Ducks

[HorseyTee]

Anybody have ducks?

Just after advice on day to day care ect.

I'm picking up a few on the weekend, and have a sturdy shelter ready, plus little plastic pond (I'm aware domestics spend much less time in water than wild fowl? It's big and deep enough for a little swim around and a bath, but small enough to easily clean regularly).
I'm picking them up some feed (using the same as what the breeder uses) and have a bed to put down for them.
They'll be free ranging the garden during the day and safely locked securely at night.

Is there any do's/don't's, or anything specific I should know.

I've researched of course but nothing better than first hand advice.

 

[vhf]

We've kept ducks for 25 years now, wouldn't like to be without them.

• They will eat almost anything, in quantity, and will create a mess in the process.
• I cook potato/veg peelings for them, they love their 'stew' and create a lot of mess throwing it around and dabbling in it.
• They will mess up veg and flower beds, eating flowers, buds and fruits.
• They will need their pond re-filling and cleaning far more often than you want to, and will play in any other wet thing they can find, making a mess.
• They will squirt liquid poo over any gravel/patio/path area.

You may notice, there's a theme to duck ownership!
Ours are fox magnets, even more so than the hens. They are also very good at hiding in inaccessible places, especially in breeding season - whether that's instinct to find a nest (they almost never go broody!) or hiding from the over amorous drake I'm not sure. They are very funny characters, with distinct personalities. Some breeds are much noisier than others, same is true about egg-laying and flightiness. Some domestic breeds can actually fly, most can't. They are less prone to disease than hens but watch for lameness. I've had a few old-timers go blind, and some get injured by said over-amorous drake, so watch out for that if you have one.

 

[Dexter]

They will destroy your garden. They like to forage and dig and make mud pits. When I say destroy I mean destroy. They are very charming and funny but are best well away from a garden.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

We have 11, 2 miniature Silver Appleyards who are just the loveliest ducks and 9 (soon to be 5) Call ducks who are a complete pain in the backside. If you live in a built up area don’t get Call ducks, they make a hell of a noise. My cockerel is quieter.

I have a very large pond in the garden and they are banned from using it and are made to slum it in two paddling pools instead. The mess is incredible, the water goes from clean to filthy in minutes and they are also banned from the anything but grass. I don’t mind them digging the grass as it aerates it and they keep the slugs down but you have to put their food on concrete or the seeds germinate and you end up with half a crop field in the garden.

Give me chickens any day.

 

[HorseyTee]

Thanks for replies.

I'm getting a male group as I had read that the boys can be a bit full on with any girls.

I'm keeping them and their water on concrete so no mud to make, but they'll have access to grass to mooch about on.
I don't have flowers or anything, just a few weeds so not worried about that.

Are they as sensitive to respiratory issues as I've read online?

 

[vhf]

Thanks for replies.
Are they as sensitive to respiratory issues as I've read online?

I've never had any (touch wood) but that could be pure luck...

 

[Dexter]

Dont underestimate how noisy they can be as well. Not that noticeable at the yard, but your neighbours may strongly object if its in a residential area.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Ours never suffer any respiratory issues. Bedding wise Aubiose is really good as it’s so absorbent and it keeps the smell down as well. Also a little goes a long way. Don’t put them on hay or straw, it turns into a slimy mess. They poop for Britain and don’t care where they go which is why the water gets so dirty. Ours do spend a lot of time in their pools especially when cleaning their feathers. If they are young they will learn to be hand fed so the boys will have fun feeding them.

 

[HorseyTee]

Appreciate replies.

They're about 3 months old and pretty tame already plus used to dogs.
The boys will be so excited but they don't know yet. They love animals and going to feed the ducks at the park, so I'm hoping to teach them more responsibilities by helping me feed and things.

I've had all sorts of pets over the years and have budgies but never had ducks, so I like to learn as much as I can beforehand.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I have told my friend, no more ducks. Hers was a large Swedish Blue, dual purpose breed and very messy and noisy. Fortunately my next door neighbours liked hearing her, no idea about the others. I have said I will get some Silkie bantams as I like them and I am not bothered about egg production.

 

[HorseyTee]

We live right by a big lake so duck noise is background noise and we often have Canada geese flying over the houses honking.

I'm not bothered about eggs either which is why I'm happy to have a male group.
I believe the lady is going to clip the wings of the ones I have as they are flyers.

I like that they're quite cold hardy so I won't have to worry too much about the winter, but their house is in a sheltered area away from the wind and strong sun too.

I'm happy to chuck my wellies on and hose down a couple of times a day, I do with the dogs toileting area anyway
Looking forward to binding with them as well and hopefully eventually being able to have a little ducky cuddle.

 

[Dexter]

what sort of ducks are they?

 

[AmyMay]

Rats…..

Just sayin

 

[Clodagh]

Rats, duck shit and more duck shit! I hatched ducklings once, never again. Literally all they do is poo.
Keep the boys away from the muck.
Avian flu is a big problem now and I imagine soon the annual covered locked in housing until April will start.
tbh you are mad! I hope you enjoy them.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Rats…..

Just sayin

Yup I’ve got another one running round my attic as I type. Had to throw a whole tub of poison up there today and I can hear it dropping the block as it eats.

 

[HorseyTee]

I appreciate the honesty, I need to know the gory details, not just the cute stuff.

I'm fine with poo. I used to keep guinea pigs and omg they were the most dirty things I'd ever had.
I have tubs of pet safe disinfectant that I use in the garden for the dog wee so I'll just extend it to the duck area.

I probably am mad tbh.

If things really did become terrible here, I have 12 acres I could move them to, but I haven't just decided on a whim, I have read lots and spoken to the breeder and asked lots of questions too.

I've got 4 cats and the area has lots of ferals so hopefully rats won't be too much of a problem ? if not then I suppose I'll have pet rats too ?

 

[AmyMay]

Rats, duck shit and more duck shit! I hatched ducklings once, never again. Literally all they do is poo.
Keep the boys away from the muck.
Avian flu is a big problem now and I imagine soon the annual covered locked in housing until April will start.
tbh you are mad! I hope you enjoy them.

Unless you have a really large garden, and can keep them well away from where your boys play and the dogs walk, then I would seriously reconsider.

 

[Esmae]

I appreciate the honesty, I need to know the gory details, not just the cute stuff.

I'm fine with poo. I used to keep guinea pigs and omg they were the most dirty things I'd ever had.
I have tubs of pet safe disinfectant that I use in the garden for the dog wee so I'll just extend it to the duck area.

I probably am mad tbh.

If things really did become terrible here, I have 12 acres I could move them to, but I haven't just decided on a whim, I have read lots and spoken to the breeder and asked lots of questions too.

I've got 4 cats and the area has lots of ferals so hopefully rats won't be too much of a problem ? if not then I suppose I'll have pet rats too ?

If you thought GP's were dirty you have a shock in store with ducks/drakes. Rats can become a problem with poultry/waterfowl cats or no cats. (been there, done that) Water becomes disgusting in very short order. I changed the water daily. Was the only way. Would I have them again? Hell no, too much mess.

 

[Dexter]

If you thought GP's were dirty you have a shock in store with ducks/drakes. Rats can become a problem with poultry/waterfowl cats or no cats. (been there, done that) Water becomes disgusting in very short order. I changed the water daily. Was the only way. Would I have them again? Hell no, too much mess.

This. There is absolutely no comparison at all between guinea pigs and rats. Guineas are pretty clean creatures, I'm surprised to find you think they were dirty. Ducks are utterly filthy. You won't be able to let your dogs or kids in the area where the ducks are. It will be a slippy, stinking mess of duck poo and mud. Concrete or not, they find a way to make mud. They smell bad. You clean them out and almost instantly its filthy again.

The water will need changing once, probably twice a day. You wont want your kids or other animals anywhere near a small area of water used by ducks.

And you will get rats regardless of having cats or not.

As Clodagh said, they will have to be under cover from any time now for about 16 weeks. Do you have a big enough run to keep them happy like that?

If I was your neighbour I would hit the roof if a load of ducks arrived to live in a residential garden. Ducks living a short way away on a pond and geese flying over is not the same as ducks housed next door. Have you chekced your deeds? Lots say no chickens or ducks in them.

I liked my ducks, but I kept them at the yard in a huge run, and even then I rehomed them in the end as the mess was just too much and I couldnt get on top of the rat problem depsite having 3 feral mousers.

 

[Clodagh]

As Clodagh said, they will have to be under cover from any time now for about 16 weeks. Do you have a big enough run to keep them happy like that?
l.

Was it only 16 weeks? Last year it felt like 26.
And Guinea pig poo is neat little pellets. Duck poo is like slurry squirted from a high pressure water pistol.
They carry salmonella I believe so seriously I wouldn’t let children handle them or go in their run.

 

[druid]

We've got breeding groups of Minature Silver Appleyards. They're noisy, the pens are at the furthest reaches of the veg garden about 80m from the house and they'd still wake you up in summer quacking if you sleep with the windows open. The drakes are much quieter than the ducks though.

Mine are in large (20 x 30ft) roofed pens with 10" bases of woodchip laid on top of grass. It's the only solution I've found to mud. They stay clean, dry and in showable condition. Two paddling pools per pen (one drake and four ducks).

 

[Clodagh]

I love MSA’s. And call ducks. Beautiful. But no way.
Stick to bantams!

 

[twiggy2]

I currently have chickens and turkeys, as well as ferrets and dogs.
Previously have had chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, rats etc etc as pets.
We had 3 ducks in a 20x20+ outdoor run of gravel, they had 2 washing up bowls of water and my it was a shit pit out there, the mud, smell and mess was bad, the flies too were bad. My other half wants ducks but never again for me.
Guinea pigs are really clean compared to ducks, you really can't compare them.

 

[Aperchristmas]

Oh I'd love ducks but can't have them, partially due to the reasons mentioned above and partly because our dogs wouldn't be trustworthy with them and I couldn't risk it.

You do sound well prepared OP but the comment about guinea-pigs also struck me - they're very clean animals really so I think you may be surprised at how mucky the duckies are. Not a problem if it doesn't bother you of course, but something to keep in mind.

 

[millikins]

My son in law bought a trio of ducks, can't remember the breed but fairly big ones. I was astonished by the mess 3 ducks could make in a large grassy pen. Absolutely filthy animals, rather dull too, nowhere near the personality of bantams. They were returned to the breeder and exchanged for more chickens. I wouldn't allow small children near confined ducks either I'm afraid.

 

[twiggy2]

With the run of the garden they will co e in the house too.
Why my girls were young my husband bought home 13 orphan ducks from work, we had a large shed free and the garden around our mid terrace and right round the end house too, so a huge area, I came home once to ducks in every window of the house and shit everywhere which only got worse as I tried to usher them back to the garden

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Duck poo is like slurry squirted from a high pressure water pistol.

Brilliant description.

 

[HorseyTee]

I wasn't comparing ducks to gpigs, rather mentioning that my pigs were very dirty, they pood and weed absolutely everywhere, including in their food, and I wasn't bothered by the mess.
Animals make mess, I'm well aware, I've had many animals for many years and I haven't decided blindly to just get ducks, I'm prepared for the work they will entail.
And of course I'm not going to be letting the boys roll around in a pen full of poo...they'd be donning their wellies to help put feed down ect.
I already wash the garden down twice a day because of the dogs so extra poo and stink doesn't worry me, I enjoy having animals and all that it comes with. I find cleaning up their space calming.
I've been preparing for ducks for quite a number of weeks now, and spent most of that time doing lots of reading up and educating myself, but of course first hand experience often enlightens on things that books/online doesn't mention.

 

[AmyMay]

I don’t think anyone would judge your commitment to their care etc.

I suppose, to me at least, it seems mad to effectively destroy a garden that could be enjoyed by you and your boys for play etc.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Your braver than me I worked at a very small yard for a lady that bred some really nice horses and she had ducks geese and chickens, the ducks and geese were the most difficult to look after and the mess is like nothing else I have ever experienced.

I certainly wouldn't want them in a garden they seriously do smell and they are so messy, they are lovely don't get me wrong but I wouldn't have them on my property, I have a pair of wild ducks that frequent my garden as I have a pond and they wreck my patio and they try to come indoors if my doors are open.