who here has a duck? im getting one soon? is there anything i should know bout ducks b4 getting 1? my town just captured and killed 200 of its ducks so as a protest/memorial i am getting a duck
I usta have some ducks, got them at the feed store for maybe what, 80 cents? Anyways, to keep them happy we made a puddle in the back yard for them, we tried a baby pool at first but they didn't like the plastic and it was a pain to clean all the time so we just ran a hose to a spot and they dug their own little pool to play in. Make it away from the back door though, cuz it's gonna be a muddy mess... but that's what made them happy, and they need the water. Your water bill will go up. Fed them corn meal when they were little ducklings, then cracked corn - which we could get at the grocery store for cheap in the pet aisle! They will make thier nests under bushes, where ever they want them - don't even try to tell them where to put them. They never used any type of nest box we would put out. We never got them to make ducklings, so after letting them have their nests for a while, we'd chuck the eggs & they would start over. Eventually, we gave up on them ever having ducklings. The eggs are the best eatin eggs I've ever had. The only real problem we had with having ducks is one of the ducklings ate some fertilizer off the back porch one day (he died within minutes) and the neighbor's dog was able to scale a chain link fence, she got a couple of them one day. Once the male duck was big enough, he got very territorial and would protect his wife - he even fought the neighbor's dog. They are not "pets". Cool animals to have, but after they are grown they will not be your buddies and play with you. Maybe somebody else will say they had a duck buddy, but usually they are not interested in being around people. And then again, maybe it was because I had more than one, and they were a mated pair. Ya know how lovers are, so involved with each other... lol!!! I personally would love to have some more ducks, I loved having them - hopefully though next time I will be living by water...
thanks, im justs getting 1 and i will be around all most alll the time so it will probbly get to know mw and not get territorial with me at least i hope its not mean i cant wait
I've always wanted a duck. But no one else here does. So I'll have to wait until I get my own place. Then I can get a turtle, too. One of those big ones. hehe
i had a turtle once...his name was filburt...i loved him... ive wanted a chicken for along time but my mom said i couldent have one ...so now since the killed all of those innocent ducks and since my mom never "said" i couldent have a "duck"...im getting one
What kind of ducks are we talking Willy? Is it going to be full grown or a duckling? I just inherited 5 baby Khaki Campbells last week, their cute as hell, real messy with their drinking water tho (make sure you provide plenty of water with their feed, they need water to soften the food in their gullet) and make sure you give them access to some grit (gound stones, glass etc. to aid in the digestion) I would suggest getting 2 ducks, they seem to be a very social animal. They are, by far, much easier than chickens. Just make sure you have a fenced area for them to forage in (they LOVE grasshoppers) and a place to stay dry if your keeping it outside. Its not neccessary to have a pond or pool, although they would love you for it, but make sure you have a big enough watering container that they can emerge their whole head in (they have to keep their eyes clean to prevent "sticky eye") and change the water every day, faithfully! They'll get it dirty real quick, especially if their swimming in it! Good luck Willy!
Well, my duck story had a half way sad ending to it - the male duck was eventually bit by a snake and killed. The female duck after that became very social with us weird lookin ducks and used to follow us around. So I would say that a female would probably be more prone to being a pet - the male was kinda mean when he got older. Which used to make me crazy cuz I was never anything but nice to that toe biter! And I'm not sure which kinda ducks we had, I called em 'pond ducks' - you know, those big white ones your grampa takes you to feed. Bee Rain must have more time on her hands than I did, to change duck water all the time - She's absolutely right though, they hafta have clean water always. Of course at that time I had every kinda animal you could imagine in my house and working and a baby... so I ran just ran the hose for them every day. They dug themselves a pool about as big as a baby pool and played and played and played in it...
I dont really know anything about keeping ducks....but I would suggest that if you get one.....get him a friend because ducks are very social and he probably wouldnt be very happy all alone. I have never seen a duck in my life without his duck posse with him- and I have seen alot of ducks! They used to be all over my backyard. Infact once one of the neighborhood kids started feeding them on a daily basis and our whole neighborhood was run amuck with them! The neighbors hated them, but I though they were so cute.
when cleaning a duck stand on the wings and pull. it'll get the wing feather that are usually a pain to get out
My friend has ducks. At first she bought two as duckings; if you raise them from when they're young they become very tame. They used to run after cars driving up to her house just so they could greet the visitors. They also loved being picked up and lying on their backs in people's arms. Sadly, one of them was killed by a fox (you should always keep them shut in a duck house at night). To keep the other one happy (who took to sitting outside their back door, frantically quacking) they had to buy a fully grown duck, as it was the wrong season for baby ones. Ever since her pet duck met the semi-wild one, we hardly ever see them; they are both terrified of humans. Strange, how wildness seems infectious in ducks.
thanx 4 all the help im getting the duck tommorow i will tell u guys what kind it is when i pick out the one i want i will try to post a pic of him/her in the animal pics thread agian thanks
Sorry. The only thing I know about 'em is they are BEST served with biscuits, mashed potatoes & gravy. (I said I was sorry...) As far as I know, they do need bugs to eat, and plenty of fresh water. (To swim, and drink.)
