My eco solution to rat problems

[Baileykalliboo]

Hi

We are in the very early stages of planning some ducks for our garden.

I am looking at (hopefully) getting 3-4 miniature silver appleyards.

 

Can anybody give me any advice on the following:

1- How messy are ducks? I mean, i know they poop but i dont mind going round and swilling poop away with water each day etc

2 - What age is best to get ducks? I have read that ducklings require more care than slightly older ducks?

3 - How big would the duck house need to be for these ducks?

4 - What are peoples daily routines with their ducks, ie - how long does it take to clean them out each day etc

5 - Do you let your ducks graze on food all day or is it best to give them set meal times? Ive heard people adopting both methods?

 

My thoughts are that they will be locked away in a secure enclosure every evening where the duck house will be, then they will (eventually) have free run of the garden during the day. I will be getting a clam paddling pool (kiddy type) for them which will be emptied and refilled with clean water each morning. What is best to use on the floor of the enclosure?

Please feel free to offer any advice you have on breed choices/noise levels/routine etc, dont want to rush into this as never had ducks before so want to do it right.

[Quackers45]

Hi, I just wanted to saying I've been watching your post and hoping that somebody would respond. I too am planning and preparing for a couple of Pekins or Campbells as a first timer and trying to pick up all the info I can. Good luck!

 

I have an Eglu and 3m run, have just ordered the Omlet 21m fence and I'm preparing an area for them and investigating ground cover/substrate. Thinking 60% pea shingle and 40% hardwood bark. Also planning a light and easy to empty/refill water bucket or trough, and a shell paddling pool from Argos.

 

Have a reasonably large garden so planning to let them FR when I'm around.

[mollyripkim]

Hi

I have three call ducks who share a large walk in run with my 18 bantams and all get on fine. I will try to answer your questions. Yes they are definitely messier than the chickens but in my opinion totally worth it, just their poo is a little bit wetter and if there is any water on your grass you will end up with mud as they dabble it into a mess. Having said that we had green mesh under our grass which protected it, we have no grass at the moment as we are in the middle of a revamp so they are loving it.

They have a small pond in the run but my husband built a concrete recess for this to go into so it then drains away which keeps the run dry except where they splash it everywhere. Don't think it would be a good idea to have the pool in the run as it would just make such a mess when you have to drain it. They also have a kiddie pool in the garden which I change about every fourth day in the summer as it goes green quite quickly in the sun.

 

I have a Solway duck house in the run, in winter I shut them in it at night as its cold but in the summer they do has they please as my run is fox proof. This means the house doesn't need cleaning that often during the summer as it is not used but in the winter change it about once a week with a good thick layer of Aubiose.

 

I use Fancy Feeds layers pellets as these are sold as suitable for both bantams and ducks, they also have a handful of corn each night and greens when I have them so they have food available all day. The only other thing is that I have separate water drinkers for the chickens which I have hung with bricks as steps, it means the chickens can drink but the ducks can't reach otherwise its permanently dirty.

 

My run has wood chips which works well, I did try pea shingle around their indoor bit but it just got messy and stinky.

 

My first two ducks were around three months when I got them so looked fully grown and then I hatched one last year.

 

I love the call ducks although they are incredible noisy to start with, I worried about both my females disturbing the neighbours but they have quietened down (I used to have to keep the kitchen blind pulled so they couldn't see me in the morning) and don't make any more noise than the chickens egg song!

 

So all in all they are very little work and are such lovely little characters. Hope that helps.

[Mollydog]

Hi

I have three male Indian Runner ducks who are absolutely lovely. We raised them from 2 day old ducklings which was a lot of hard work but they are very tame now. I think if I had ducks in the future I would probably go for older ducks as ducklings are a lot of time and energy with heat lamps ect.

 

The boys live together in an eglu go with a run attached and an extra metre long run extension. They get free range in my garden every evening and act as a natural pest control eating all the slugs....oh and the tomato plants if I don't move the pots. In the run I have tried lots of floor coverings, but I find that as they have very wet poo to stop it smelling I use a spreadable poultry disinfectant every three days on the floor and then cover this is straw, which they love rooting around in. They eat the same chicken pellets as the chooks and I have this in a large water container that came with the go as the food one they couldn't get their heads in without getting stuck. They have a bucket of water in their run which i change daily ( Indian Runners do not need to swim all the time as they can groom an oil their feathers standing up unlike other breeds) I also put things like watercress and spinach in their water as this gives them something to do and they like to eat these. When they are free ranging they have a large shallow tray full of water to splash about in, but quite often just run round stretching their wings and gobbling insects. Oh and get in the dogs drinking bowl?!

When they free range in the garden I have to make sure the chooks are not out as this time of year the boys are frisky and can do them damage. They also tend to chase my teenage daughter around the garden and be warned can give a bit of a peck! The boys are quieter than girls , girl ducks especially call ducks can be extremely loud.

 

We clean the house out fully, disinfecting and jettig out once a week and midweek give it a wipe and change the straw, which they prefer to woodchips. They will fill their house with mud as well to stick all their straw together so need a bit more cleaning than chickens.We worm the ducks at the same time as the chickens and use the pellets which have got flubenvet already mixed in, this works well and keeps them healthy. They also like a bit of poultry spice and weetabix when the weather gets colder.

 

We do love the boys and they are lovely characters as well as the added benefit to get rid of slugs. We didn't get girls as we have enough eggs from the chickens and didn't want anymore eggs. Boy ducks are usually the ones culled as they are 'not useful' which is why we decided to re-home three.Hope that is helpful . Feel free to ask if you need any more help.

[Quackers45]

Just wondering if Baileykalliboo has got some ducks yet? This has been a great thread with lots of good advice. Now I have my ducks I'm enjoying reading back posts.