Learn how to Keep Ducks
Thinking of getting your own ducks?
A major step towards self sufficiency is getting your own livestock. This can be a scary prospect for the urbanites amongst us. But of all livestock, ducks and chickens will be the easiest for you to master. They are both suited to the smaller gardens available to most of us. Ducks are friendly and very funny creatures to have roaming your backyard. They are pets with benefits! Depending on the breed they can live 5-8 years - some up to about 12.
Whilst most ducks don't lay quite as much as chickens there are a couple of breeds that are as prolific. The Cambell for example can lay up to 300 eggs per year and the lovable Pekin will lay up to 200 a year. Ducks eggs are larger than chickens and in my opinion are much tastier. Tip: They make the best Yorkshire Puddings.
Duck House/Coop
You can buy a duck house at your local DIY shop or do it the self sufficient way and build your own. The main difference between a chicken coop and a duck house is that chicken coops need to have a roosts. It's easy to adapt any chicken coop into a duck house. It has to be predator proof. Foxes will be the biggest problem. Cats usually aren't a match for an average size duck but you might need to be careful with the smaller breeds.
How many?
You should never have one duck by itself. It will be a lonely old soul. I'd recommend 2-4 for a first timer. If you are after eggs then they should obviously all be female. If you plan on breeding try getting 4 females with 1 drake. Tip: You can tell the difference between a drake and a duck but the tail feathers. A drake should have a curly tail feather after about 6 months of age.
Pecking Order
There will be a pecking order! It's best not to get involved no matter how angry and noisy things become. It will soon settle down. If you are worried that a duck isn't getting access to food and water then it's time to step in and provide a little food away from where you'd usually leave it.
Water
In general most breeds love water. But don't worry if you don't have a pond, a paddling pool with a couple of duck sized steps up should do the trick. Just make sure it's deep enough so that they can submerge themselves fully. A small pond isn't actually that suitable. You'll find a still pond full of duck poo will soon become a stagnant pool of stink! A great alternative to get an old bath tub from the scrap yard. Bury it so they can jump straight in. You can pull the plug once a week and give it a good scrub and fill with fresh water.
Ideally the ducks would be able to access a lake or river but most people's gardens aren't that big.
Care
In general ducks are pretty easy going all they want is shelter, food and water. Top up their food and water on a morning and let them out to play.
They are great at eating garden pests and kitchen scraps. I supplement their diet with oats and grains. Some people use chicken feed and occasionally give them a tin of dog food. Don't forget ducks are omnivores - they eat what comes there way. They will even eat grass!
If you have duckings you can feed them something called chick crumbs for the first 8 weeks. This will help with their early development.
Give their house a clean once a week and fill with fresh straw. Don't forget to check for eggs. The organic duck poo/straw mix you take out each week can go straight on the compost heap.
Health
To keep your ducks healthy you need to keep their house clean and keep them well fed and watered. It's importnat they have a access to a pool of water where they can submerge themsleves. Ducks need to get there eyes wet as they have no way of keeping them moist themselves.
Things to look out for:
Tape worms and Round worms
They may get diarrhoea. You may also notice an increase in hunger and drop in egg laying levels. Don't panic this is easily fixed. Your Vet should be able to provide with suitable medication.
Lice
You will see a build up of white powder around the duck house. This white is lice eggs. You can get louse powder to sprinkle around their house every week.
Brush any eggs on the ducks off and rub in some vaseline.
Red Mite
Your duck may start to look a bit pale. You will also see a decrease in the number of eggs layed. You can get mite sprays to deal with this problem.
Moulting
Female ducks will moult around 1 once a year.The males can moult twice - once for the mating season then again ready for the winter.
Your duck will moult after about 6-8 weeks as that get rid of their juvenile feathers and get their adult feathers. There will be feathers everywhere! Not enough for a duck feather quilt unfortunately.
Eggs
You should start to get eggs from about 18 - 22 weeks of age. Some breeds can take up to the full year. Check the breeds characteristics if you are wondering where your eggs are. Duck eggs last about 10 days and should be kept in a cool dry place. It's a good idea to write the date you got the egg or better still write a best before date on it. You may find that the egg production will slow or even stop in the winter. It's down to the cold and the short days. Once things heat up again you should get your usual egg quota.
Breeds
Pekin Duck
Sometimes also known as Long Island ducks. A large white duck with yellow/orange beak. They are originally from China and are often bred for meat and eggs.You've probably seen Pekin Duck on the menu if you've ever been to your local Chinese. They are good layers - about 200 a year. A friendly and clever breed that loves people and can live up to 12 years. A great addition to any family.
Khaki Campbells or Campbells
Campbells are prolific layers so if it's eggs your after, this is your duck. They are a cross between Mallard, Rouen and Runner. They look more like a rather tall common mallard you'll find at your local pond. They can produce up to 300 eggs per year. Like many breeds the broodiness has been bred out so don't rely on them to hatch. You may need to get an incubator.
Runner Ducks
Runners originated in India and if I had to compare them to cartoon duck it would be daffy! Tall and long necked. They can produce anything from 150-300 eggs per year. They are not the broodiest of ducks. Food intake is probably a little less than with most breeds. They are an excellent forager.
Cayuga
Cayuga ducks are beautiful green/black birds originally from the US. They are known as quiet, docile birds. They are much broodier than a lot of domesticated breeds and will hatch their own eggs. They are very good layers - up to 300 a year.
Call Ducks
Like the name suggests call ducks like to call a lot. They can be a bit noisy. A small white duck - like a mini Pekin really. They are not the best layers - averaging between 25 and 75 a year. They are suitable for a small garden due to their dimiutive proportions.
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