Pet ducks anyone

[jenniferuk 10]

Looking for two ducklings for my partners birthday? Preferably male. he would like to choose his own so a selection to choose from would be good, although not essential. Would be looking to come see/collect on 23rd June 2012 (saturday). We have a coop coming this week.

[Chez2 10]

Look on preloved (on line). Buy one of the poultry mags that have the breeder/seller list in the back. These are done by county so should be easy to see if theer are any breeds of duck you are after before buying the mag.

 

You don't specify what type of duck you are after. Some of the small call ducks can be really noisy if you live on an estate. Most ducks are fine in a garden but some breeds are classed as wildfowl, are difficult to keep and need to be pinioned and enclosed. Its an offence to let these escape into the wild (which they will do) . I suspect these will be much more exensive than 'pet' ducks. Is it a run of the mill egg layer or meat duck you are after ie Campbell, Runner or Aylesbury?

[jenniferuk 10]

We are looking for quiet and easy to keep pet ducks that are relatively tame in nature and good with children

[Chez2 10]

Ducks don't become hand tame the same way chickens do. They do run up to you when you feed the often though. Generally the males are quieter than the females. I used to keep Runner crosses, Aylesburys, Khaki Campbells, Muscovy and calls. The calls are quite small but VERY noisy! Muscovy are very large, very quiet but have sharp claws and roost in trees so give those a miss. The females go broody a lot too. I don't know a lot about other breeds but you should be able to look on the 'net if you see any other breeds for sale.

[jenniferuk 10]

We have just found a farm in oxpring that breed all poultry. He states males are quieter in general and they sell them from 2 weeks old upwards so hoping if we get them young enough they will be quite tame. Our housing is sufficient for two ducks or 4-6 chickens so dont want them too large. My bf likes indian runner ducks.???

[Chez2 10]

What size is the duck house? It isn't a chicken coop is it? Duck houses are different to chicken coops and most chicken coops I see aren't big enough for more than three tiny bantam chickens. Ducks are very messy, lots of watery poop. Ducks only really need a simple square coop, no nest box or perch. It needs to be about three by three foot for the night time bed area and a run as big as you can or run free during the day. They need someting to paddle in and dunk their heads in. A strong paddling pool, baby bath or sand pit will do the trick. It will need clean water in it daily. Sorry if I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs, no offence meant if you already know this.

 

Good luck with the ducks.

[jenniferuk 10]

No its fine, all advice welcome. My bf's mum has bought him this

 

http://www.chickencoopsandhouses.co.uk/cc2000X.html

 

We had gone for another but the people called to say it wouldnt be big enough for our requirements and this would be better for us.

 

on the basis that when we are in garden they will be allowed out to freeroam. Ive also bought a duck trough/bath which is big enough for three ducks comfortably.

 

We getting duckling at 2 weeks old so any advice about care from 2 weeks to whenever they can move into house outside very very welcome!

[chrissy84 10]

I normally breed a few ducks each year but with having a baby last uear i didnt think id have the time. Ducks can be very tame if you have them from egg or day olds ours used to tap on back door when they were hungry lol ducks should be jept in groups of three or more ideally two female to one male. Ducks need to be under a heat lamp till atleast four weeka old and in a very warm draft free coop from four weeks old. They can be very messy we used to hose down our garden each night and they will need cleaning out twice a week to keep smell down. If you need any info give me a pm i also have a few friends that hav sum ducks for sale x

[chrissy84 10]

P.s sorry about spelling im on my mobile x

[Binga 10]

We have 2 indian runner ducklings that are being reared by a call duck, 1 will be white and the other will have some buff colour, as yet unsexed.

I would recommend having a pair and not 2 drakes, as they mature keeping 2 drakes together is completely un-natural and must drive adults ducks insane. If you have a drake and a duck you get the pets you want but they are kept in a more natural state and must surely be happier.

Just a word of warning if you intend to go to Oxspring for any livestock...the conditions are not the best and the prices are very high.

[Chez2 10]

No its fine, all advice welcome. My bf's mum has bought him this

 

http://www.chickencoopsandhouses.co.uk/cc2000X.html

 

We had gone for another but the people called to say it wouldnt be big enough for our requirements and this would be better for us.

 

on the basis that when we are in garden they will be allowed out to freeroam. Ive also bought a duck trough/bath which is big enough for three ducks comfortably.

 

We getting duckling at 2 weeks old so any advice about care from 2 weeks to whenever they can move into house outside very very welcome!

 

Thats the sort of coop I was afraid you would have purchased. Its not big enough unless you are going to get something small like calls. It willl ast three years tops, even if treated. The run is si small the ducks will hardly be able to turn round. The nest box is way too small and its not high enough for runners. The door between the run and the bed area is very small and ducks cant climb as well as chickens so they will struggle with the ramp.

 

I disagree with the previous posts. I have kept poultry for twelve years and have found out some things the hard way. It usually is best to keep three birds but it is acceptable to keep two males or two females. You need a lot of females to males if you have mixed sex group, especially if you have more than one male. The active male can shorten or kill the females with constant treading (mating). I have had this happen so I had to get rid of some drakes. Its not such a problem with one drake with a few females. The reason for two drakes to be kept together is there will be no competing for a female.

 

While the ducklings are young you need to give them a shallow paint tray to paddle in and increase the depth of their pool until they are fully grown. Get a book on rearing and keeping ducks. I can't rememeber how long ducks have to be under a heat lamp for as I have been rearing chickens for the last few years not ducks.

[jenniferuk 10]

We putting a huge 6 foot fence all round garden so they will be free roaming in a month or so, by the time they get bigger. Its just while they smaller and til the fence is up we wanted a coop to get them by.