Raising Ducks

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I'm considering raising ducks, I'm looking for ducks that will be well manered and OK to eat. I want to raise them first; for fun and secondly; for food. Any suggestions on what varity to raise and or advise on the subject of raises waterfowl? I have a fair amount of land for them to graze on, are one kind better than another for ability to graze? Low maintainence = better

Thanks

-- Colin (cew74@yahoo.com), February 15, 2000

Answers

we have had several breeds and my personal favorites are the indian runners- sometimes they are just called runners. They are so much fun and so perky and active. They are one of the best for foraging and can run whereas other ducks waddle. They are also a good egglaying breed, but kind of scrawny when it comes to eating them, and, they are so personable, it is hard to kill one though we have and do. Rouens are a good beefy duck if you want meat but they don't come in a lot of colors like the runners do. We buy our ducks from Holderread's and have been very pleased with the quality and selection of ducks available, he raises many rare breeds that you never hear of anywhere else.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), February 16, 2000.

Colin, oh boy, ducks are so neat and i have raised a lot of them. The best survivors are the Muscovy duck, a big white and black quackless duck that can fly. The flying part is important as once again when you live in the country there are many predators who love the taste of duck and the ease of catching them. If you can shut them up at night it helps, but i had a mama coyote who would lie behind the chicken house until i let the ducks out in the am and have a duck breakfast. Khaki Campbells lay a lot of eggs, which are great in baking. MY next ducklings will be something called cayugas because they are described as a brilliant beetle-green. I know better but can't resist the urge to have a few of them. Oh its really hard to eat a pet{just a thought]. karen

-- karen mauk (dairygoatmama@yahoo.com), February 16, 2000.

We raise Khaki Campbells as they lay eggs year-round. A bit small for eating, but taste good. Very well-mannered little things and easily trainable. They are wonderful for bug patrol, too.

Will be adding White Pekins to our *family* this summer as they are better for roasting and give lots of feathers for pillows. Would like to try Cayugas as their colors are so beautiful, but am concerned about the reported fishy taste of their eggs and meat....doesn't sound too appetizing.

-- Kathleen (kalfy53@hotmail.com), February 22, 2000.


We have a variety. I happen to like the White Pekins because of their size and also their "quack" is like the character the Penguin from the old Batman series and it sounds like they are laughing at you! The Cayugas are beautiful as are the mallards (but the mallards fly and flew the coop this fall with the migrating ducks). If you don't want to lose your ducks, clip their wings every year. We made that mistake with the mallards. We have runners and blue somethings out there that are nice as well. We also "inherited" a couple of domestic ducks that joined our group on the pond and never left. Have no idea where they came from as we are the only ones raising ducks around here.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), February 22, 2000.

We have 9 Khaki Campbell-Mallard crosses...they are the "homesteaders" here on our farm! They are so self sufficient! We feed them cracked corn and provide water in the form of a pond and buckets and that's it.

Slugs in the Pacific Northwest are usually a real plague. We have had zero slugs since getting the ducks. They are real contributors to our food production.

We don't get a lot of eggs but we use what we get for baking.

Oh yes, they also provide a lot of entertainment! Have fun with yours!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), February 22, 2000.



There is only one time of year I don't enjoy my ducks, and that time is beginning to come to an end here in upstate NY. Digging a path through the snow to the barn, and then skating on ice when the snow begins to melt makes the trip seem very long, especially while trying not to spill the bucket of water! I have Rouen ducks. They look like huge mallards, but they are too heavy to fly more than a few feet. Their eggs are a pale blue-green. Even though they eat insects, an occasional toad, and vegetation during the warmer months, I still supplement their diet with feed then. Good luck with your ducks!

-- bluetick (coonhound@mindspring.com), February 22, 2000.

We also have Rouens (pron. "row'-en") and Pekins. Pekins are all white; big meaty birds, unable to fly. The "blue" ducks mentioned may be Blue Swedish, also a big duck we've had. They are black with a big white bib in front. They look as though they are wearing formal-wear. All the above ducks are pretty calm IF they are used to you. Our ducks have always been cautious of new things. If I put a nice new layer of hay in their barn they will all gather around before going in and "discuss" the situation. Pekins, male and female, look exactly alike except for the males' curly tail feathers part of the year. You can tell them apart by their voices. The females have a raucous "quack,quack" and the males sound as though someone has fitted them with a horn mute and sound more like "beep,beep". They are not prone to diseases but they ARE very vulnerable to predators. They are lots of fun to watch.

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), February 22, 2000.

I have just started my first venture raising my babies. I purchased four rouen ducks and so far have had a very enjoyable experience. I would love to let them play outside, but Michigan Winters are far too harsh. I don't have much to contribute yet, except that I'm already having fun with them, and I've had them for less than a week so far. They sure do stink more than I thought they would though.

-- Anna Ausberger (seafoodqueen99@yahoo.com), March 26, 2001.

I have 3 ducks-one female mallard,one male blue swedish, and one female blue swedish-mallard cross. My ducks are not raised for meat but just for a pet. They are pretty-good size so I guess they could be eaten. They seem to be content with about 80 square feet to graze in, but I have them a kiddy-pool for them to swim in. They don`t lay to many eggs, just enough to hatch babies. The female blue swedish- mallard has 15 eggs that she has been sitting on for 5 days now they will hatch soon. thy are lots of fun to raise and keep as a pet!

-- Daniel Merritt (jmeritt30@home.com), April 20, 2001.

I've had a domestic Mallard hen raised from chick for a year and a half, as a pet.(we have property and good sized pond) High in intelligence, personality, and somewhat "imprinted' - she will look for me, walking from the pond to the back door -75 ft or so. Very territorial, have 6 outdoor cats she was raised with, she chases them around the pastures.(and any visiting waterfowl landing in the pond!) Obtained a young Mallard drake nearly 3 months ago, they're seemed to have bonded nicely. Thanks to "Daffy", she's taught him that it's safe to take food from my hand. They'll eat pine nuts in the fall, ants, pond minnows, and whole grains as grass seed supplement. Should expect her to start laying soon, she started laying last year in January through May. (we're in N. FL)

-- Pat Moore (greyhorse85@cs.com), January 12, 2002.


Ducks are low-maintainence by nature. Runners give very small eggs and are much too scrawny to bother eating, but they really don't care much about swimming (so you don't have to provide a pond or kiddie-pool), whereas all the other types will prefer to have at least a kiddie-pool to cavort in. I like Pekins and Cayugas, though I;ve had/have Blue Swedes and Rouens. The main thing to remember is you really have to butcher them at 10-12 weeks. After that they are tough. And it is hard because when you get your first batch of little ducklings through the mail, well, they are just the most fascinating little guys to feed and watch! The next batch is not so fascinating, and after that, probably somebody will set on a clutch of eggs somewhere in a slash pile and you won't have to do anything about it. Go for it -- any kind -- they're a blast! And VERY easy.

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), January 12, 2002.

I live in the San Diego County in california. I am looking for a duck to keep as a pet and for bug-control in my garden. I need the duck to be domestic and able to be trained. If you have a reasonable price and some information on mallard ducks, please contact me by e- mail. Thank you.

-- Julia Mebane (julia_m27@hotmail.com), April 23, 2002.

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