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Topic Other Boards / Foo / Ducks
- By cassie N ollie [gb] Date 16.08.03 17:52 UTC
does anyone know how to keep pet ducks as would really like two
- By pinklilies Date 16.08.03 20:39 UTC
you need to have a secure duckhouse and a large caged run to stop the foxes... my friend lost all hers in 6 weeks
- By Kerioak Date 17.08.03 07:57 UTC
You need water at least deep enough for them to dip the heads and necks in but they love to swim. I used those boat shaped children's paddling pools with a ramp for my small ducks as they were easy to clean - just tip the water out and refill (and it will need cleaning as ducks mess in the water just as happily as anywhere else)

As has already been mentioned a secure house and foxproof run (and foxes can be very determined). It is best to shut them away at night - foxes visit at any time of day but at night ducks go to sleep and you can just walk up to them.

There are lots of different types of ducks, what sort of colour, size are you thinking of?

Christine
- By cassie N ollie [gb] Date 17.08.03 11:28 UTC
We have got an rabbit hutch with a run attatched its quite big and there is also my old swimming pool. We have got a shed where they could go at night was looking for probably 2 what sort are the best pets? and what food do they eat and where do you buy it.
want all the info before i buy them because i want them to be as happy as possible
they will be able to run loose in the top of the garden as it is fenced off from the dogs and is escape proof
- By sam Date 19.08.03 18:03 UTC
Ok keeping ducks (I used to have over a hundred when I was seriously into exhibiting waterfowl!) is more work than poultry. There are lots of different breeds....some fly, some dont. Some lay well some are purely ornamental. Some are nervy breeds some are placid! Suggest you get a copy of smallholder magazine & look up the relevant waterfowl associations (you presumably want domestic not wildfowl?)
Then suggest you get a good book from the library or Amazon...Katie Thear comes to mind. There is far too much to write down here. When you have read up on them, and seen the amount of time you need to put into them, then I will happily discuss merits of various breeds.
I cannot bear to see ducks kept in runs where they can just dip their heads/necks in water. Ducks need to SWIM and bath in water at least a foot deep. They foul their water daily & you need a cleaning method every 2-3 days....be it draining/refilling or a natural watercourse. They will make their area very very soiled very quickly, turning grass into sea of mud within days. They need to be shut up before dark EVERY NIGHT or they will be killed by foxes/badgers/mink. you cannot ever have a night off or come home from work a couple of hours late.....they will more than likely be eaten if you do!
An alternative is free ranging ducks like muscovys which are quite good fliers & can get up trees at dusk....however they are just as likely to fly off to a big pond somewhere else too :)
Topic Other Boards / Foo / Ducks

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