Please can someone give me some information on hatching and raising ducks?
Question by Barney: Please can someone give me some information on hatching and raising ducks?
I would like 2 ducks as pets, after looking for a pen for them I found that you can buy them as eggs and hatch them yourself. I would really like to learn more about this and see whether I can do it. I know I would need to buy an incubator but thats about it, can anyone give me some advice? I would only want the best for the ducks so if it is better to buy them when they leave their parents please can you tell me what age they should be and any advice there?
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3 Responses to Please can someone give me some information on hatching and raising ducks?
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First you need to make sure you have sufficient space in your garden to keep ducks, they need grass to graze on and a pond or deepish water of some description to swim in. They also need a secure coop at night to roost in at night safe from predators but rarely go in before sunset, a real pain in the summer.
Ducks are very messy creatures I’m afraid, they make mud of everything and poop a lot. They don’t make great “pets” really, mostly people keep them for the eggs they lay. They will learn to associate you with food and come flapping to see you but aren’t loving like a dog would be, not really.
They are only cute and fluffy for around 2 weeks then they grow up and are adult ducks by around 8 weeks of age.
I always used a broody hen to rear my ducklings but you can hatch eggs yourself. You would need an incubator and access to fertile eggs. Keeping poultry is a big responsibility, you can’t go away on holiday or even a day really without having someone come over to let them out, feed them and up them away safely at night. Ducks can live for 6 or 7 years.
On the plus side duck eggs taste wonderful and breeds like Khaki campbell or Indian runner ducks lay around 200 eggs per year. Trouble is if you hatch your own eggs you won’t know what sex duck you are getting you could end up with 2 males who would be very frustrated.
At around 4 weeks old you can sex them, ducks quack loudly when you pick them up, drakes (males) sort of hiss. If it quacks its female.
Kisses it better ♥
April 23, 2012 at 7:25 pm
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loving boy
April 23, 2012 at 8:05 pm
l bought 2 indian running ducks 6 years ago from a pet shop when they were a week old, very quickly they assume you are their parents and follow you everywhere, now six years on they wait at the gate for my car and run to meet me, they do poop at lot but thats the name of the game, RUNNERS A JOY TO BEHOLD
fistycuff
April 23, 2012 at 8:28 pm