Hey there sy7up.
How is Low Rider?? Is she still laying with the colder weather setting in now??
bfrancis - Runners are amazing. Good breed choice for your wife. They really are great in the garden, cleaning up bugs and clearing some of the undergrowth. You do need to be careful with them around a vegie garden though- as just like other duck breeds they will quickly demolish anything that looks good to them.
I have a floating number usually between 15- 25 of different ages. All mine are hand raised as they can be a bit flighty and handling them often from a young age can keep them quieter. Runners are a great egg laying breed, and dont often go broody, but I do find them relatively easy to incubate and hatch. They have such incredible characters- and not matter what age provide so much entertainment with their daily goings on.
Housing can depend alot on the space and materials you have available, but aside from making sure they are safe from predators making sure that the area is easy to clean should be a consideration. They would need to be provided with water- and will make a huge mess with it. Apart from providing a receptacle for drinking that is deep enough for them to get their whole heads into ( needed for cleaning their nostrils and eyes. ) a small swimming pool at least in the warmer months will make for much happier ducks. Making sure that the area used for " bathing" is an area with good drainage is important.
One great feature of the Runners is that they come in so many colours. Certain colours are more common in some countries than others- but cross breeding between different coloured birds can be a great experiment in genetics, I have been doing a little of that myself and have managed to get a combination of parents who have offspring I can sex at hatch by colour alone.
Incubation temps are the same for other poultry- but its the humidity that is different. I generally have my incubator on 55% for the first 25 days and then up to 80% for hatching. It can depend a little on your machine and the climate where you live. I have mine separated for breeding in pairs trios and larger groups with 3 males and 10- 12 females of laying age, each group size works well- and fertility in my flock is always high.
For some further information- and chat about Runners there is a group on facebook with plenty of photos of the different colour available, and with members from around the world there is a heap of experience members can share about their Runners.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/117239115030006/
I could go on for about forever about Runners, they really are just such a huge part of my life and totally amazing birds...... but there are also a few other members on hear that have Runners and Im sure would love to share some of their experiences with you....
Oh...and just in case you arent completely sold on the idea of getting some Runners.... Did I mention just how darn cute they can be ???
