Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[my lil farm]

Ive just joined the forum and sorry for jumping in but im a little confused as to whether im doing the right or wrong thing .i have taken on 3 duck 1 duck and 2 drake not ideal i know and will be getting some more ducks once ive got to grips with the ones i have.

ive only had them since saturday just gone and she gave me a big bag of their food which is mixed corn (dodson and horrell) i have read so much comflicting views as to what duck should be fed some say corn and oyster shell some say layers pellets and veggies!!!!!!! iam so confused as i dont want to be feeding them the wrong thing we think they are only about a year old if that

my main prob is on day 2 the duck lay and egg just popped out onto the ground i was soooo excited and we took the egg day 3 one of the drakes was in and out of the house all morning and id found hed made a hollow in the bedding and shed laid an egg we also took this one this was monday just gone every day i have removed the pooed on straw and replaced it with fresh but she has not laid since should i not replenish every day should i have not taken her eggs or does she stop laying at this time of year or have i really upset them to the extend that she is too scared and stressed to lay. please can some one help as im starting to get alittle worried about her.sorry for the long winded post but ireally want to do what right for them.

[miller30]

Hi its sounds like your doing fine yes you should be taking her eggs unless you want babies and layer pellets and corn are fine i wouldnt have taken both drakes and you will really need to get some more ladies as its breeding season so the drakes will be rampant i had 2 drakes but i rehomed one 2 weeks ago as i couldnt stand the fighting anymore and my poor girls were looking abit worse for wear and i had 8 girls with mine and that still wasnt enough also i only clean my ducks out once a week hope this helps leanne

[my lil farm]

Hi leanne,

thank you so much for your reply i no that the two drakes is definately not ideal apparently they have all been together since they were babies and they didnt know the sexes they havent been too bad although they have been terrible with my lil girl although nowhere near as bad as what ive been told they have been, i took them because there was a threat of them being released onto some lakes they have had their wings clipped and would most definately not survived. weve been told they are only about 9 month old do you think if i rehomed a drake it would cause problems because they have always been together 1 drake and duck are really quite confident and will show an interest in us and even take food out of our hands and the biggest boy seems to be a bit worried stands back and will protest at most thinks hes not as confident at all they seem to leave him out a little bit.

thanks for the food advise im just off to get some organic layers pellets they have been fed the same as her chickens which from what i can gather is not always the best and can be quite dangerous if given the wrong stuff

[miller30]

Hi no they probs wouldnt even notice if you rehomed one drake he would be much better off with a lady of his own my ducks eat the same food as my chickens my ducks are so much happier since i rehomed sir francis and his 2 wives i will never keep more than one drake again leanne

[my lil farm]

hi thanks well i finally managed to find some layers pellet so hopefully we may have an egg in a few days im currently on the look out for some girlies at the mo very difficult as they are few and far between where i am. they woofed down the layers really enjoyed it i know i must rehome a drake but will feel so bad but i know ive got to bear in mind what best for all of them and tbh the one im thinking of rehoming does get left out a bit and really wants to come to us but stays behind the others although having said that he can be a little dominant especially at bedtime bless him do you think id maybe be best with an older ducks or ducklings are ducklings hard to look after i know everything has to be done gradually and they will have to be older before they can go with the others a friend of mine has a runner from a baby she is so friendly come running for a stroke and fuss she is just soooo sweet. thank you once again i was just so worried about my little girl my friend has ducks and chickens and is always having problems egg bound and alsorts and even lost quite a few along the way so panic has set in a bit as she hasnt laid

[miller30]

Drakes dont care what age ducks are they will try and mate with them females need to be at least 16 weeks old before being introduced to a drake if you didnt have a drake it could be younger i no what you mean i was worrying when i got my first ducks but 6 years on mine all freerange with my chickens and as long as they are happy,eating and drinking i let them get on with it ive lost some to various problems but at the end of the day all you can do is your best so try not to worry and enjoy them also whereabouts are you someone may know of some girlies for sale leanne

[my lil farm]

Hi yes id gain a very small amount of knowledge and would be in no hurry to make sure that intros went smoothly,im in mid kent about 20 min drive from the dartford crossing but a little limited as my car is a bit broken at the moment so not able to travel tooo far.i believe my lil girl is is a kharki campbell and the drakes after alot of debating look as tho they are swedish cross although not certain

thank you for the reassurance but i suppose with my friend bad experiance i want to do all i can to get it right although i have been plesently suprised at how ive managed to communicate with them really getting to grips with the bedtime routine and reading the body lang quite well i hear a certain quack and know that my big boy is about to make a bit of a protest ill see if i can work out how to attach a photo you can tell me what you think

[my lil farm]

At last shes laid an egg this morning now i should be able to work out her laying habits over the next few weeks let see what she does bless my little girl

[miller30]

Dont get to worried if she doesnt lay every day their laying can be all over the place mine lay between febuary and september then they go on strike for the winter but some can lay over the winter i remember when i had my first duck egg i didnt eat it i just had it on display leanne

[my lil farm]

HE HE i know what you mean my lil boy ate her 1st one and i sat glaring at him and was thinking how could you i was so proud of her laying an egg the day after she arrived and could believe he wanted to eat it but to be fair he is only 3. hopefully now ill be able to work out her laying habits now as we go along thank you for your advice and reassurance it really has helped.