Opinions needed on duck-keeping.

[Henrybetta]

Hi everyone! I hope this is the right place to post...

I have chicken-keeping down pretty well and I've been considering getting some ducks. I only want 1 or 2. I am assuming I would need to get a pair? I have a small playhouse I was hoping to keep them in but I am not really familiar with their needs. They would have to be friendly. I have a dog that can't be outside at the same time as them, so I need to be able to put them away to let him out.

Our winters can get to be about -25 c. I saw some Indian runner ducklings for sale, would this be a good fit? Can they eat chick starter feed? Is there something different specifically for ducks? Any info you can give me would be really helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[Amiga]

Good questions, welcome!

I would hesitate to get just a couple of Indian Runners if you don't have a way to keep them above freezing. They are fairly lean ducks - and they may survive really cold temperatures, but half of mine were definitely suffering from the cold and none were thriving, so I set up a different shelter (that stays above 5C or so even in the coldest months) and within days they were all doing better, even laying eggs again!

They are great ducks!

What about a trio of Buff Orpington ducks? Those are heftier. Whatever shelter you choose needs to be predator proof. Predators seem to come out of nowhere when ducks arrive. Converted playhouses can work quite nicely. They need to be well ventilated, but draft-free.

Ducklings can eat chick starter, and I have seen dozens and dozens of ducklings with nutritional difficulties if the chick starter is not supplemented with B vitamins, at least niacin (B3).

There is a Sticky for Raising Ducklings.https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

 

[Henrybetta]

Thank you for the info! Can I ask how you kept it at 5C? I could probably insulate the playhouse fairly easily. It has good ventilation. I still don't know if it would keep that warm.

Also, I haven't ever seen Buff Orpington ducks around here. The majority of what I see for sale are Muscovy, Rouen, Peking and now Indian runner. There's not a lot of variety around here as far as I know but I will keep my eyes open.

 

[Amiga]

The basement sits under the house and is nestled against the ground - keeps it from getting too hot or cold. I apologize for not responding sooner. . . full day, including no electricity for an hour this morning . . .

Rouens are a hefty duck, too. Bigger than Buffs.

 

[Henrybetta]

Do they fly? Are they good at foraging? Friendly? Sorry, I could probably look that up. I might be lining our 600ft of field fence with chicken wire because my neighbors' dog got one of my girls yesterday. (She's fine.) There's too many wandering neighbor dogs for them to safely be flying over the fence. So I am sort of wondering if I would need to build a pen, or if a regular fenced yard would do.

You're so helpful, thank you. I probably would have gone out and gotten a couple Indian runners had you not responded and then worried all winter. (As I am brooding some chicks now, and thought it would be easier.) I'm going to spend some time looking through other duck threads and see what I can learn.

 

[Henrybetta]

Referring to Rouen in my previous post.

 

[Amiga]

Look into your fence options carefully. I am not one to spend other people's money - but I have read of limitations of chicken wire. It has its place - mostly to keep fowl in. A determined raccoon or other predator can pull and distort it enough to reach through. And they will reach through. Many ducks will snuggle up to a fence and fall asleep. That gives the reaching predator its chance. Forgive the bluntness, but they will pull a duck through the fence piece by piece.

Half inch metal hardware cloth (it's a metal mesh - you are probably familiar with it) is the best fencing against most predators, including the little weasel types. And mercy, that fencing is expensive!!!

Something else that can work if done properly is electric fence. Equine tape or polywire - I have used both. I reckon that single strand metal wire would work well, too - I just don't have the equipment for that - I find the polywire is really easy to work with.

You have probably already found this https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/777392/rouen-duck-thread