Ducks, the good the bad and ugly

With poultry planning spinning it's wheels rather speedily in considering a different set up as mentioned in other thread leavin more room than I anticipated. Considering 2-4 chickens, ideally 2 light sussex ten 2 hybrids, but now in seriously considering some ducks too. Just a pair, trio at most, as the OH is a keen baker and I know could use the produce, I'd also consider incubating some eggs too. But really, it's been very many years since we had ducks and I honestly can't remember the gore. Mess isn't an issue with the area in allocating for my birds, what are the dietry needs like? Obviously they need a water area, what else is very specific? Could theybe housed with hens happily? How much noise do they honestly make? And what breeds would you recccomend? We had Indian runners and khaki Campbell's, would consider both but quite like Muscovy ducks too. Any pictures to coo over are also great !

We have runner ducks and a couple of khakis. They are fed layers pellets and mixed corn. I don't buy duck food, just chicken. Ours are totally free range and they have access to a smallish river and a stream. At the moment, they are all over the place as I have a few sitting.

I love having them around. They don't make too much noise but they aren't penned up. They do have a pen which we shut them up in (not this time of year though) and that gets incredibly mucky. It's an old keepers kennels so has a concrete floor.

If you've got the space, go for it.

Helen

Disgustingly mucky!

We have 9 - 4 Runners (1 drake & his girls) and 5 Khaki Campbells (drake & girls)... they live in the same large pen as much hens/cockerels

They do need water - we have 2 'turtle sandpits' of water, which need emptying, cleaning and refilling every day. Wherever the water is, will end up a mud bath. You need somewhere to tip the dirty water out every day (if you're not using a stream etc) and wash out the container - there is often a layer of mud/poo at the bottom. Within 10mins of me refilling the ponds, they are filthy again.

Our ducks are fed layers pellets, same as the hens.... there is grass to forage in, and they also like corn and the veggies/scraps as well.

They get on OK with the hens - there is occasionally a little scrap over who gets the treats first, or first dibs on food/water etc, however the ducks usually chase the chickens off due to size...

Hmmm now I'm not so sure! Maybe just chickens hmm

They are very messy, i have cleaned out some animals but cleaning out the duck pen, house and ponds was awful! It also seems to get everywhere thats to the fact they just fire it out their backend

Muscovy and call ducks are both quite noisey, fun to listen to as they have whole convos but noisey all the same. We used to feed them the same stuff as the chickens and they always did fine on it.

They also got on fine with the hens. In fact by some random act a duck egg got into a clutch of hens eggs when she was sitting. We didnt realise this until they hatched and there was this hen with her chicks and one duckling in tow. He thought he was a chicken the rest of his life which didnt seem to cause him any harm apart from when he tried to mate with the hens!!!

We had a flock of a dozen Muscovy ducks when I was growing up and they were such characters, really fun birds.

The fact that no two were marked alike really helped define their personalities and they all had names... I don't remember them being noisy at all, the males hiss and the girls just have a quiet peep.

In fact I met someone at a poultry show a few years ago, who lived in the middle of a densely populated city and kept Muscovies in the back garden because they are so quiet.... Way before that I knew someone in inner London who had a pet Muscovy in the garden and when he passed away they got another!

Apparently Muscovies aren't true ducks but a subspecies more related to geese, and come from South America, but can interbreed with some ducks.

Definitely recommend them, they are so different from usual ducks and have great individual character.


PS: Luke.... when you had rabbits before, did you have Sallanders?

Nice to hear some other opinions, I really do fancy some ducks as I live teitbpersonalitys and I'd love to have a go at hatching some eggs too. But do have neighbours to consider so in not sure. And re rabbits no, I had a few dwarf and French lops, English spot rabbits (little did I know the incorrect marked ones met their destiny with the pot via my dad but it was practical!) and a horrible and rather randy Netherlands dwarf who spent his entire life escapIng and raping my English spot ladies. Creating some rather sweet young, little did I know the antics that perplexed me as a youngster so much would just a few years down te line become a common practise to get English marked nethies but hey ho!