Poorly chicken

[HappyhenSG]

Evening everyone!

 

It's been a long while since I visited the (chicken) forum , sorry!

 

I'm now hoping to add a couple of call ducks to our clan and just wondered if they would be ok in the enclosure with my bantams/ex. bats. They would have a separate house and paved area for their water pool. The only problem is the chooks have completely destroyed all the grass and we are now down to bare earth

 

There are trees and shrubs for shade/shelter. Is it worth trying to get the grass to re-grow or am I on a hiding to nothing?

 

Hope someone can help.

 

Thanks, Sarah

[miller30]

Hi congratulations on the call ducks but no I wouldn't bother with the grass as it wont last long all my pens are concrete and then woodchips on top from march to about October everyone freeranges on my large lawn in the evenings I have about 100 but during the winter they all go to prison in their pens as the ducks would dig my grass up and the chickens scratch it up plus they go to bed earlier leanne

[Chortle Chook]

Oh what fun. I've got 2 wee call ducks in with my 10 banty chooks and I'd agree with Miller, don't worry about the grass. I put chopped greens (they love raw spinach) in their bath water as a treat and so the chooks with their scratchy little legs and pointy beaks can't get it all. Don't forget to fish out any left overs at the end of the day so that the greens don't go manky.

[HappyhenSG]

That's great, thanks very much! Will no doubt have more questions as time goes on, so will keep a more regular eye on the forum from now on!

[Daisgirl]

Oh what fun. I've got 2 wee call ducks in with my 10 banty chooks and I'd agree with Miller, don't worry about the grass. I put chopped greens (they love raw spinach) in their bath water as a treat and so the chooks with their scratchy little legs and pointy beaks can't get it all. Don't forget to fish out any left overs at the end of the day so that the greens don't go manky.

 

Ha - ha - what left overs LOL! Whatever I put out for my 4 runners is usually gone before I am even back in the house and they are usually following me into the kitchen for more goodies.

 

They have even learnt that the salad stuff is in the fridge and stand at the fridge pecking it

 

Good luck with the new additions Sarah

x

[Chortle Chook]

Ah yes, following one into the kitchen - my ducks do that too. The other day I found them splashing about in the greyhounds' water bowl

[HappyhenSG]

Well, here they are! The white one is definitely female judging by her very loud quack Not sure about the black one - sounds like a ho"Ooops, word censored!"/peeping noise I'm not sure how old they are other than that they are this year's hatch. They're not keen on being handled and the chooks don't like them so they're in a temporary run in view but out of reach of the chooks.

 

I've tried feeding them on mixed corn, which their previous owner fed them, but they don't seem keen. Settling in nerves maybe? They seem to prefer layers pellets. Is that ok as their main food source? As I mentioned before they are not on grass although I did clip some earlier to give them. Also, can you tell me what other tit-bits you give your ducks? Is there anything they def shouldn't have? Sorry for all the questions - I feel rather more nervous than I did when I first got chooks

 

[Chortle Chook]

Oh aren't they a pretty pair!

 

I give mine the same layer's pellets that I give my chickens though I do have a separate dish for them as they seem so defenceless compared to the chickens with their little round beaks and no claws. It is a all a pretence however as my little drake chases off my cockerel these days I'm sure your chickens will soon get used to them and vice versa. You'll also tame them easily, I think. I've found mine easier to pick up and cuddle than my chickens.

 

As for tit bits, mine just love chopped fresh spinach leaves in their water. They also really like meal worms and in order to entice them into bed at night I give them a handful of corn mixed with a few mealy worms. At first, like yours, they seemed to ignore the corn but they never ignored the mealy worms

 

I'm not sure about what they shouldn't have. I guess it is much the same as for chickens. One other thing they have really liked was a little bit of chopped netarine and banana - perhaps like sweet slugs . Oh and chopped pasta too, but I don't give much of that as they were getting a bit fat at one point

[HappyhenSG]

Thanks Shabby Chic. They seem to have settled down a little today, much less panic when approached. I think the mealworms may have helped

[Daisgirl]

Hi. Lovely ducks! I am new to duck keeping my self but my runners love every thing. Mixed salad is their favourite oh and meal worms, and pasta. What am I saying! They just love food! I am sure yours will settle fine

[sezimodo]

Hello new quacking friends!

 

We live in a corner plot, with an area of land that’s 8m long by 3m wide running up the side of our house (so the bedrooms and living areas over look it.) Theres a streetlamp next to our fence so its never completely dark there. We would love to get some feathered friends to help with my egg addiction. We toyed with the idea of chickens, but I love ducks and their more quirky personalitites. Having not had ducks before I have no idea what to do! I have so many thoughts running round in my head.

 

Breeds of duck – I’m thinking either a khaki Campbell or Indian runner ducks. I hear both of these have good egg production, and importantly are fairly quiet. We do have double glazing but we also have neighbours on one side. Any one got any thoughts on what may be better? I’m thinking of getting two to start with, then maybe introducing another 2 in a couple of years time so that we still have eggs once the old girls who have stopped laying (I don’t have the heart to kill them). Are two females ok?

 

Housing – there are so many duck houses out there. Does anyone feel plastic is better than wood? It’s a lot more expensive that’s for sure. They seem so small, but im guessing in winter (in the UK) they need a small house so they can huddle together. My biggest concern is the run, or the size of the run. For 2-4 birds how much of a run do they need? Does it need to be high – im guessing that helps the human cleaner deal with the poo?! They will be in there almost all of the time, coming out for an hour some nights when we get home. I have seen foxes so they cant be out in the dark. I’ve read a lot that you need to move the run around. The patch of land has next to no grass left as its all dead, and we don’t mind if it gets all churned up, when we no longer have the ducks we will just relay the grass. With this in mind, do we still need to move the pen? If the size of 3m x 2m is good enough for all day use, we could move it from one patch to another. By the time we have the house and a plastic paddling pool there wont be much room for walking around!

 

That’s the burning questions for now! I’m off to finish clearing the land. Very excited!

 

Thanks so much.

[Chortle Chook]

Leanne, (miller on here) will be along shortly I feel sure to help you. She is a fount of information on all quacking things but in the meantime Flyte so Fancy has some lovely duck houses. I have one and it is so hardy. Never had any problem with it and find it very easy to keep clean. As for your suggested breeds, I'd go for Runnder ducks as they come in such pretty colours so you could have 2 totally different coloured ones and then a further 2 different coloured ones later, making a really pretty flock. They also seem to need less water than other ducks. I think you might find a little child's paddling pool / sand pit form Argos would do the trick just fine but you will need something like concrete to put it on if you are not to have a mud bath in your run in no time at all.

[Drake433]

Hi,

 

I'm also new to this and have a setup partly configured - and ordered.

 

I am also hoping to get two to start with though may get drakes initially.

 

For my run - which I now think is really rather small.

 

It measures 6ft long by 4ft wide by 2ft high - I imagine two ducks could fit quite happily in there - however many places recommend a minimum of 15sq ft per duck - my run only allows for 12. (not to mention how easily it will get messy / grass destroyed).

 

However - it has two opening doors and my plan is to put a paddling pool around one of the opening doors so that water access for swimming is always available and it gives a bit more space / variety.

 

I would hope to let them out / free range for a few times per day though do not know how long I could supervise them for.

 

I purchased those apple shaped paddling pool / sand pit setups and they are actually quite deep and cheaper than any sort of pond you can buy pre-formed.

 

Also - they make water / mess clearing easier than an in-ground pond.

 

For the house I have ordered a wooden house though have not yet received it - I liked the idea of an Eglu but unfortunately could not justify that expense right now.

[Chortle Chook]

Hello Drake433 - two drakes would get along just fine (unlike cockerels) and if you are going to allow free ranging then your run is probably fine too. As you are clearly not in it for eggs, how about getting one of the smaller breeds such as 2 boy call ducks? It is only the girls that make the noise; the boys make a dear, contented little sound.

 

I agree that the apple sand pit thing is just the job. One word of warning - put the two halves one inised the other - so that they are nice and strong and that way when you empty the water out they won't split (though you might have to bucket some out first as it can be a bit heavy)

 

Here are my two in their apple swimming bath

[Drake433]

Hi Chortle Chook,

 

Thank you for the response.

 

There are two call drakes available at a shelter near me but they want to do a home / garden visit and I cannot imagine they would approve for adoption.

 

Conversely, there are a few drakes available at a farm around 30 miles from me - two of which are saxonies which I just adore the plumage of. However these are quite a lot larger and heavier than calls, and I am not sure they would be content in such a small space.

 

I could always buy another version of the same run and join them up - creating 24sq ft per duck.

[Chortle Chook]

Go for the call ducks. You can but see and they really are dear little souls. As they make very little mess you'll probably find that you can let them out quite a bit too. Ours are no trouble in the garden at all (unlike my chooks and totally unlike a friend's larger ducks who totally trashed the place in a matter of days, reducing everything to an unsanitary mush of mud, trampled plants and soggy food - something the calls never do). I have a boy and a girl but actually wish I'd gone for two boys right from the start.

[Drake433]

I do like the calls and have a reservation for them pending garden review - I just think they will fail that as one of my neighbours currently has two fence panels completely missing and the fence on the other side is really just wire mesh with rather large gaps.

 

When I asked about the review they said any gaps should be filled in (which is not very easy to achieve!) despite the fact that they can actually fly away if they ever so wished! (Unless wings clipped / pinioned etc).

 

I realise that sounds bad - though my intention would be free-ranging under supervision - to deter predators and protect / collect them if they did try and get away!

[Chortle Chook]

Good luck. By the way, call ducks fly brilliantly (every bit as well as wild mallards) so you would need to clip a wing on each for the first year. I have found that my ducks now have no desire to escape but to begin with - well boy could they fly.

[Drake433]

Thank you Chortle Chook.

 

This is the run set up I have at the moment - not yet configured the plastic paddling things or received the house - though hope to be the recipient of it shortly.

 

 

 

However I just feel / think it is rather too small for ducks to be in for most hours of the day?

 

I think I might need to invest in a shed for winter haven / cold refuge / rainy day move around space?

 

The fencing at the back of the second picture is what separates my neighbours garden. I am certain the garden review would not be satisfied with those few wires and not approve for safe adoption.

[Chortle Chook]

I think your run would definitely be too small for large ducks but might be OK for 2 calls providing you give them some time out each day. I find that my call ducks (who are totally free ranging) don't make much use of a lot of space (unlike my chickens) but stay around their 'home' and pond area most of the time.

 

All ducks need enough water at all times to put their head right in so as to keep their eyes wet. If you put the paddling pool next to one of the run open doors, your ducks will be into the paddling pool and out the other side as quick as quick so I would suggest you put something like a washing up bowl, low sided tub trug, or large Mason & Cash dog water bowl in your run to give your ducks access to water all day. You could then have your paddling pool out in the main garden for their daily free range time - and if you move it about that will stop anywhere getting too soggy. It would be imporant to put fresh water in the run bowl each day so that your ducks do not ingest harmful bacteria.

 

If you do all that then I would think you would be OK.

 

Oh, by the way, because of the position of their feet, sort of in the middle of their bodies, call ducks do need a fairly low ramp (not stairs) in order to get up into anything including your paddling pool and your run washing up bowl.

[Drake433]

Thank you for the reply.

 

Is there any type of run / enclosure you could recommend?

 

I have £210 I could spend 'comfortably' though could always go above this for the right item.

 

I did see these metal type chicken coop enclosures, though imagine they would be very fiddly and difficult to install correctly for around £250.

 

Alternatively I could obtain a pretty decent shed for that sort of money - however the reviews are not exactly flattering for some of them - poor quality control, misalignment etc.

 

I suppose my other problem, is that I am not exactly sure of my availability to be around to supervise them. At the moment, I have all the time in the World - however, if that changes, due to getting a full time job for example, that would drastically reduce my duck time, so to speak and if they were to be enclosed for most of the day - I would want them to be happy.

 

Alternatively - would an Eglu with run be of any use? I cannot imagine heavy breeds would be too pleased in 2m or 3m of space for hours and hours, but Campbells might just?

[miller30]

Hi Drake433 I honestly wouldn't buy anything else until you have been to visit my lot lets just say the reality of seeing what Ducks are like mess wise can be a shocker I had someone came last week loved my cayugas im selling then when I ran through everything and was honest about mess they said oh no I think we will just stick with the pekin bantams leanne

[Drake433]

You raise a very good point miller30,

 

Though if I am completely honest about what started my desire for ducks - it was about 2 years ago when we came home one day and found three wild mallards in the garden! One female, two male (which were fighting each other / chasing each other).

 

We fed them healthy stuff (however they preferred wholemeal bread to tomatoes and lettuce) and gave them water aswell. They stuck around for a few hours - but yes, the mess, even though they had the whole garden available and did not eat / drink very much, was quite substantial. Though on a domestic pet / livestock scale, I would imagine the mess increases exponentially!

 

A week or so later two did return (I would guess the dominant male and female) though as we could not feed them at that time they left and we did not see them again.

 

I know they require lots of care, attention and time with them / clearing their play areas 365 days a year - though I prefer to think of them as little friends / little people not just 'pets'.

[Chortle Chook]

Call ducks come from mallards and can look very like them. Also, unlike Cayugas etc. they really make very little mess - honestly I agree that you should go and have a face to face meeting with Leanne's lovely ducks and see what you think. Then if you are really smitten still, I would think you could get a local handy man to build you a run for that amount - perhaps using your own garden fence as one side so as to keep material costs down. For housing, ducks, unlike chickens, do not really need a house as such (the wild ones just sleep on the bank or even on the water) and it is really just for their safety, so why not look on ebay or freecycle for an old guinea pig or rabbit house. I think you could quite easily doctor it yourself.

[Chickabee]

I am so glad I read this. 2 female ducks are on my wish list. I think I've got all the info I need, I also know a breeder locally. Do you clip their wings?