So the chicks were delivered today. 3 RIRs and 3 Leghorns. AND 2 Pekin ducks. Chickens, I was prepared for. Ducks...I haven't the foggiest how to care for them. What kind of house do they need? I have a huge pond for them to swim in. What do I need to feed them? I know they need chick starter as babies, but beyond the baby stage, I'm clueless. I probably should cart myself off to the library, but wanted to pick brains here first.
Ducks
Just like the chickens you have to build them a Fort Knox house to protect them from predators at night. I think people on here have said they will house themselves with the chickens.
You sure can put a smile on a guy's face. Here is a lady that can handle a good size horse, but is clueless with a little duck...Saphirestar you really do shine...Thanks for the good laugh...It seems to me that your also a very good sport...Hay
Hay, I was raised in a family where "good sport" was a requirement. If they weren't picking on you, they didn't like you. A sense of humor about the whole thing helps. To give you a good insight into my personality:
I'm an environmental geologist. I work outdoors a good deal. When I was about a year in, I was told to go sample a monitoring well on a Saturday in a town that was about an hour from where I lived. I wasn't real happy about the whole deal as you can imagine. But I got dressed, threw my boots into my truck, stuck flip flops on my feet and headed out. I got to the jobsite and started setting up. In harumphing around because I still didn't want to be sampling a well on a Saturday, my flip flops slid on the slope in the gravel parking lot (first mistake was not putting my boots on when I got there!). I landed on my rear, with one hand stuck through one of my instruments and then ended up hitting myself in the head with an empty 5 gallon bucket. After sitting there stunned for a second, I cracked up. Sitting in an empty parking lot, having injured myself in the stupidest way possible, I was laughing my fool head off because I couldn't believe that I had just done that. But laughing set my head right again, I put my boots on and sampled the darn well and finished my day.
So the ducks have been kinda a bucket to the head. They are adorable and are getting along with the chicks, so if I can let them play in the pond during the day and shut them in the coop with the chickens, then all will be fine! Gotta build that coop anyway. Maybe I'll make a duck door!
What a classy lady. I was cracking up just imagining what you must have looked like sitting there cracking up. You just toped off a wonderful day. Your a down to earth breath of fresh air...What a pleasure. Your son is a very handsome boy...Hay
Saph, I have a similar story but about my DH, not me. One winter evening long ago he was headed down our long frozen driveway with a bucket of warm water in one hand and a flashlight in the other to bring aid and comfort to our sheep. Suddenly his feet went out from under him and he landed on his rear. The bucket of water flew up and emptied its contents all over him. He was just wondering what had happened to the flashlight when it dropped down and hit him on the head. He sat there soaked and laughing!
Another time he was taking a bucket off the hitch on a boat trailer and some wasps that were making a home there flew up at him. He is allergic to vespids, so he flung his arms up and backed away. The bucket went soaring and came down and hit him on his nose, breaking it. He actually had to have plastic surgery to repair it, and the plastic surgeon decided without consulting him to straighten his nose and remove the nice Italian bump that he liked!
Sapphirestar, I'm sure you've already found this out, but apparently Baby Ducks must not be given "medicated" chick starter, From what I've been told, they eat so much of it (compared to chicks) that the medication level is too high. I've never had them, so I'm no expert, but when I looked at them, I was told that every time.
I very much want Baby Ducks, and I whimper every time I see signs that indicate they are available. I sometimes wonder why we seem to take the long way around to get places, and later I learn that the "normal" route included signs for Baby Ducks.....
Thats funny Catmad...
Greenhouse: That was a great story, really made me laugh out loud. What did hubby say about his straight nose...I'm still laughing, I can just imagine him wondering what happened to his hump...lordy that is just to funny...Hay
No medicated chick starter is correct. The babies need non medicated chick starter and lots of water to drink close to the food. They have to have water to eat.
If they don't have their oil yet they don't need a pond or a source of water to get into on their own because they can get water logged and drown since they have no momma to oil them. As they get older and get their oil, you can have a water area they can splash around in. At first we got a kiddy pool and made a ramp so they could get in and out. They love it. When they are smaller it is best to keep an eye on them, as they get older and can get in and out on their own they will be fine. Unlesss of course you have an inground pond that they can get in and out easily rather than a kiddy pool.
They also love tomatoes, cut up of course, some cut up lettuce is good too. As they get older they can eat hen scratch or cracked corn. They love lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon, and canteloupe. We just put the shells of the melons out there and they eat it out. WHen they are frown we just throw the butt ends of the lettuce (like leaf lettuce ends) and they eat it off. You can also get them some worms and they will go nuts for those.
When they grow up they will need a nesting area, but generally if they have a pond, the grown ducks will sleep on the pond. They don't sleep a lot at night like a chicken, they do swim and forage around and nap during the day.
Ducks are a lot of fun and fun to watch, I think you will enjoy them.
I'd love to have ducks, but they do take extra care. When we had them many years ago we locked them up at night and we still had problems with raccoons.
Hay, DH was NOT happy with his straight, boring nose. He had had his dad's nose and was quite irritated that it was summarily removed like that. It's a shame no one checked with him first; the surgeon was sure he had done him a favor!
The nose job is really funny... and gets funnier when I think more about it!
I'd love to have ducks, but they will need a large enclosure, or my garden will. We have semi-tame ducks on our creek that swim up here about once a week. I fed them the first year I lived here... for about 3 weeks, until I saw the mess they made of the bank getting in and out, and then in my garden which runs next to the creek.
Darius, that sounds like heaven. I'd love to live somewhere with a creek and ducks.
You'd love it... until the creek floods!
We have a river and wild geese, LfJ. Our dog does a fairly good job of keeping the geese from landing and messing up our lawn. Years ago we had Muscovy ducks, I'm just remembering, but they wouldn't stay placidly in their pen because they fly so well. They ended up being garden marauders and we had to find them a new home.
Our river doesn't flood, but yesterday there was a huge dead dog floating downstream, and both it and a dead fish fetched up on our mudflats at low tide. That was pretty disgusting, although I felt very sorry about the dog and wished there were some way I could tell its owners what happened to it. I wasn't getting close enough to investigate, though.
That's almost as bad as the crap that comes down my creek. Astonishing what folks throw into it...
Poor dog.
It's a real shame what is happening to our water. I was watching a video yesterday about all the chemicals they use for fracking oil or gas wells. How are we supposed to live without safe water to drink?
There is a pair of ducks that hang out about 1/2 mile from here in the canal.. every year they are here.. This morning I saw the female flying over the field right next door quacking her head off.. I hope her mate is here too.
You do worry about the critters when something seems wrong! We're waiting for our osprey to return to the nest across from our dock, but we're almost hoping that at least one of the pair will be new because the old pair hasn't successfully raised chicks for a couple of years now.
I know they stopped the fracking in Arkansas due to earthquakes that they felt were due to that process. It's a real crime nearby in Pennsylvania, but recently there has been enough media attention that hopefully some of the regulations will change. The NYTimes did a huge story on it a couple of weeks ago.
I want to jump on the duck band wagon, too, at some point. Good info and thanks for posting the question =). Storing all the beginer's info in my little noggin for future use. I think I want Silver Appleyards. What fun!
Here's my most recent laugh while it hurts story: DH had a friend build a long, enclosed espalier area for me like the one I've been dreaming about for "someday". We think it will be the perfect place for two of our peacocks (and maybe someday a couple of ducks). I have this peacock male that is pretty tame. He's not a pet but he roosts out in the chicken run and I've been known to walk up to him while he sits on his roost viewing his kingdom. I lean up against his roost and put one arm around his "shoulders" and we chat. He doesn't mind this, we don't make eye contact but he seems to listen and nod his head up and down and make like cluck noises. We will stand and chat for a good 10-15 minutes. So I thought it would be very easy to just pick him up, secure him, and move him to his new, larger abode with DH leading the way to open doors, etc. I started to lift him and he made a little squack (very girly IMO) and the female came flying at me and smacked me in the head. I started laughing and then Mr Chicken (the male) got all fussy since the female was making such a ruckus. He worked his way loose and I ended up laughing as both of the peacocks smacked me about the head and shoulders with their wings! It hurt but I was laughing so hard w/DH yelling at me to just tackle one and move it. Then the hens (chickens) got upset and feathers were flying! Of course the two younger peacocks got into the act, too! I gave up and laughingly said I would try again using a different tactic next time when I slipped and fell (of course) into a couple of piles the poo. I finally made it to the run door only to discover I lost an earing. Oh dear! It was one of my good set so I'll be looking for that for a while. I hope no one eats it! DH still can't figure out what I was laughing about as I earned several bruises for my efforts and didn't come away with a captured peacock. The giggles always get to me, too, when these off the wall, slap-stick-type, injuries happen to me. I'll be sifting through straw, hay, and pine shavings for weeks looking for that earing! All fowl are fine but I've got a good bruise right under my bangs on my forehead.
Greenhouse_gal, sorry to hear about your DH's nose. My DH had plastic surgery too to correct a problem and the doctor completely changed his nose also. I guess they just can't stop themselves. DH wan't please but he can breath much better so what are you going to do?!?
Terri you really have me laughing out loud, for real. Thank you.
Oh, and about the fracking, yes the man on the video believes we are creating a vacuum under the ground and it will create some severe disturbances to the land. Possible earthquakes or even explosions he said. Not that I have an opinion on the subject.
So strange all these different animals, birds and fish dying all over the world too. Sure makes you wonder what is going on. Something is certainly amiss. Animals don't just croak for no reason! I hope all this commotion stops soon and we can all have some peace.
Terri, funny story! It made me laugh out loud, too. And I lost an earring last winter while digging out a friend who insisted that his light pickup truck could manage our driveway. After the snow melted DH saw it lying by the side of the driveway, right about where I suspected I'd lost it. There was a joyful reunion. Good luck with yours!
DH had NO trouble breathing, thankyouverymuch Mr. Plastic Surgeon, and liked that reminder of his heritage. It's funny that your DH got an unexpected nose bob too!
I'm not supposed to be laughing but I can't help it. I'm staying away from all plastic surgeons...LOL...Hay
Too funny! :) Lovin the stories. The duckies are getting bigger. I'm going to miss the fuzzies when they get their feathers in. I put a shallow bowl of water in their pen so that they could splash and drink it. They took to it (pardon the pun) like ducks to water. Hehehehehe :)
They really are cute when they first get to the water aren't they...I don't have a place for ducks but they are so cute when they are young...Hay
I want a duck so bad.