# Anyone who keeps ducks?



## lil05 (Jul 22, 2008)

anyone who keeps ducks? particulary aylesbury (the really white ones).
i am interested in keeping one but looking on google ive found loads of ads of people selling them but cannot find the care of them.

things id like to know are...

1)Are ducks an easy pet to keep?
2)Ive noticed they can be hand reared is this easy to do? (i have a cockateil thats hand reared and would like a hand reared duck aswel)
3)What kind of things do they eat?
4)What kind of things would they need to be kept outside? (so far i know a house of somekind and i think my garden is already fox proof)
5)Would they need any additional heating for outside or can they take english winters?
6)Do they ruin your garden?
7)Do they need a pond? (weve not long filled ours in so would a childs paddling pool of some sort be ok for a paddle?)

thanks in advance ..


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

I kept ducks many years ago and so will answer your questions as best as I can.

1)Are ducks an easy pet to keep? I found them so.
2)Ive noticed they can be hand reared is this easy to do? (i have a cockateil thats hand reared and would like a hand reared duck aswel) I got mine as day old hatchlings (so they imprint) and kept them in my snake viv (minus snakes I hasten to add) until they could go outside when they were a week and a half.
3)What kind of things do they eat? I bought purpose made food from the agricultural merchant, but we all dug up worms in the garden for them etc.
4)What kind of things would they need to be kept outside? (so far i know a house of somekind and i think my garden is already fox proof) Mine ran loose in the garden and went into a shed at night.
5)Would they need any additional heating for outside or can they take english winters? Mine were fine without additional heating, but I lived in Hampshire at the time so milder than up where I am now, but ducks in the wild don't have heating in colder areas than here.
6)Do they ruin your garden? Pretty much! Mainly it's the poo on the patios etc that did it for me - a terrible mess!
7)Do they need a pond? (weve not long filled ours in so would a childs paddling pool of some sort be ok for a paddle?) They don't need a pond as such, but they do need constant water, because when they eat they have to "dibble" and so need water. Dibbling makes a horrendous mess, so a non-drainable pond is not a good idea. We used our old baby bath for them and netted in the fish pond because of the mess they made.

I hope this helps a bit, but there are loads of people on here who actually keep ducks now who can probably help you more.


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## lil05 (Jul 22, 2008)

thankyou .. can they be kept on a staple diet of worms? or would they need anything else


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## sizedoesn'tmatter (Jan 24, 2009)

Worms would really be a treat not a staple as Aylesburys are quite big ducks and I think you would struggle to find enough worms! You can buy good quality duck feeds from farm shops - these vary from straights, pellets, mash - different people prefer to use different foods or mixes of food. There are different foods for ducklings/adult ducks. They will also need grit and oyster shell. They will enjoy plenty of green food too. Good luck with your research. 

One more thing...I have seen a fox climb a 6 foot fence before now. Many people like to lock their ducks in at night and let them free range during the day which helps prevent them being taken by foxes.


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## thickgiraffe (Oct 23, 2007)

i keep and breed both ducks and other poultry. they are dead easy to keep. they should be fed a good pellet/mash food designed for waterfowl/poultry and you can also give them a mixed poultry corn (they love this) other than this they should just be kept in clean housing to keep the worst of the elements and they usually thrive. although i find aylesburys to be a bit dopey in general. i stick to silver appleyards these days.


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## quilson_mc_spike (Dec 27, 2008)

i want a qwack qwack i didnt evan know you could keep them as pets  i wish i could have all the pets i wanted i would have to be loaded (with cash)

i NEED a qwack qwack now  xx


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

thickgiraffe said:


> i keep and breed both ducks and other poultry. they are dead easy to keep. they should be fed a good pellet/mash food designed for waterfowl/poultry and you can also give them a mixed poultry corn (they love this) other than this they should just be kept in clean housing to keep the worst of the elements and they usually thrive. although i find aylesburys to be a bit dopey in general. i stick to silver appleyards these days.


depends on your garden but Ducks will turn even a ecent size garden to mud in no time! there also noisy, if you dont have a huge garden I would say not to get ducks! 

I keep Silver appleyards have 5 ducks and no drake  there laying well to :bash: will have to get some more eggs and keep everything crossed for a drake


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## vikki21 (Jun 17, 2008)

my mum has kept aylesbury ducks. she bought two from a farm 13yrs ago and 1of them is stil going. during the day they'll be fine to be in ur garden as long as its secure but at nite best to lock them away in a hutch/pen so they are safe from foxes etc. we got food from a petshop. food - young chicks = chick crumbs. adults = layers pellets & mixed corn. can also get layers mash - which can be fed dry or moistioned but its very messy. also provide them wiv grit oystershell for poultry (needed for agg laying and calcium). if they are allowed in garden they will forage for worms, snails,slugs etc. my mums had a thing for frogs too. they will need water but this can be given in a bowl. they take a drink when they eat to aid swallowing. givening them a larger area of water is an advantage for them to bathe/preen in. its great to watch them in the water. this can beprovided via a sink/bowl/kids paddling bowl/etc/ they do forage in the garden and wil dig it up and obviously they will toilet ur garden to. but if patio area it can ebe hosed dwn or if garden it wil dry out but in the winter it does get a bit gross and so i would get some wellies. as wiv heating, if you put them outside in late spring, early summer they will acclimatise to the weather and will cope when gets to winter. in the hutch our duck has we put newsaper in there, which is chance daily. the hutch is raised off the ground and positioned so it has protection from the elements (stop the cold and damp getting in) in the winter the duck gets shavings in the hutch just for sum extra warmth. 
have a look on the website for honeybourne poultry, they will give you good advice if you want anymore. also where you buy the ducks from should give you some advice and be able to say where your local food supplier is. gd luck.


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

I have a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE garden and the ducks took it all back to mud and half the garden was knee high grass! 

We have 2 female muscovies now. I may get some more but the mess they make far out weighs how nice the eggs are. So sticking with Chickens lol


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

quilson_mc_spike said:


> i want a qwack qwack i didnt evan know you could keep them as pets  i wish i could have all the pets i wanted i would have to be loaded (with cash)
> 
> i NEED a qwack qwack now  xx


For you Connor.

My son and daughter with their ducks and the neighbour's children - by the way none of these children is under 30 now - it was a loooonnnnggg time ago! :lol2:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

We have 3 acres of land at the sanctuary and the ducks have managed to wreck 2 of it, we do have 20 of them though and 3 ponds lol


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

lil05 said:


> anyone who keeps ducks? particulary aylesbury (the really white ones).
> i am interested in keeping one but looking on google ive found loads of ads of people selling them but cannot find the care of them.


you cannot keep one duck. They are flock animals like chickens and need company.

things id like to know are...



> 1)Are ducks an easy pet to keep


? easy enough if you know how to care for them


> 2)Ive noticed they can be hand reared is this easy to do? (i have a cockateil thats hand reared and would like a hand reared duck aswel)


you don't hand rear ducks, they hatch knowing how to eat. They have to be kept under a heat lamp and not allowed to get damp. They are very delicate and die easily , they are also very very dirty and you need to clean little ducks out several times a day.


> 3)What kind of things do they eat?


the chicks eat duck crumbs, progressing to duck pellets and mixed corn


> 4)What kind of things would they need to be kept outside? (so far i know a house of somekind and i think my garden is already fox proof)


 a secure wooden house raised off the ground. Why do you think your garden is fox proof. Before you keep ducks, you need to know it is.Rats will also kill young ducks.


> 5)Would they need any additional heating for outside or can they take english winters?


 Have you ever heard of duck down duvets? What do you think they are made of? And they are the warmest you can buy. So, ducks have their own duckdown to keep them warm and need no additional heating.


> 6)Do they ruin your garden?


depends how big the garden is. They'll certasinly paddle the grass and flower beds into mud in wet weather and they do loads and loads of foul smelling liquid poos every day which make the place stink.


> 7)Do they need a pond? (weve not long filled ours in so would a childs paddling pool of some sort be ok for a paddle?)


 a paddling pool would be ok buut will need emptying, scrubbing out with disinfectant and refilling daily.


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## quilson_mc_spike (Dec 27, 2008)

mummy shell close your ears...


























i wonna qwack qwack:blush:. xx


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

feorag said:


> For you Connor.
> 
> My son and daughter with their ducks and the neighbour's children - by the way none of these children is under 30 now - it was a loooonnnnggg time ago! :lol2:


 Oh boy, they are going to love you for making this public. Major embarrassment hehehe.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Yes, but they've got to see it first, haven't they??? :devil:


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## quilson_mc_spike (Dec 27, 2008)

feorag said:


> For you Connor.
> 
> My son and daughter with their ducks and the neighbour's children - by the way none of these children is under 30 now - it was a loooonnnnggg time ago! :lol2:


now i have somebodie to blame for why i want some soooooo much: feorag because i love you that is  xx

ps i love the expresion on the baby's face xD xx


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## lil05 (Jul 22, 2008)

im thinking ill have to wait till i get my own house really then. My mum is garden proud and would kill me if it was turned over (shes forever gardening and making it look nice).
As for finding enough worms there are places you can buy earth worms in bulk but might cost a fair bit.
And we dont have problems with rats (although unknown if there is any) but have had mice in our sheds in the past. And there used to be a fox that went around my estate but hasnt been around in years and all the underneaths of our hedges have been chicken wires to halfway up which is why i thought it was relitivly fox proof but if they can climb fences the other side of the garden isnt that safe.
Also them having to be with other ducks i think that it isnt the best idea i have one as i only wanted one but thankyou for all your help . Even though im against the idea of owning one now im still glad i know this for later use if i decide to have a few THANKYOU!


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

lil05 said:


> im thinking ill have to wait till i get my own house really then. My mum is garden proud and would kill me if it was turned over (shes forever gardening and making it look nice).
> As for finding enough worms there are places you can buy earth worms in bulk but might cost a fair bit.
> And we dont have problems with rats (although unknown if there is any) but have had mice in our sheds in the past. And there used to be a fox that went around my estate but hasnt been around in years and all the underneaths of our hedges have been chicken wires to halfway up which is why i thought it was relitivly fox proof but if they can climb fences the other side of the garden isnt that safe.
> Also them having to be with other ducks i think that it isnt the best idea i have one as i only wanted one but thankyou for all your help . Even though im against the idea of owning one now im still glad i know this for later use if i decide to have a few THANKYOU!


 
Buying earth worms in bulk wouldn't be an issue since as they don't Live off earth worms. As already pointed out it would be duck pellets and mixed corn being the staple diet.

Year on year we (us poultry people) see countless people who hatch eggs and when they start messing the garden up, get rid. Dosen't seem to matter what they get told beforehand but afterwards they will agree it wasn't the right thing to do. 
Best thing for ducks is running water lol that way they are cleaner as they constantly poo where they are eating.
Ducks are most definately not for the garden proud lol More for those who hate any plants of any form lol


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Totally agree with Pimp, to successfully keep ducks you need to have running water, like a stream in your garden to avoid them ruining your garden. The mess they can make with a baby bath/small pond is unbelievable, whereas with running water, everything is washed away.

Ours didn't ruin the garden (as you can see in the background), but the duck pooh on the patio and the paths around where the baby bath of water was was a nightmare and we had to pour it out and refill it at least 3 or 4 times a day because of the mess created by the dropped food into the water when they were eating.


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