DW wants ducks DEW, not so much

[MontyJ]

Our youngest DD (15 in June) wants to keep ducks. I'm not completely against the idea, but I don't know anything about ducks. Of course that didn't keep me from getting chickens, but...

How hard are ducks to keep? I have considered getting my daughter to sign up here on TEG to talk to people that know about them.

 

[baymule]

Look up my thread on ducks. I'd find it for you, but no internet yet, on cell phone. I was real happy to cut their heads off and send them to freezer camp. Perkins are LOUD and NEVER SHUP UP!! Oops, meant Pekinese. Not! Stupid auto correct! P E K I N S

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Easy to keep, we've continually raised birds that win grand champion at the county fair with very little effort. Lay big & tasty eggs and taste good themselves. You will have to touch up their water-bowls often as they like to bath in it, and spill a lot. We don't worry about having crystal clear water for them, just as long as it's not too dirty (we need to change waters very often with how many ducks we raise). You might need to space the waters out to avoid a big muddy mess in your yard (we keep a lot of ducks and the coops are spaced close together, so that might just be our problem - most ducks tend to stick around their home turf but do wonder a little bit). You'll probably have at least a few holes in your yard from the beaks of foraging ducks.

Some can be noisy - we've found that it really depends on breed and even what batch of ducklings your ducks came from. We've had two different batches of the same breed, from two different sources, whose behaviors were the polar opposite. Ducks can get noisy if something freaks them out or makes them uncomfortable - dogs running by, large raptors flying through nearby trees, etc.

Something I'll warn you about - if you have a poor male-female ratio some of your ducks may transition over to the opposite sex (this is most prominent in Welsh Harlequins) - totally normal. You'll see females mating each other even if you're ratio is right - normal and a dominance/practice thing for them. If you see males mating each other - you better throw some more females in. A male without females can be found mating chickens, geese, dogs - you do not want that!

 

[majorcatfish]

Throught about you and dew the other day when inside tractor supply Friday they had chicks and ducklings for sale. Someday would like to raise ducks as well....

 

[baymule]

If I get ducks again, I want muscovies.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I'd recommend Muscovies, they're my favorite duck breed (unfortunately family didn't like breeds attributes so we stopped breeding). Much quitter (most of the time), and the meat is better in my opinion, they also bathe much less than normal ducks do - so their waters stay cleaner for longer. That and I love the wide array of colors that they come in.

This pic doesn't do justice to the variety of colors, but was one of the few that included multiple ducks. These ducks DO fly, and they fly as well as wild ducks. They'll nearly always come back to their coop and are usually, but I would clip their wings if you don't want them in your neighbors' neighbors yards. Keep in mind what I said about behavior varying from batch to batch of ducklings.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Saxony Ducks are another breed that we raise (super-rare breed from Germany - the breeder started breeding them before WWII but had to drop his project and pick it back up again after the war). They are extremely friendly which means that they don't lend themselves well to set-ups were predators have easy access to them. This is the best breed for meat - whole family loves Saxony ducks along with all of the neighbors. I can post pics if you'd like.

If you want I can actually go through all of the breeds that we raise at the moment.

 

[ninnymary]

SeedO, moscovies are your favorite but not your family's? Why don't they like them?

Did you get the seeds I sent you?

Mary

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

SeedO, moscovies are your favorite but not your family's? Why don't they like them?

Did you get the seeds I sent you?

Mary

Well both parents are kind of but off by their different appearance and way of communication (they do a lot of head-bobbing and tail wagging). That and my dad used to be an avid duck hunter, so he's developed a very specific idea of what a "real" duck should look like and what ducks look best. Muscovy meat is also very lean, my parents like more grease and fat on their duck. They aren't good egg layers, parents wanted a more dual purpose breed. The females also make great moms when it comes to hatching/caring for the ducklings - so much in fact that the ducks seem to multiply if you turn your back for too long, they're also good at hiding their nests which isn't the best when you don't want too many babies. A female Muscovy won't eat or poop when on the nest - if you pick up a female that has been on the nest for a while you will get sprayed down in some of the foulest smelling stuff (natural defense). They're just more of a challenge to handle during the breeding season than other ducks.

You sent seeds? I didn't get anything yet but will let you know, almost cross-country is a long trip.

 

[Nyboy]

Funny duck story, I have a friend Dana who is a big animal lover. Dana's family owned a store chain leaving her very wealthy. She has a amazing house with a small pond in back.One day she decided the pond needed ducks, so she got on her computer and found a very flashy website for a duck breeder. Before she knew what happened, her and a friend where driving to this breeders farm. There where all kinds of ducks, she fell in love with cute little ones. The breeder told her she had a great eye and these where show quality ducks they where so good he really didn't want to sell them. Dana had fallen in love and ended up paying a small fortune for 1 male and 3 females. When she got back home she went right to the pond and opened the box. She had visions of the ducks waddling down to the water then swinging around. The ducks came out of the box, then took to the air and flew away never to be seen again. The breeder never told her call ducks fly, even knowing she wanted pond ducks. He made a lot of cash,she was heart broken.