Anyone keep ducks

[saikrett]

My friend recently got 2 ducklings t owhich i really took a liking to. I'm thinking of getting some but i want to sort out what i'm doing when they are fully grown. Just wondering if anybody has ever kept ducks befor and if they can fill me in on feeding, housing, growth rates etc.

thanks

 

[frodo]

Yeah ive kept ducks there very cute but when they get older the crap everywhere it very sloppy 2. they grow fairly fast and they go through an ugly stage, housing depends really if youve got cats and dogs around you would want to house them in some kind of pen but the can fly so make sure its got a roof. we use to let them swim in our pool but i wouldnt recomand that cause there crap cloggs up the filter.
other then that there great pets they follow you everywhere.

but id still rather a python.

cheers Frodo

 

[Gregory]

We have a couple of female Pekin ducks. They are easy to keep. True they do make a mess when they shyte. Our 2 lay eggs regularly.
We feed them the same laying pellets we feed our Chickens plust table scraps and leftover bread.
They tame extremely well if you get them as ducklings.. I had one as a child and it could ride my skateboard (I kid you not).
We never see snails and slugs anymore.

All in all ducks are a good pet.

 

[Magpie]

Don't buy ducklings from the markets or a pet shop or something like that. They will most likely be muscovy's. Muscovy's are the large white ducks with the red markings around the face. They don't lay eggs in any number, tend to be aggressive and poo more than you can possibly believe. If you do choose to get ducks, and they are a great animal, get some pekins, indian runners or khaki campbells from a breeder. If you get ducklings, you take a chance on getting a duck or drake, but if they are just for pets then with these breeds, that doesn't really matter. As greg said, they eat layer pellets and veggie scaps. They will also mess their water up every time you clean it so it is important to give them clean water at least once a day.

 

[NCHERPS]

You know that's one of the reasons I like belonging to communities like this one, people keep and provide info on all sorts of animals, and although I don't plan on keeping anything unusual for a while, I may well get interested in something in the future, and love the fact that you can ask questions about Ducks(although it could be any animal!) and get loads of replies.

Cheers
Neil

 

[sarahbell]

iv had both indian runners and mascovyand our mascovys laid heaps of eggs in multile nests but they dont make good pets on the other hand idian runners are great pets and can eved be lead trained

 

[roadkill5000]

i had indian runner ducks when i was younger.
we kept them in the back yard in a fenced in area with a big pond dug out during the day and put them in a fenced in area with mesh over the top and a shed thing with shelves that the ducks and chickens would sit and lay on.
we fed them table scraps vegetables and bread but they would dig around for worms and eat any bug they found.

 

[saikrett]

my friend is thinking of clipping the wings and letting it run around in the backyard, would theis work?

 

[Gregory]

No need to clip it's wings.If they're Pekins, then I can fly better than they can.
Letting them roam the yard is a good idea. Ya don't really need a special shed or anything. Mine have a chicken shed they can use but choose to sleep in the yard.

 

[Slateman]

You can take Gregs world for it mate. He un derstand his poultry.