Why do you have ducks?

[lorieMN]

Quote:
yep, and if you let them free range they do go sit in hubbys side of the garage and crap huge amounts on the floor and he gets really ticked when he wants to change oil or something.They dont lay enough eggs to be worth keeping year round,so mine have went to freezer camp.

 

[gofasterstripe]

When it rains my ducks are in heaven they are all like

more holes to dig..lets get to it. I just sit there and watch my ducks happy at their work

 

[nettie]

I chose my runners because they were the cutest of the available breeds for me. And they came in different colors so I could tell them apart. I keep mine indoors as house pets because I'm allergic to things with fur and I was in no way ready for a larger parrot and I wanted something bigger than a cockatiel. And I wanted them because I've loved ducks ever since I was a little kid. there's a video of 3 year old nettie somewhere in my parents tapes at a lake saying how i wanted to "dive in the water with the ducks" lol

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

Nettie, that's a great story!!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I had a chance to get free ducklings, and...well.

Seriously, though, it's because I think ducks are charming! Even though they're messy, they have great personalities and they're fun to have around. They make me smile.

And once I discovered some of the smaller ducks you can keep, like call ducks, I knew I'd be hooked on ducks forever. I just cannot resist small poultry!

 

[Amiga]

I'm a gardener. And I study permaculture and am working at practicing it more and more. Slugs were literally eating my lunch. I made some strides, but felt overwhelmed.

Bill Mollison, a permaculture teacher, once wrote (I am told): You don't have a slug problem. You have a duck deficiency.

Lightbulb moment!

Did some research and found foraging, egg-laying, small, very cute (suburbia - I needed cute) Indian runners.

No regrets.

Stop me!!

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

Last summer I told DH (who REALLY wanted ducks) no way--- all summer--- We had just started raising the chickens and I was learning a lot and didn't want the mess of ducks... Then his birthday came up and I ordered them for his present.... After posting how many I ordered I figured out that I may have gone over board when ordering.... And then I bought more this Nov as I saw an ad for mallard hens.... Turns out I found Rouen hens but they are having fun with the rest of the ducks.


We have Jumbo Pekins, Welsh Harlequin, mallards and Rouen.... I wanted eggs, meat and bug eaters. We just started getting the eggs and I will try and do a taste test tonight- Really hoping that I like the taste! Have yet to know about their bug eating qualities or the meat (I chickened out on the butchering but some WILL have to go~ it is just a matter of finding someone else to do this)

They are messy but.... They also have grown on me and I LOVE that the mallards fly, I love their little quacks and I LOVE finding the eggs this week. I dislike having to baby the ducks in the hospital - I have found that the Jumbo pekins really are for growing up meat birds not to have in your flock as I have had one in the ducky hospital a lot. The leg is giving her problems again so she is back in the basement and not real happy about it.

 

[greekbioguy]

i actually think that ducks are addictive. i don't know maybe it has sth to do with the fact they are funny and pretty at the same time. there is sth about them that you cant resist them. i keep mandarins and wood ducks because the look like living jewels but all ducks are amazing ,especially when they are in water swimming and playing
i grew up in a big city (it was my decision to move to my summer house by the sea and live there permanently ,my parents still live in the winter house in the city),when i was really young my parents used to take me to the zoo to feed the ducks (i can remember very few things from that early age but the ducks in the zoo are amongst my first memories) maybe thats the reason i like ducks so much

 

[sonjab314]

I have ducks because my 4 year old daughter looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said "Mommy can I please have a ducky?" That did it. I got a Welsh and a Khaki. Then I discovered Silver Appleyards. I gave the welsh and Khaki to a friend and now we just have the SA. I love them just as much as she does.

 

[blueducklings]

I have 3 indian runners. They are characters from toon town.

Highly entertaining to watch. If you are afraid of the mess, you can house them in a duck tractor (you tube that) and just push the tractor to a new spot everyday.
The grass will grow much faster in those spots though.
They love water but do not require a pond. I just give my ducks a big tub of water & empty it out every day. Then when I get tired of doing that, I push my tractor to the edge of the creek.
Indian runners are great foragers and lay as many as 300 eggs a year with proper light. My ducks lay eggs the size of jumbo chicken eggs.
Trouble only comes when you catch Hatchititus.

I read "storey's guide to raising ducks" and just got hooked after that.

Good luck