Ducks

[welsh veg grower]

Hi all

I have chickens as many of you know, had them years. I'd like to now have ducks but have some questions.

• What houising do they need?
• Is it true they dont need a pond?
• Which breed is best for kids, egg production and ease of care?
• should I know anything or be aware of anything?
• Does anyone know a good supplier in the N West?

Thanks all

[SueA]

Hi Bec, sorry I don't know the answers to most of your questions but do know that ducks don't need a pond but do need somewhere with water that they can splash around in & duck their heads under the water.You could use a large tin bath, either sunken or with some means of access or something similar. When I was little we kept ducks & they just used to splash about in my old baby bath. The water needs to be changed very regularly whether it's in a pond or container as they make a mess & it can cause illness etc. if not kept clean.

[Birdie Wife]

Try the Omlet site, they have lots of great info on ducks too. I looked into getting ducks, as a neighbour offered me some runner ducks but in the end the fox got to the ducks before I did . They are messier than chickens and you'll need to provide a pond or somewhere for them to splash around (although according to what I read, runner ducks are happy enough with somewhere to just dunk their head - how cute is that !!) and be able to change the water in the pond at least every couple of weeks. They are great wee characters though, and sound like lots of fun to keep.

[yoanbob]

hi beck
*most dont need a pond but all need somwhere to duck their heads (the head bowl we call it) even in their coop as ducks dont have tear ducts so can get eye infections and even go blind without it, we use an old casserole dish and an old plastic dog bed outside for them to play in and bathe they seem very happy with this tho we plan a pond for them soon. water needs changing every couple of days.
*you can put them in a chicken type house without a roost, but they need a bit more room than chooks, their number twos are bigger and smellier and their is more of it so need cleaning out more than chooks too.
*also they tend to dig with their bills instead of scratching like chooks, so they can make a mess, but the two together work as a team in pest irradication. they love slug hunts when we let them in to the veg patch.
*as for eggs and kids, well runners are the funniest to watch and lay hen size eggs, big ducks like alsburys and ruens lay huge eggs, i would say our alsbury and the runners are tamer than our campbells i only keep theese so dont know about other breeds.
*other things to note, they have very sensitive feet and our prone to bumble foot more than chooks, so no sharp bedding, and keep ramps ect easy for them.
*they are social creatures even more than chooks so you need at least two.
*they can be as tame as chooks with a little hand lettuce feeding and patience, but chooks tend to rule the roost so do this with the ducks seperatly to start with.
will pm you my suppliers number but its about 3 hours from you, he may know of someone nearer tho.
good luck.

[sanman]

I can't really add much to yoanbob's answer which is very good. We provide our ducks with a kids paddling pool (one of those plastic shell shaped ones) which they absolutely love. We have call ducks which are quite small, the kids absolutely love them.

[Qwerty]

Ease of care? Most likely the famous call duck,(rather fond of thier water, though) but runner ducks are not good with kids. much too flighty. Wheras call ducks mix well with kids. Egg production? The khaki campbell by far, as it can lay up to 300 eggs in a single season! This is why it is britans leading egg producer.