Snowy Call Ducks.

[MommaHen86]

SO the title says it all. My husband bought a trio of Snowy Call ducks at a recent Chickenstock and is in love with them. But we know nothing about them really. We went to TSC and bought duck food and they are just now losing the last bit of fuzz and have there feathers. What kind of shelter so they need and how do I keep them in the yard? Can they free range like our Chickens do or will they fly away? We plan on building a inground pond that they can swim in.But need help with all th other stuff. Would LOVE to hear from anyone that owns Snowy call ducks and can tell me all about them.THANKS!

 

[ButterscotchCal]

Greetings,

I rececently got a pair of Butterscotch Call Ducks and am hoping to get a pair of Snowy Call Ducks and some others soon. I am also from Michigan (Tri-City area). I am learning from breeders and others that have ducks myself. Biggest thing with the call ducks is their small size and predators. Most lock up their ducks at night to avoid this. I have a kennels with chicken wire on the side over the chain link and on the roof nailed to the side of a barn. Have heard welded wire covered with hardware cloth is even better and screwed to wood so predators can't pull the nails out. Make sure they have something decent to walk on, I have cement floor in the kennel so I use straw or wood shavings on top of it. My call ducks seem to prefer to sit out on the cold snow and some straw I spread out compared to the nice insulated hosue we built them so I tried using a rubbermaid tote and cutting a hole in one end, add a little straw and Wallah they like that and will use it to get in out of shelter! I bought a white and red plastic heated waterer from TSC that works well in the winter too Have lots I could share with you on the subject as I research having ducks. I feed mine TSC grower pellets (they waste too much of the crumble) and I also give them "thawed" frozen peas so low salt etc, grass without pesticides/fertilizer and even shredded cheese and chopped up tomatoes are favorite too! You can let them free range during the day (watch out for hawks though and give them a safe place to escape to) if you like but at night need to lock them in to protect them. I have read about clipping the flight feathers (short term, must be redone periodically) or pinioning (permanent), neither of which I have ever done or tried, but that would prevent them from flying.

Hope that helps!
Wendy

 

[minichic]

I am getting some call ducks in the Spring and have been researching duck feed; still haven't decided exactly what I will feed, but was concerned that the pelleted diets might be too large for these little guys.ButterscotchCal: Have you had any issues feeding pellets?

 

[ButterscotchCal]

I have been feeding my Butterscotch Call Ducks a Grower Pellet from Tractor Supply. They waste too much of the crumble and it becomes a soggy mess to easily. Now that it is closing in on breeding season I have started feeding them Layer Pellets and Oyster Shell to the female to promote good egg shells when she starts laying. The Oyster Shell looks huge to me but the duck friends of mine say not to worry. They also love some wheat grass I picked up in the produce section of the grocery store growing in a pot. Other good treats for them are Romaine lettuce, thawed frozen green peas (they have less salt than canned) and rumour has it they like cherry tomatoes minus the skins and chopped up. The love to forage, but make sure to protect them from predators like hawks and racoons etc. Most people lock up their ducks in a coop for the night or have them in well protected cages/pens or run kennels with protected roofs.

 

[minichic]

Thanks for the info. I feed Green Mountain Organic layer pellets to my hens, so I will pick up the grower pellets for the duckies. I will have a half dozen pullets to grow this year so the grower pellets will serve two purposes. For the ducks I am installing a chain-link fenced run with hardware cloth on the lower part, chicken wire buried in the ground, and a top. They will have a duckhouse on a raised platform to help keep it dry and a swimming area. I'm curious, since I'm new to ducks, do you keep their food and water outside of the duckhouse and if so, what type of feeder do you use? (Something covered I'm guessing)

I have been feeding my Butterscotch Call Ducks a Grower Pellet from Tractor Supply. They waste too much of the crumble and it becomes a soggy mess to easily. Now that it is closing in on breeding season I have started feeding them Layer Pellets and Oyster Shell to the female to promote good egg shells when she starts laying. The Oyster Shell looks huge to me but the duck friends of mine say not to worry. They also love some wheat grass I picked up in the produce section of the grocery store growing in a pot. Other good treats for them are Romaine lettuce, thawed frozen green peas (they have less salt than canned) and rumour has it they like cherry tomatoes minus the skins and chopped up. The love to forage, but make sure to protect them from predators like hawks and racoons etc. Most people lock up their ducks in a coop for the night or have them in well protected cages/pens or run kennels with protected roofs.

 

[ButterscotchCal]

Sounds like you are off to a great start! Yes, definetly keep the food and expecially the water outside the house. Ducks tend to create a lot of moisture themselves in their house and are very messy with the water. I have a heated waterer I got at Tractor Supply since I live in Michigan and have freezing temps in the winter (was about $40 and holds a over a gallon I think). I bought a long food tray with holes in the top, but quickly decided I wanted something covered so my hubby and I built what looks like a birdfeeder house with a roof extending over the tray of food. It also has a center column that can be filled to self feed if we are gone for a couple of days. I have been using straw in teh house, but I have heard wood shavings are maybe better and or dryer.

 

[minichic]

I am planning to use pine shavings in the duckhouse. I like the idea of a self-feeder. Any chance you could put up a picture? I'm somewhat handy and could probably put something together. I can't wait to sit on my garden bench and watch the little call ducks swimming around in their pool. Gotta be as much fun as watching my chickens scratch and peck

Sounds like you are off to a great start! Yes, definetly keep the food and expecially the water outside the house. Ducks tend to create a lot of moisture themselves in their house and are very messy with the water. I have a heated waterer I got at Tractor Supply since I live in Michigan and have freezing temps in the winter (was about $40 and holds a over a gallon I think). I bought a long food tray with holes in the top, but quickly decided I wanted something covered so my hubby and I built what looks like a birdfeeder house with a roof extending over the tray of food. It also has a center column that can be filled to self feed if we are gone for a couple of days. I have been using straw in teh house, but I have heard wood shavings are maybe better and or dryer.

 

[ButterscotchCal]

I am having trouble trying to post pictures here :-( Will see what I can do!

 

[un-named543]

I love my snowy ducks!

 

[bigbird53]