The Duck Thread

[Ren2014]

Will do, thank you. We have them like crazy out here. My sister in law got bit when she was a little kid.

 

[NathanZee]

I bet that was scary for her!

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Finally got our new duck pen pretty much done. Still need to add our larger gravity waterer, "porch" on front, and finish up our nesting boxes. I know they probably won't use them but a girl can hope! I've gotten one egg a day for the last week! Don't know who's laying them yet. Going to get 4 or 5 new hens tomorrow and get them in lock down. Hopefully in two weeks we'll finally be able to just enjoy them for a little bit lol.

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[QuackSpeak]

Finally got our new duck pen pretty much done. Still need to add our larger gravity waterer, "porch" on front, and finish up our nesting boxes. I know they probably won't use them but a girl can hope! I've gotten one egg a day for the last week! Don't know who's laying them yet. Going to get 4 or 5 new hens tomorrow and get them in lock down. Hopefully in two weeks we'll finally be able to just enjoy them for a little bit lol.

[/URL]

That pen looks great! Bravo!

 

[season1223]

It's been awhile since I was on here but since this is my go-to site for advice, I'm here! I forgot how much I love reading all of the stories! I do need some advice or well inspiration...spring is approaching and I really want ducklings this year so I want to make my girls some type of nesting hut to keep the other ducks off the nest for one & hopefully keep the nest a bit cleaner this time! Last year I had 2 ducks trying to set on one nest & the drake trying to get a little booty he didn't have to chase too so the eggs got knocked out of the nest and a few got cracked open...plus with 2 of them on the same nest, the nest was never unattended for me to get in there and tidy it up so the eggs & nest got a little nasty! Plus my chickens and ducks & even my goat all sleep in the same coop so it's a little hectic first thing in the morning! To clarify, the goat has her own pen inside the coop so she doesn't run loose with the birds in there...the ducks have a quack shack that they sleep in inside the coop but they don't get locked inside it...they r free to run about the coop until I open the door in the morning for them to run free & the chicken sleep on the roost inside the coop & run about the coop too until the door is opened in the morning...then they all run free until bedtime (except the goat...she goes out on a super long leash during the day to graze! Anyways...I have no issues with their sleeping arrangements & all of my animals get along great! I've never had any issues with my drake trying to mate with my chickens either...it's a fairly large coop & they've all been raised around each other! If anybody has some ideas, I'd love to hear them! I have 3 female ducks & one drake, so I'm also wondering if I should build just one nesting hut or maybe 2...I don't want all of them nesting at the same time...just because I don't want my drake getting bored but I don't want 2 trying to nest together again either!

 

[Julie Birb]

Will do, thank you. We have them like crazy out here. My sister in law got bit when she was a little kid.

Ew!!! Scary. I always run into them in the hot summer in the desert where I hike. At least they warn me…...

 

[Ren2014]

Finally got our new duck pen pretty much done. Still need to add our larger gravity waterer, "porch" on front, and finish up our nesting boxes. I know they probably won't use them but a girl can hope! I've gotten one egg a day for the last week! Don't know who's laying them yet. Going to get 4 or 5 new hens tomorrow and get them in lock down. Hopefully in two weeks we'll finally be able to just enjoy them for a little bit lol.

[/URL]

Looks GREAT!

Ew!!! Scary. I always run into them in the hot summer in the desert where I hike. At least they warn me…...

Yes, they do warn and I appreciate that, lol. You be careful!

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Thanks everyone I'm pretty excited. My hubby is amazing and can pretty much build anything. We picked up 5 more ducks today. I seriously have a problem lol. But he's right there with me. We also picked out a goat. Going to set up place for him and pick up this week...

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Thanks everyone I'm pretty excited. My hubby is amazing and can pretty much build anything. We picked up 5 more ducks today. I seriously have a problem lol. But he's right there with me. We also picked out a goat. Going to set up place for him and pick up this week...

The coop construction looks great. I don't know what additional securities you have around the property, but I want to make sure that you as well as anyone looking to this as an example in the future are aware: Chicken wire is great for keeping birds in, but not for keeping predators out. Many predators will rip right through chicken wire with their claws or teeth. 1/2" hardware cloth is recommended for smaller predators (fox/raccoon/coyote). I have seen it recommended that the hardware cloth either be sunk 1 foot into the ground, or laid around the pen as a 2 foot skirt in areas with digging predators. Also raccoons can figure out a simple bolt latch fairly quickly so if that is the only line of defense, it may not be adequate. For more information and maybe specifics for your area, I would browse through https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/13/predators-and-pests.

I lost 2 ducks to predators early in our stewardship (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/883393/r-i-p-ebony-and-belle). It was devastating. Since then, we have been much tighter on security and have had no further incidences.

 

[Amiga]

Gees, last weekend it was Botulism... this weekend RATTLESNAKE,

Under the barn where I think 3 girls are nesting. It was the saddest thing, after we got the snake out... a mama came out carrying an egg

Botulism update:
patient #1 is being discharged from sick bay today

patient #2 has regained use of one leg and some of the other
patient #3 never progressed to full paralysis and is still flying back and forth. She is limping on one.

I gave up on looking for patient #4. She either got better or disapeared.