# Ducks: personality, eggs, coops



## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

I'm posting for another HT member that hasn't been able to post lately.
Wants to know about Ducks:
1. best personality
2. .egg production
3.. coops--plans and pictures

Can anyone help with their experience and knowledge? Thank you in advance, ~Feather


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

I raised egg ducks almost exclusively--- our only chickens at the moment are a batch of broiler chicks. 
Like chickens, different duck breeds are developed for different purposes-- either effective meat, effective laying, self feed forage ability, ability to hatch and raise their own offspring, or any variation of these traits. 

For layers that will lay more and better with fewer complications than a chicken layer breed:
See Khaki Campbell, and Metzer Farms layer hybrid http://www.metzerfarms.com/BirdInformation.cfm?Breed=Golden 300 Hybrid Layer&BirdType=Duck&ID=GOLDE. , or welsh harlequin. Some people swear by indian runners, but the average runners don't lay quite as well as the other two breeds, are very nervous birds, and don't have much of a carcass if you want to table your culls. 

For an optimal meat bird, check out the pekin duck (fast growing) the Muscovy (quiet, good flavor and LARGE) or the jumbo pekin. The jumbo pekin matures into a larger carcass than a traditional pekin, but don't reach slaughter age as quickly (so less feed efficiency). 
Muscovies are excellent at breeding and raising their own young, but pretty much only lay to breed-- not good for providing house eggs. Pekins lay through more times of the year, and give double extra large eggs. 

As for dual purpose ducks, there are a lot of beautiful and popular breeds that favor laying or meat, but still retain a useful assortment of characteristics in measures to satisfy both roles. 

Buff Saxonies, Appleyards, Swedish and anconas tend to be the most popular "fancy breeds". 

I've never met a breed that didn't have it's own appeal. Ducks in general have a lot of personality. Cayugas were probably the most one dimensional ducks I had and they didn't really shine as layers or as meaties. 

Shelter needs for ducks are very simple, essentially they need nothing more than a wind break in cold weather and shade in hot weather. A simple A frame with 3 sides, or a stack of straw bales will achieve adequate shelter for ducks. 
Predator proof fencing is the most difficult part of keeping ducks safe, but thankfully most domestic breeds are flightless and easy to keep contained.


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

Welsh Harlequin, absolutely. Indian Runners and Kakhi Campbells do lay very well, but as SO flighty. WH were bred from KCs, to be less nervous.

If I could do it all over again, I would have gotten nothing but WH, instead of IR and KC like I did. You can't even look at them or they run away.

I have chickens, ducks and guineas. The ducks are my favorite BY FAR. They are adorable, are more mite/lice resistant, they don't try to tear each other apart when injured like chickens do, and the females sound like they are laughing, I think.

Ducks are about a billion times messier than chickens; stinkier too. Mine currently are sharing the chicken coop and have a heatd baby pool in the chicken yard. I am hoping to get their house/pond done this spring.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

I like my Welshies, but they are lazier as layers than the golden 300s I traded them in for... they meet my house needs, but if I was planning on selling eggs more seriously I would get the golden 300s again for reliable eggs like clockwork. I found them to be very calm and hardy.... but not as lovely as the harlequins.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

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## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

I'm very interested in the Welsh Harlequins. They are listed as "critical list" acc: ALBC. Do not know what a "golden 300" is -- another name?

Biggest concern is protective coop from foxes and coyotes. Something got every one of our Mallards -- and I'm with you, Earthkitty, I love the ducks.

Would like to see other people's coops or plans for such. Would appreciate any ideas for duck shelters that are predator proof at night, anyway. They are on the pond during the day and on their own. Perhaps it is safety in numbers.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I don't have a lot of predator pressure here, so can't help with protective coops so much. I did convert an old metal storage shed into a "duck house" with a fully enclosed night time pen attached to it. However, I doubt the chicken wire I used will work where there is more predation. It keeps cats away from baby ducklings though. 

I love my Welsh Harlequins. Pretty, funny, friendlier than most ducks and good layers. If strictly for the efficiency side of it, it's likely the 300's are better layers (never had them), but for the whole egg laying cuteness package, I vote WH!


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

GrannyCarol said:


> I don't have a lot of predator pressure here, so can't help with protective coops so much. I did convert an old metal storage shed into a "duck house" with a fully enclosed night time pen attached to it. However, I doubt the chicken wire I used will work where there is more predation. It keeps cats away from baby ducklings though.
> 
> I love my Welsh Harlequins. Pretty, funny, friendlier than most ducks and good layers. If strictly for the efficiency side of it, it's likely the 300's are better layers (never had them), but for the whole egg laying cuteness package, I vote WH!


Yeah, harlies are a great all around homestead duck-- even down to white underfeathers. 

Golden 300s are like the production egg duck hybrid designed to be a duck egg machine. Mine adapted extremely well as happy farm ducks. They have brown plumage similar to a khaki campbell, are about a pound and a half heavier than a campbell, and really crank out the eggs. 

With my first batch of ducks I had I tried 5 campbells, 5 golden 300s, 5 white layer hybrids, 2 welshies, and then a mallard, a couple swedish and a cayuga on clearance from the feed store joined them. 

The campbells and the 300s were the most reliable layers, the white hybrids were both fragile and stupid and didn't take well to the hazards of free ranging a 2 acre area. At the end I only had 2 of the whites survive to laying age. Sold one, kept one. They lay well but I don't recommend them for a farm environment. 
My only conn about the welsh is that mine are the first to peter off on the eggs when the weather gets extreme (cold or hot). Even the dual purpose ducks kept cranking out an egg every 3 days or so when the summer temps climbed, but not the welsh. My most persistent layers right now for winter are actually the mallard and the couple pekins I have. 

My plans are to acquire a second male welsh, and my replacement layer ducklings are going to be 300s. Not going to phase out any of the harlequins I have, just going to augment them with some extra reliability.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

do the 300s have enough body on them to be a meat duck too?


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## libertygirl (Jul 18, 2011)

We lost 3 malards, 2 indian runners, and a dozen chickens this summer. We killed 4 skunks and a raccoon all found in the fenced yard and coop. An older man at the feed store told us he leaves a radio on at night in the coop and has not had any problems, while his neighbors were all having losses. Sure enough, we ran an extension cord to the coop and leave a radio on all night and haven't had any more losses.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

Dead Rabbit said:


> do the 300s have enough body on them to be a meat duck too?


Yes, it makes them probably the most suitable dual purpose high egg output "breed." There's enough on the carcass to actually be worth the plucking, and that's not true of runners or campbells at all. I've had a plucked runner drake in my freezer for 5 months because I can't think of anything to do with it...

The "true" dual purpose ducks give up a lot of laying ability and you really don't gain a lot of poundage over the 300 until you get into Saxonies, pekins and appleyards.


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## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

Interested only in egg laying and personality. Not so much for the dual purpose.

We have kids come out and need birds that are pretty calm around the kids. Sounds like the WH is the duck of choice for all things considered.

Now -- what about protection at night? Any one have any plans or photos to share of duck coops?


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## DYngbld (Jun 16, 2009)

We got 6 White peekins (aflac ducks) last year from Tractor Supply. Two became fox food, of the four left two were drakes. We get an egg a day from the ducks. We hatched 6 more, on Thanksgiving. They are slow growers, and have a unique kind of stink, I will never brood ducks in the winter again, I will never brood ducks in the winter again, I will never brood ducks in the winter again. They are so fun, the big ducks just do their thing, the babies will follow us every place and are always under foot.  

Ours free range with the chickens and bunk in the chicken coop. I built a "box" on the floor for them, and they will run the chickens out of it. We even find a duck in a nest box from time to time.:shrug:

We love the ducks and plan on adding more breeds in the spring. I am thinking Appleyards, or runners. The runners are a bit spendy from a hatchery, but I don't have a local source for them.


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## IndyGardenGal (Apr 5, 2009)

I love heavy breeds, and will be adding saxony ducks in he spring. I have a Pekin, Cayuga, some runners, and a flock of Anconas. I like the pekin the most for her personality.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I have really enjoyed my Saxonys, though they are a meat breed. They are calm and lay quite well (though not as much as the egg layers, of course!). They go seasonal younger than the Welsh Harlequins, but I love the temperament - they stand there at dinner time and DEMAND their dinner now! They aren't afraid really.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

My harlies are among my most talkative and generally quite laid back (although my last batch of harly ducklings were TERRIFIED of everything for the first 4 months of life. Pekins are very expressive in the body language and in chatter. My personal favorite is Tina, our little mallard. She is always "laughing" and telling the other ducks what's what. My campbells were clever (and the ones I got from Ideal were not all that skittish) and they were very chatty. 
My 300s I was a little blase' about more ducklings in general at the time (by then I had been through 4 brooders of ducklings) but they were the calmest most laid back ducks I have ever owned even with almost no handling, BUT naming them was pointless because I really couldn't tell them apart! Even my campbells had some body type variation so I could name them and pick apart individual temperaments, but I just couldn't do it with the 300s, and I have the same trouble with my harlequins now-- they all look and act pretty similar.

My tip, if you want to make them all "pets" for the family to enjoy, pick out a couple from a variety of breeds to give your flock (and egg carton) some interest. Like--2 harlequin hens and a couple campbells, an ancona, a pekin and a magpie or whatever "speaks" to you. Some breeds lay different egg shell colors as well as sizes. If you want a drake to have young, choose a drake from a layer breed that you like the look of and let your flock hybridize for that improved laying and health of hybrid vitality. (Plus games of "what are the ducklings going to look like???)


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I think that's a great idea. One of my best laying ducks is a little crossbreed that lays green eggs. She's getting older now, but she laid all winter for three winters in a row for me! I always knew it was her eggs, she was the only one that laid green eggs. She still lays all summer.


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## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

Dusky Beauty -- I think it is a great idea, too. I've enjoyed reading all about the different ducks and personalities from all of you who have responded. 

I'd still like to see "duck pens" photos if anyone cares to share.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

Pekin laid every day, very friendly. Khaki laid often, little less friendly. Ducks in general are ready to be outside on their own sooner, don't need heat anywhere as long as chickens do, they don't go stupid when you introduce new ducks or ducklings. They are far more messy and need water to clean themselves and their heads, but far better than chickens, in my opinion, by far. But they can be loud, once they learn you feed them when you come out, they will start singing when they see you through a window or hear you talking, etc. They also steal food and eat real fast, so other animal's food needs to be secured where ducks can't get to and if you have ducks with chickens or other fowl that peck-feed, isolate the ducks when feeding or the peckers may just go hungry.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

We Love our ducks. We have Trout & Indian Runners, Welsh harlequins & 1 White Crested hen. My trouts lay a blue/green colored egg & all of our ducks are very good layers. Very comical & I don't really think our runners are skittish but we've had them for a few years & in with the other ducks so maybe that makes a difference.

I'd take a picture of their house Doc but it's like a blizzard out there right now. If it calms down later when I go out to do chores I'll get a picture for you.

We built ours with wood & a wood floor on plastic pallets. The wood floor has held up for at least 3 years but really we've had to replace it once this summer. We have windows cut for warmer months that is covered with rabbit wire to keep predators out. We cover them with wood in the winter. Our ducks know when it's getting dark to go in their house & we just shut the door.
I don't give them food or water in their house, way too messy.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

what about BUFFS? any experiences? ive read they lay well, calm. can they be used as a good meat duck too?

they seem to be cheaper than the welsh harliquins


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## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

Backforty, MI -- would love to see your duck house but yes, do wait until the blizzard ends!

Trout? Not familiar with them. 

I'm curious how these non-flying ducks avoid predators. We have everything under the sun, except bears and bobcats. I think.


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## IndyGardenGal (Apr 5, 2009)

We have an LGD.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

You don't see a lot of Buffs here, I don't know anything about them. 

Personally I'd look at Metzers for Welsh Harlequins if you live in the eastern part of the country, or I order ducklings from Holderreads myself, partly because he has wonderful birds and he's pretty close to me. Otherwise I pick up birds through Craigslist - where I got my current pair of production WH. They aren't show birds, but they are pretty, lay well and produce nice babies.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

There are two kinds of "buff" ducks--- Buff Orpingtons, which are more "eggy" and a middle weight class duck, and there's the Buff Saxony; a heavy weight duck that's more meaty. 

Don't sweat the price difference of the welsh if that's what you want, it's only about a .50 cent difference... doesn't really add up to a huge price difference unless you're ordering like 20 ducks.

Metzer usually ships just fine all over the continental US. Cackle and Ideal usually have a pretty decent selection of different varieties, but there isn't really a one stop shop for all the desirable layer breeds  your best bet is to check all the hatcheries that have ducks and do business with the one that has most of the breeds you want.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i was looking at the BUFFs the "eggy" type. ive looked at all the hatcheries i could find course metzer is in the running, but the cheapest price is Dunlap https://www.dunlaphatchery.net/Birds/Ducks/ducks.aspx
course its not all about price with me. but i like the looks of the buffs, and i noticed they are on the cheaper end of the duck pricing scale.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

Buffs are very well liked-- I say if that's the breed you like, go for it! Don't go by price though-- go through a hatchery with the best customer reviews-- shipping loss replacement is the biggest thing I think, and a hatchery willing to send small orders. (Most people don't need 25 or 30 ducklings!) Also if you're going to interbreed with your own small flock fairly long term, it's best to get birds from a place with a good quality reputation--- all the hatcheries I mentioned fit the bill. 
I always recommend "splurging" on the sexing if you want female specifically for laying. You're better off paying the 2$ than feeding an entire flock up for months only to find out you've got 2 females and 6 drakes-- just in feed economy and time invested in my opinion. If you just want ducks to enjoy having ducks it's less important; but I advise a lot of people with food sensitivities that need to get egg sufficient asap. 

This is my duck run... pretty simple. Just a 5 ft. narrow box wire farm fence. I don't have a big predator problem but if I developed one, I think I'd run a strand of electric along the top and bottom. 








For "houses" I just have a series of little plywood A-frames in different corners we made from wood scraps. Don't have a pic handy though  Ducks drop eggs wherever they happen to be at the time (sometimes when swimming), but they like to cozy up in comfy ground level boxes to nest. I usually find most of my daily eggs in one favorite box like chickens do.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

do you just leave them in that run? or do you let them out? id say that sandy type soil is easy to maintain.
back home the soil is real loamy and never would get messy ....but here in the mtns. its all red clay. packs down hard, and becomes a frickin mire when it gets wet.


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## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

Same here, DeadRabbit -- clay and mud. Also my concern for the fenced area is that many of our predators would just dig under.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

Doc said:


> Same here, DeadRabbit -- clay and mud. Also my concern for the fenced area is that many of our predators would just dig under.


i have a great pyranesse that was born and raised around fowl. i used to have very valuable birds that needed protecting. when she came of age, i havent lost a thing to predators. she even goes after hawks or any other bird that has any size to it, that flies over the yard.
i highly recommend one of these. and she only eats about $1 per day worth of food. i feed purina one which is $30 per 40 lbs.


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## irregardless (Aug 9, 2012)

I <3 this thread...

I can't wait to get more ducks this year. (and replace those stupid chickens...)

I have 3 runners (all female) and I was getting 3 eggs every day while they were laying. They are very skittish though, like others have said... I have to corner them to pick them up. We handled them CONSTANTLY when they were babies, but it doesn't seem like it helped.

They are loud compared to my orpington chickens... but they don't crow at 4am either. 

I moved them into the chicken coop just because I was tired of keeping up with 2 waterers and 2 feeders... other wise they'd still be in their fenced yard with their little lean-to. Then swim while there's snow on the ground... I figure they can't be too fragile. This summer I plan to give them supervised pond visits-I'm afraid if I let them out by themselves I'd never be able to catch them agian.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

irregardless said:


> Then swim while there's snow on the ground... I figure they can't be too fragile. This summer I plan to give them supervised pond visits-I'm afraid if I let them out by themselves I'd never be able to catch them agian.


Apparently ducks and geese do not have nerve endings in their feet-- this made me feel better to read recently as I went out in the middle of the night to do my last walk about before sleep and the darn gander was still standing in the pool fast asleep while it was turning to ice slush. (Very cold last week!)


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## irregardless (Aug 9, 2012)

Dusky Beauty said:


> Apparently ducks and geese do not have nerve endings in their feet-- this made me feel better to read recently as I went out in the middle of the night to do my last walk about before sleep and the darn gander was still standing in the pool fast asleep while it was turning to ice slush. (Very cold last week!)


Meh, I'm a big believer in "back before there were doggie sweaters..." (when people say it's too cold for their dogs to be outside for whatever reason)

If they feel like swimming... Swim on! :thumb:


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

Dead Rabbit said:


> do you just leave them in that run? or do you let them out? id say that sandy type soil is easy to maintain.
> back home the soil is real loamy and never would get messy ....but here in the mtns. its all red clay. packs down hard, and becomes a frickin mire when it gets wet.


For now, they stay there all day and I feed a lot of food scraps and alfalfa to supplement the fresh greens they're not getting. Since I moved to this place I don't really have a nice grassy spot for them anyway. When my pasture is done I plan to herd the whole flock out together to bust up manure and forage. (That area will be fenced with chain link). 

Our soil isn't quite as sandy as it looks, it's mostly fine dust, and it gets mucky and stays mucky if there's no where for the water to drain off and evaporate. 
That's why in this whole pen there is only one shallow kiddy pool-- doesn't matter how many are in there they will all be a disgusting poop muck mess in 24 hours so I cap it at one pool. 

The new pens will be be outfitted with home made cement tubs/basins with a PvC drain system-- you can do the same thing but with setting an old bathtub into a hole in your ground if you have one to use up rather than mixing concrete. 
The pipe feeds out with a spigot you turn on and off to drain the tub-- most folks set up the pond drain system to water the lawn (grass LOVES dirty duck water), but it looks like ours will drain in a flood runoff ditch since it works for my lot and I have no grass in that back corner.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i have a horse.

if i turn ducks loose in the pasture, will they root around in the horse manure enough to break it up?


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

They'll do their best! They break it up pretty well, but when I had them free ranging 10 ducks had a hard time keeping up with 2 horses.


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

Just thought I would toss out there that Ideal is having a weekly special on some duck varieties including Buffs, Magpies, Blue Swedish, Fawn Runners and assorted ducks. 

'Cause I'm an enabler like that! They're all 4 and change per on small orders, in quantities of 20 or more they're 2 and change. (By the price and shipping break, might be money ahead to order the 20 box and craigslist out a bunch of them at 5$ each. :happy https://secuservices.com/ideal/newideal/Products.aspx?Category=Weekly Special

You might be able to call them up and sweet talk them into piecing together a 20 duck order of all the sale varieties... they're known for great customer service, might not hurt to ask!


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i ordered 10 SR buffs and 10 SR rouens for a friend of mine couple days ago. from WELP im hoping for 3-4 hens outa that mix of each breed. it seems the rouens lay quite well to, according to what i read. 
im going out to build a pen today, if i can stand this wind and cold............i have a lady asking for duck and goose eggs. last yr i sold my friends goose eggs to her for a buck apiece.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

can i get some advice on brooding these ducklings. i have a brooder box i built, very similar to the classic metal boxes that are used. 

any info on heat, how long to keep them in their etc.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Ducklings are pretty hardy and very messy. They need access to fresh water that they can dip their bills in any time they have food. They will play in it. I put my duckling waterers in old cake pans to keep most of the water out of the bedding. Be sure not to overheat them - in the house mine are fine with a 100w bulb starting fairly low. When the weather is warm, I move them outside under a heat lamp in a few days, but in the winter they'll need more warmth. They grow FAST and are tougher than chickens from what I hear. You'll have to gauge by their reactions when they are warm enough or too warm and when they need out. 

I can't imagine them being happy in one of those classic metal brooders for more than a week, if that long. In the late spring, mine have 4' by 8' space in the draft free duck shed with a heat lamp at one end at age 1 to 2 weeks. By 3 weeks, they have full access to an enclosed yard along with the whole house (9' by 10') to play in, they rarely stay inside at all by that age. 
First two pictures are about 3 days old - the day after they arrived from the hatchery - and the last picture is about 12 days old so you can see how much they grow.


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

This thread makes me want to sell all but five of my hens and replace the rest with ducks.


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## Doc (Jun 5, 2003)

GrannyCarol: love the photos. Two questions: in photo one, what kind of fence is in the background? 

Also: in photo 2, it looks like the ducks are in a baby pool. How long do you keep them there, or is it during the day since you have the draft free duck shed at night?

Once again: how do you protect from predators during day?


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

earthkitty said:


> This thread makes me want to sell all but five of my hens and replace the rest with ducks.


I'm only getting chickens this year because I like chicken meat  ducks do everything else.

Doc: quite a few people use the duck pool as the brooder when they get their first batch of ducklings.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

In the first picture, I'm using a cardboard brooder ring to contain the silly things out on our lawn. I do NOT leave them for a second when they are unprotected and outside like that when they are tiny. 

Yes, the large child's wading pool is an ok brooder for a couple of weeks, however they can hop out of it, when I use it now, I put the cardboard brooder ring around it. Here it is in my spare bedroom. I have used the cardboard brooder ring in my "duck house" for a few days with a 100w bulb over it to keep them out of drafts. I'm thinking of getting Premier's lovely corrugated plastic one to replace it. 

To protect them during the day if they are outside and I am not watching them, I have a fully enclosed pen attached to my "duck house" (a metal shed converted into a coop for them). It has 1/4" hardware cloth at the bottom and 1" chicken wire over the whole thing, top included. I don't really have predator pressure, I live in town, but I don't let them out unsupervised until about 4 weeks, when I am sure they are too large to attract cats or hawks. Otherwise, I go out with them and enjoy watching them for an hour or so at a time. At 4 - 6 weeks, I let them out in the large yard with the adult ducks, where they have plenty of room to hang off by themselves, that works fine. I start by putting them out in a smaller pen to enjoy the fresh air without having to interact with the adults and transition them to being loose.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i ordered chicks at the same time, im gathering it wouldnt be wise to put them both in the same brooder???

i wish i had waited on the ducks for a couple more months. its cold here.


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## irregardless (Aug 9, 2012)

earthkitty said:


> This thread makes me want to sell all but five of my hens and replace the rest with ducks.


I want to get rid of all of my hens and replace with ducks... 

I just can't decide:
Runners, Muscovies, or Hatchery Choice... 

Why is life so hard?


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Dead Rabbit - I've heard you can brood them together, but you will have to be careful that things don't get too wet for the chickens. I haven't raised chickens myself.  Ducks are a bit dirty and stinky and take a lot of cleaning. I'm lazy, I order later in the spring to make it easier. My ducks go broody about the 1st of May, if I am ordering ducklings, I try to have them arrive about the 1st of June, often my calmer big breed ducks will raise all the babies for me. My Saxonys have been very maternal. If I have a mother raising them, I give them the whole house and yard pretty much from the beginning. Usually the little ones, even a few days old, lay in heaps outside even in cold weather and seem to take no harm. I wouldn't be comfortable doing that if they didn't have a broody duck to go to, but no one seems very concerned about it. If it gets cold and wet, I lock them back in with their mother though!


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

b/c of the cold weather, once i move them outa the brooder box, can ducklings be raised in a cage? battery style? 

it would be much cleaner, and somewhat easier for me to keep inside somewhere with a heat lamp on it.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I never tried it, but be sure they have enough room, are clean and have plenty of food and water and I don't see why not off the top of my head. It's pretty much you do what you have to do. 

PS Enough room is at least 1.5 sq ft each, if I remember right and more as they get bigger.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

thanks for all the info, mrs carol....youve a pleathera of knowledge. and a great help. kudos


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## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

The ducklings on wire is good because their mess will fall through the wire. A lot easier to keep clean and dry. A solid (wood) portion so they can get off the wire is also good with some hay or bedding, but it will need to be cleaned out more. If the cage is outside, just hose off the wire as needed to keep any build up off. If they tip their water, no mess, just get it refilled.

But if the weather is cold, you have to protect them from that.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

sunflower-n-ks said:


> The ducklings on wire is good because their mess will fall through the wire. A lot easier to keep clean and dry. A solid (wood) portion so they can get off the wire is also good with some hay or bedding, but it will need to be cleaned out more. If the cage is outside, just hose off the wire as needed to keep any build up off. If they tip their water, no mess, just get it refilled.
> 
> But if the weather is cold, you have to protect them from that.


im thinking a piece of ceramic tile. under the light. they get off the wire it absorbs the heat, and its easy to clean.

i gotta figure all this out b/c they will be here next wk, and its cold now. but nxt wk its supposed to warm up. course we still have feb. to get through, and at times its worse than jan.


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## DYngbld (Jun 16, 2009)

I kept the ducks in the brooder in the garage, about 6 weeks. It has been cold so I kept them in longer then I normaly would need to. In my set up I would not brood ducks and chickens "together" our brooder has a wall in the middle so I can have ducks on one side and chickens on the other, or different ages of birds, (21 days apart). Ducks are very messy compaired to chickens and grow faster so I would avoid brooding them together unless you have lots of room. 

What kind of ducks are you getting? I would be interested in some of the eggs when they start laying. I will be happy to trade you some started ducklings or chicks for them when they get to that point.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

buffs and i will have access to rouens. i bought the rouens for a friend. i usually give him half my orders, every yr. i dont need 25 chicks, to often, and he feeds up for me when im away from home. hes like a second father to me, so i try to take care of him all i can. we ride horses together too,,, so im welcome to anything he raises or owns, and vice a versa

i may be interested in swapping in the future. i just got to get these started out and see if they are my thing. im a chicken man mainly, and never cared for ducks, way to messy, but im going to give it a whirl again.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i grew up having muscovies, and thats the gist of my duck experience. i understand they are very different than your traditional duck. 

im near roanoke va. botetourt county.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

irregardless said:


> I <3 this thread...
> 
> I moved them into the chicken coop just because I was tired of keeping up with 2 waterers and 2 feeders... other wise they'd still be in their fenced yard with their little lean-to. Then swim while there's snow on the ground... I figure they can't be too fragile. This summer I plan to give them supervised pond visits-I'm afraid if I let them out by themselves I'd never be able to catch them agian.




I free range my ducks a lot & they always go back to their duck house by dark.
I doubt very much if you've had yours for awhile they aren't going to far from what they know & runners don't fly. They'll come back to where they know they sleep.


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## DYngbld (Jun 16, 2009)

I'm in Fluvanna County between Charlottesville, and Richmond.

Let me know if you want some peekins my daughter would be happy to hatch you out some. I fact if anyone local wants white ducks we will gladly hatch out some, if you get them in less then a week after hatch we can do it for nothing.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i know of fluvanna. we go to richmond once every couple of yrs. used to go few times a yr but havent lately. my family is in aguasta county...stuartsdraft area...not to far from you i guess.

i'll keep the white ducks in mind. 

do you eat them?


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## DYngbld (Jun 16, 2009)

Not a real fan of duck meat personally. They are to darn cute, and fun to watch to eat. We don't farm to make money, I farm to keep busy. Everything here get to live out a long happy life. I have hens that consume food and have produced nothing but poop in at least a season. 

You can eat them they would be a good eating duck, and lay an egg a day. We have nine right now. 4 adults, and 5 hatched on thanksgiving. I might process a drake next time we do chickens if I have to many drakes in this batch.

We are about 2 miles off the highway if you taking 64 into Richmond. Between exit 143 and 148.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Pekins are one of the main meat breed ducks. If you are raising for meat, they'd be a great choice. Seems they lay pretty well too, I've never had one, so can't comment there!


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i did consider them. and they are easy to find local.......even though most want more $$ than i could order and ship them here for(??)

and ive had many tell me that they are great layers, plus the meat side of them. but what dissuaded me from going that route was i wanted something a little more outa the ordinary, and smaller, b/c i was hoping there would be less feed consumption. mine will probably stay penned a large part of the time. 
but if i like the taste of duck, i may go that route eventually, i do like variety from yr to yr.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

ducks arrived last friday. i gave the rouens to my buddy. very healthy active ducks. my buffs were poor acting. but once i got them under heat in my brooder box, they picked up. and have all done fine. 

lordy they are messy. my poor brooder box will never be the same again. im definitely going to move them outa the box into a empty rabbit cage ASAP......

im looking forward to raising these lil buggars.


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