the ducks once they were born. I'm a true die hard animal lover n will fall in love with anything I see. I want them to be happy but I don't want them to get hit by a car or the big semi's that take a short cut on our country road to get to the freeway. I would like to know what I can do for them since they are in a big dog lot. I wish there was a bird sanctuary to send them to but I don't know where to look in my state.

A dog kennel actually is probably fine for them as long as they have at least ten square feet per duck and also have four square feet per duck in their house It's great that you took them in and are caring for them.

You might be able to post on your local state thread here and find someone that can give them a home if you can't keep them.

 

[LuvBantums]

A dog kennel actually is probably fine for them as long as they have at least ten square feet per duck and also have four square feet per duck in their house It's great that you took them in and are caring for them.

You might be able to post on your local state thread here and find someone that can give them a home if you can't keep them.

You have been great help in all I have asked and couldn't ask for better. I wish I would have known before I put one of her eggs in inc and now it is hatching as I type. I don't want it to have brain damage. I will contact my state and see where I can re-home them in a safe area. We live in the country and trying to get this road down from 55mph to at most 40 mph, but it has always been a state rd and the law allows 55. Thank you again!

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/where-am-i-where-are-you.26/

Please let us know how the duckling that is hatching is doing. Hopefully it will be fine.