I was having a think (spurred on by someone else who is hatching duck eggs at the moment).
And I was wondering what people though of raising ducks over the summer holidays. At the moment I'm an University so my summer holidays are 12weeks, however I have a younger sister who has the normal 6 weeks holidays. And I thought this might be nice for us to do something together as we don't exactly have alot in common. I could set it up so they hatched as she finished the school year, and then could re-home them once she's back at school.

Just a few questions really...
1. Does it sound like a reasonable idea? Has anyone else done similar?

2. Where could they be re-homed? I wouldn't hatch any without knowing there is somewhere for them to go at the end of it. I don't think we'd want money for them (unless we went for a fancy breed), just don't want to hatch them to then end up sending them to an animal shelter, they have enough on their plates!

Obviously I've done a couple of days of research and reading, and it's all do-able. I just need answers to the above 2 questions :)

they have enough on their plates!


Roast duck, bacon and duck egg sandwiches ...

:hihi: Very possibly if the get lots of free ducks...though I'm not sure what part of the duck bacon comes from...lol. Last time I checks I was pretty sure bacon came from pigs...

This made me laugh, Nutbrown I am sure someone will be along soon to answer
your Questions?

Last time I checks I was pretty sure bacon came from pigs...

Yeah but it goes down a treat with duck eggs :thumbsup: Seriously have you not considered keeping them for eggs? If I had space I've love a few ducks as egg-laying pets.

i bought a couple of baby ducks from a girl off here who raises them, i had them from 3 weeks onwards, they arnt easy, its not u can just leave them and off u go, they love constant attention, u need to clean them out alot and they do **** and eat a hell of alot, even though they are coming up 10weeks we still cant put them outside over night as its to cold for them, we put them out in a morning bring them in about 4pm, but if you are thinking of hatching them and selling them u need to speak to her, her website is www.ducksandchicks.webs.com i would defo recommend u have hands on with some chicks n ducks b4 u go into hatching them, i wanted to hatch them but they r a full time job and working full time i wouldnt have time :(

My granddad used to raise ducks for the eggs and meat. Lovely with new potatoes and runner beans and a nice bit of gravy.

Personally, although I'm sure your intentions are good, I think it's a rediculous idea. It's tantamount to breeding puppies or kittens and then rehoming them because they turned adolescent. Ever heard of the phrase "Dogs are for life, not just for Christmas"? The same goes for any animal. Hatching eggs isn't easy and requires a large amount of time (which I'm sure you'll have) and money (which you may or may not). Not to mention that you may get none hatching, or some hatch with difficulty, or some with deformities... are you willing to cull a chick if needed?! What will happen when you can't rehome them and you go back to uni and your sister back to school? Will she be willing to see to them morning and evening every single day?

I'm sorry if this upsets you but it needs a lot more research than a couple of days. Perhaps some hands on experience would be better first. So many people have good intentions and the animals still end up in rescue centres!

If you have so much time to give then why not offer to walk dogs for Thornberry or clean out the pens for CATS or volunteer at a city farm. This would be a far less risky affair for the animals concerned, and it is still something you could do together.

Hi

Thanks Greeneyes28 cant believe how much your babies have grown. Cant wait to see them again :)

your right hen hugger hatching eggs is not easy and expensive but like anything you get better at it. and yes its horrible to cull the babies but sometimes it has to be done. (altho i do have a duckling in a box on my kitchen table that im hoping will get better lol)
i do kinda agree with you hen hugger but aslong as nutbrown has found them a home before they hatch the ducklings then i dont see the problem.(schools do it every year)
If nutbrown wants to hatch some ducklings i will keep them on my field ive allways got room for some more ducks :)

i would however nutbrown (ive sent you a pm) have a think and make sure you have time and the money etc before you do try hatching some eggs and if you still want to go ahead your welcome to come and visit mine and see what you need to hatch them and how much it will cost etc..

chrissy xx

Henhugger, it's not the same as breeding dogs for the 'fun' of raising puppies at all. I wouldn't breed them without a home for them to go to (as said in my original post). Also, last time I checked people weren't putting ducks to sleep because of excess breeding/irresponsible owners. Also ducks don't bond with humans in the same way a dog/cat does, once the ducks mature they aren't even half as interested in humans that they are within themselves, other than at feeding time of course :D

I do have plenty of money for raising some ducks.

I have had hands on experience (I've hatched and raised chickens before when I was younger) and have worked on a farm for around 3 years before I started University. I've also done lots of Veterinary work experience...so the practical sides really aren't a problem as I have both time and experience. I don't have any specifically duck hatching and raising experience...but that's where the learning/research from others come in. You have to start somewhere...

A couple of days research is enough to decide I want to do it, then this thread is to get a balanced view of whether it is feasible. No definite decision would be made until they had homes to go to (Chrissy84 I was the person who e-mailed you this morning).

So actually practically every negative you came up with...so far...doesn't apply.

To Chrissy84 - Don't worry, once a definite home was available for any ducks that were raised, I'd then sort out the costings and make sure everything was covered, aswell as a small back-up amount to hopefully cover anything that went wrong (the what could go wrongs are the kinda things I want to hear about ). Also time really isn't an issue, my younger sister would be in 24/7 and I would only be working 3 out of 7 days a week at the very most. Also when I say younger, she's 12, so not a really young child by any means.

To - Green eyes, I totally get where you're coming from, but I'm not afraid of lots of poop and lots of effort. Birthing time and winters on the farm soon teach you to just deal with it! lol. Also your lil guys can't go out yet, but the big difference will be that my youngsters would be born in...late July time. So much much warmer (in theory).

Oh and I forgot to add, culling wouldn't be a problem. Of course I wouldn't enjoy it, and it'd only be for those which were clearly deformed, but I could do it without a problem.
This is another thing I'd like to know...how to spot any of the less obvious deformities.

And one little additional thing, near enough 24hour care could/would be given to any youngsters that seemed to be struggling, but would hopefully be able to pull through.

if you decide to hatch Welsh Harlequins or Runners il have them at 6 weeks old :) xx

i remember getting my 2 from chrissy and was told by other friends they crap and eat alot i didnt realise how much attention they needed it was like having a baby lol...
Why dont you get in touch with a school and see if they want to do a project that you hatch them together and they raise them in the school to teach young children about riasing animals, that way when you've hatched them and they are ready to go full time into the school that way they have a home, you could be the next jamie oliver without cooking them lol

Hey Greeneyes hope your fella didnt smell too much of duck poo the other day :( x

hahaha that was funny x