The Official Duck Discussion Thread

[aggieterpkatie]

No waterfowl allowed on our place! I had ducks and geese growing up, and I love to look at them, but those fools are sooooo dirty and messy!! NO water trough was safe with them. I got SO sick of cleaning out waterers every day and trying to keep the ducks from swimming in the sheep trough!

 

[savingdogs]

We bought 13 muscovy last spring. I enjoyed having baby chickens and ducklings are so cute, I really looked forward to them. But wow....they are so much stinkier, sloppier. I will never again have a brooder in the house for DUCKS.
Once we got them outside, things got so much better. We had to give them a larger area than we expected, about twice the size of the chicken run, because if not, their poop would cover the area in a few weeks. We also let them free range. But now there is no poop to clean up and not too much smell, unless you are standing right next to the duck pen, we just scatter straw occasionally. I hose everything off sometimes and the rain washes everything away.

We ate several and saved several ducks, we picked the nicest ones and we really like the five we have left. We look forward to them being outside next year and letting the hens take care of the ducklings themselves this time.

By the way, you will have no trouble telling male and female by about 12 weeks....there will be a huge size difference and the faces start to look different. We had best results eating the ones that were 12 weeks old. Don't worry about the sex, it will be obvious soon. Males are huge, females are not.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I had 4 ducklings in a 3x4 brooder and they were a nasty mess. I had to clean the brooder twice a day. Once I got them outside it was MUCH better. I eventually put them in a 1/2 acre yard with dozens of chickens and I never noticed a mess at all.

Ducks and geese DO get into other water. Right now I pasture my geese with the goats and a llama, and I had to raise the trough so the geese can barely get their head over the edge. They have a little pool so they only drink from the trough and don't swim in it anymore. Their night pen has a very small trough nearby that is also used by goats and guineas during the day and I have to clean and refill that one 2x a day.

I house ducks and geese in their own coops and those can get smelly and muddy in rainy weather. I'm going to get a truckload of sand for the goose coop this weekend.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I had to raise the trough so the geese can barely get their head over the edge.

I did that with my trough too, but the little bastages learned how to jump up and get in the trough.

 

[Wifezilla]

5 gallon bucket with lid. Holes just big enough for a duck to get their head in cut in to the sides. Easy Peasy

 

[Wildsky]

I moved my 6 ducklings OUT at around 5 weeks old, I made them a nice cozy place on one side of the coop and out they went, it was the beginning of summer so plenty warm enough.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I had to raise the trough so the geese can barely get their head over the edge.

I did that with my trough too, but the little bastages learned how to jump up and get in the trough.

mine actually jumped in for a day or two after I raised the trough, but I guess they are satisfied enough with their much wider, deeper, and easier to get in pool. Either that or maybe the llama scared them so they stay away from the trough.

I seriously doubt the latter though, since the llama spent summer days lying in the shade next to their pool, dipping her head and neck every so often. They would still swim in it.

So maybe I'm just lucky?

 

[BarredBuff]

Thanks everyone for your advice. When do you think itd be safe to move em out?

 

[Nifty]

We were SHOCKED with how much more messy and stinky ducklings are compared to chicks. 10 baby chicks weren't 1/2 as messy as 3 ducklings! It is a good thing they are so stinkin' cute!

Our ducklings are now grown and since not in the house we don't have nearly the issues. With that said, their poop seems way liquid / messy, and more frequent, than the chickens. Maybe it is just our perception. Again, totally messy, but they are so cute!

 

[BarredBuff]

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