Okay duck people, I need your help

[lorihadams]

My husband wants to get ducks and we are going to a poultry swap tomorrow, I know, I am in trouble. Anyway, can I see picks of your duck setups? I just don't know where to begin with it. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Wifezilla]

It's been upgraded since the photo, but you get the idea...

It is totally out of site hidden behind our shed. They sleep there at night but free range during the day. Here is a pond we put in for the ducks...

The decorative container on the left is actually a skippy filter...
http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm

Remember, a pond is nice but not required. many domestic breeds are perfectly happy with a kiddy pool.

If you end up shopping for ducklings, here are a couple of different breeds...

Left is a khaki. On the right is a rouen. They look a lot like mallards but have two full eye stripes. If you don't want to worry about wing clipping, don't get a mallard. Rouens are too heavy to fly. If you want egg production, get a khaki or some of these...

Welsh Harlequins are khaki derived, but a bit mellower.

 

[big brown horse]

Wifezilla, is that a mirror in there for your ducklings?

Thanks for all of your information, as I am interested in getting ducks too.

 

[lorihadams]

Okay they are too cute! I love the pics of the one looking up at the camera!

Hubby wants pekins but I like Khaki Campbells or runners. We want to put a small pond in the back yard but for now will probably go with a kiddy pool. Thanks for the pics!!!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Well, I don't have any photos, but our duck pens are horse stalls that have had all openings chicken-wired over. The floor is now concrete, but it was dirt at first. We use straw for bedding. We keep a separate section of the floor space as sand. That is where the water and food are, on the ground. The food hangs in a rabbit feed hopper from some wire mesh stapled on the wall. The water is either in a 2.5 gallon bucket (easy to dump and re-fill), or in a plastic tub/trough. It is easier to keep the food and water area clean when sand is used on the floor. We have a small rake for cleaning the sand area. My husband built little A-frame nest covers, to give the girls some privacy on their nests. We also use straw bales for partitions, as need be.

Have fun duck shopping!

 

[inchworm]

If we decide to keep our duckling, can it swim in our man-made ornamental fish pond? Or do they eat goldfish, dig up water plants, and foul the water too badly?

Inchworm

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Or do they eat goldfish, dig up water plants, and foul the water too badly?

BINGO

 

[Wifezilla]

They eat fish and plants, and yes, they mess up the water. Mine is actually pretty clear with the skippy filter, but I do get sediment.

The mirror in the brooder was originally for the khaki. She was a solo hatch. I put the mirror and a turkey feather duster in there so she would have something to snuggle with and someone to look at. It worked until I found her a buddy (the rouen) at Big R a week later. It worked for the Welsh Harlequins too because they were shipped with 3 other duckling. I split an order with another byc member. My girls kept looking for the other ducks, so I put the mirror back in.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Oh sure, wifezilla. I think you just have some vain ducks! LOL

 

[Wifezilla]

Well, all but one are girls. You know how they get about mussed up feathers!!

Okay they are too cute! I love the pics of the one looking up at the camera!

That's Shelley She has been very alert and engaging from the get go. Now at 3 weeks she is the first to greet me when I go out to the back yard. She is my fiercest hunter (I almost feel sorry for the moths! LOL) and smartest little goober. If she sees me with a shovel or the pitch fork, she comes running. She knows when I dig, bugs and worms get uncovered. She is always waiting at the edge of the hole and immediately pounces when she sees something tasty She was the first one to start quacking and the calmest when picked up.

I am trying not to play favorites, but she is special