A frequent visitant to zoos and farms during his childhood , Dave Holderread loved animals as much as ( or more than ) the next kid .
But harmonize to his parent , birds captured his attention more than any other creature – specially bird with webbed metrical unit .
“ If I go away at the zoo , they know where to retrieve me : At the duck pond , ” suppose Holderread , a waterbird breeder in Corvallis , Ore. , who has raised duck for over 40 years and is the author ofStorey ’s Guide to Raising Ducks .
“ I remember as a little boy I was just amazed at these dame that could walk and swim and flee . They ’ve suffer the unspoilt of all earth and their versatility still trance me .
Just call them Super Ducks.
They float and plunk , waddle and wing ( well , sort of ) . They can accept a slimy slug in a individual draft . Lovely and diverting , farm duck can allow protein - packed eggs and tasty kernel , plume for comforter and craft , plus mowing , fertilization and pest controller servicing . What ’s not to look up to about such talented and utile creatures ?
Introducing the Duck
With the elision of an odd South American native called the Muscovy , most domestic duck breeds flocking around farm are descended from the mallard , a familiar wild duck abundant on wetlands throughout North America and commonly raised in imprisonment .
Mallard males , or drakes , are severe to leave out : They flash shimmer green mind , chestnut tree breasts and flashy blue annexe bars called speculums . The female duck also brandishes a blue speculum in escape , but her pernicious , penciled brown plumage provide superb camouflage while she incubates her eggs .
Mallards and their domestic descendants receive the byname of dabblers because they ordinarily scrounge at the surface of a shallow H2O body , often tip quarter - up to snap freshwater plants and mollusks .
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Through years of selective fosterage , many mallard - derivative breed and varieties have emerged in a charming mix of colors , sizes and physique . They range in size from bantam breeds likethe vocal Call duck’s egg , a 1½-pound miniskirt - sciolist once used by hunters as a subsist decoy , to behemoth such as the Pekin , a whitened , 9- to 10 - pound duck originating in China that ’s popular on farm – and on the menu of Taiwanese eatery .
More unusual breeds let in the athletic Runner , a lanky , good duck featured in the picture “ Babe , ” and the Crested , a dabbling duck that wears a large , feathered cap on the back of its head . If you foresightful to tot a splashing of colour to your farm , ducks will do the job nicely : While some domestic breeds and varieties resemble the mallard in color and marking , others have been selected for feather in black , dispirited , burnt umber , lilac , pied , buff and more .
duck take issue in more than just visual aspect , however . While most domestic breeds are unable to fly , some – like the bantam Australian Spotted – can . Do you require lots of egg to sell ? Then a A-one eggs - laying bird such as the Campbell , which can produce up to 340 testicle annually , would be a effective bet . If you ’re look or else for a pro at posing and mothering , the Call might be your duck’s egg . Planning to bring up substance bird ? You might want a healthy , tight - farm poultry like the Pekin or Muscovy .
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If you ’d like a well - rounded duck’s egg , chequer out some of the threatened heritage stock . Jenifer Morrissey , who operates Turkey Trot Rare Breeds in Waldon , Colo. , want duck that excel at producing both nut and meat . After observe she could n’t keep up with the Khaki Campbell ’s enormous bollock yield , she began raising two multi - purpose inheritance breeds , the Silver Appleyard and the Ancona . “ I chose rare breeds because I ’m interested in sustainable agriculture , and these breeds often have characteristics , like adaptability and boldness , that make them exercise well in such options , ” she sound out .
Cat Dreiling , of The Ruffled Duck Farm in Deerfield , Kan. , also get hold herself drag to an uncommon breed , the Welsh Harlequin , while looking for a ego - sufficient egg - level . “ My philosophy is that every animal on the farm should ply for itself as much as potential . The Welsh are super efficient foragers , and because they ’re in the sluttish duck’s egg class , their provender requirements are less than that of a heavier breed , ” she explains . “ They ’re also equal to of lay a substantial number of eggs and are equally willing to set a nest and incubate their own young . They ’re one of the most attractive breed of duck , in my legal opinion ! ”
Dabbling in Ducks
Now , before you bolt to the provender store , where you ’ll surely be smitten with the first blurred ducklings you encounter , permit ’s babble out more about the duck’s egg ’s admirable qualities-–and those few feature that can force back a farmer to misdirection . As kindred farmyard domestic fowl , duck have much in common with chickens : For example , both specie offer meat and eggs while adding beauty and interest group to our farms . But ducks differ in a issue of respects from their clucky cousins .
“ duck are more adaptable and disease - resistant than chickens , ” say Holderread , who currently keeps about 45 duck’s egg breed and varieties at the preservation center he operate with his wife , Millie . He became impressed with the duck ’s hardiness while participate in a teaching and inquiry program on poultry production in Puerto Rico . “ We literally never treated a duck’s egg for anything – internal or external parasites or any disease – in the four old age I was there . The chickens were a constant engagement . ” He ’s warm to summate that this does n’t entail duck never have wellness troubles ; in fact , they ’re more prone to leg problems than chickens , so they should never be caught and carried by the legs . Rather , when well - make out and keep in uncrowded conditions , they ’re less impress by disease and sponger than other birds .
Both chicken and ducks eat a varied diet that establish them ready to hand for pest control , but ducks thirst creepy - crawlies that chickens will brush aside . “ duck’s egg are just wonderful as slug and snail exterminators , and dabbling duck are groovy on mosquito larvae , ” says Holderread . “ We ’ve also work with mass who prove stock that have problems with liver flukes [ a parasite ] ; they ’ve been able to eliminate them with duck’s egg . ”
As far as management , water bird more often than not require less elaborate housing and fencing material than other domestic fowl . Anyone experienced with poulet jazz these birds can jump fences and they ’ll scatter in every direction if you seek to herd them at heart for the night . Ducks , on the other hand , are easy to confine and shepherd around . According to Holderread , one somebody can easily crowd a flock of 500 duck and keep them in with a roadblock only 2 to 2 ½ feet high . Got a fly breed ? No problem . Just clip the elemental feathers on one wing once a yr , he suppose .
Although some drakes and mother ducks can be crotchety , these birds usually have gentle dispositions and pleasant personality . “ If finagle properly , they ’re rarely strong-growing , ” says Dreiling . “ They each have their own personality and are joyous over something as childlike as a fresh pool of body of water . ”
It ’s true : Ducks are of course passionate about water , which can make them even messy to keep than chickens . Dabblers drink plenty of it , which in turn acquire large sum of money of moist , smelly dung , and they forever mist water containers by swish their bill in them during and after mealtime . Enthusiastic bathers , ducks congregate in and around pools , splashing and muddying the ground .
“ Maintaining a clean pen when you compound ducks and a ceaseless germ of water is a trouble , specially when the weather is cooler and water does n’t evaporate as rapidly , ” says Dreiling . “ The Welsh are dilettante , so if even an apothecaries' ounce of H2O is spilled from the pool , they ’re instantly centre - deep in the mud drilling for goodies ! ”
Duck Care Basics
As with any farm animate being , ducks demand and deserve care on a daily basis throughout the class , no matter what the weather or how harried one ’s schedule bechance to be . as luck would have it , run a lowly duck’s egg flock is n’t hard , abysmally time - consume or very expensive . Here ’s what you ’ll ask to give your quackers :
1. Ample, relatively-clean water to drink and bathe in.
Contrary to what many people consider , domestic duck’s egg can get along fine without a pond . In fact , an improperly - design and hard - to - clean pond poses a wellness hazard to your feathered Quaker and quick becomes an sweet-scented eyesore as clay and droppings accumulate . At lower limit , ducks need drink water deep enough for them to duck their heads in so they can keep their eyes and nostrils clean . Of course , they ’ll be felicitous and healthier if they have water to swim and bathe in as well .
Plastic wading pond provide a unproblematic means to give your flock a swimming hole without going to the trouble and expense of building a pond : They ’re easy to scrub up and move from station to place before a messy mixing of mud and duck’s egg manure surround them . To combat clay problems , Holderread spreads a long - lasting layer of pea gravel in pen , follow by sand and then a skin of sawdust , which he substitute each year .
2. Forage and balanced feed (including supplemental grit and calcium, if needed).
Ducks relish hunting for slugs , succulent grasses and other menu , and allowing your plenty to grub for some of their own solid food will save money on your provender pecker while cut your pest universe . A bonus : They ’ll fertilize as they scrounge , which make them peachy for garden patrol if you could protect your young plant from those vapid feet and rootle measure .
In confinement situations or to complement pasture , you ’ll postulate to offer your duck with a balanced , nutritive feed . Commercial water bird ration are uncommitted in some areas , but if your local provender store does n’t carry one , you may have to mix your own ( see Holderread ’s Good Book , Storey ’s Guide to parent Ducksfor elaborated entropy on duck nutrition ) or go with a commercial-grade gamebird or unmedicated wimp ration . Traditionally , poulet feed have been deficient in niacin , a nutrient that ducks–-especially ducklings-–need in larger measure , Holderread say . “ Today , the manufacturers usually tally more so it works out alright for duck . ”
Keep in judgement that a duck’s egg ’s nutritionary motive variety with age and at sure stages of its aliveness . Growing young birds , for example , should n’t get a calcium - packed laying ration or , unless you ’re raising meat ducks , a high - protein dieting that promote fast increment . Throughout the year , Morrissey gives her flock three custom - mixed feed rations base on Holderread ’s formulations : A breeding ration from February to June ; a laying ration from June to September ; and a holding provender the remainder of the year .
3. Shelter and protection from predators.
Although they do n’t needfully require the sorting of cosy quarters many folks build for chickens , dabblers do demand shelter from large rains , snow and sun , as well as protection from dogs , coyote and other predators with a taste for unused duck . An insulated house will serve keep laying birds more productive , while a untroubled perimeter fencing can safeguard ducks from hound canid . limit your flock in an enclosed penitentiary at nighttime help ward off nocturnal attack from raccoons and owls . Some agriculturalist also use large guardian dog to supply round - the - clock duck protective cover .
4. Good health and flock management.
“ I ’ve observe that the best way to raise sound duck is to provide them with plenitude of distance to exercise , access to good nutrition and passable water , ” Dreiling says . “ Also , keep a mindful eye of drake - to - duck ratio ; no less than three duck to one Francis Drake helps prevent gratuitous strain on the females . ”
Many raiser find their hardy birds seldom want vaccinations , deworming medications or routine veterinary care when well - grapple on a small scale . Unfortunately , ducks can and do contract disease like avian influenza and poultry cholera , so it ’s authoritative to stay on watchful for frilly feathers , change in intellectual nourishment or water intake , slackness , bloody diarrhea and other signs of sickness . Some common - gumption health measuring will go a long room toward keep disease from carry off your fold : Quarantine any avian newcomers ; disjoined and treat ill individuals readily ; endeavor to reduce your ducks ’ contact with barbarian birds ; and apprise an avian veterinarian if you experience sudden , unexplained deaths in your flock .
Give them the tutelage they want and your dabblers will thank you in their own cheerful , quacking , derriere - waggle duck fashion . “ Ducks recognize figure of feast and care and rent you bonk how excited they are to be have out to their pond each first light or get their evening feed , ” say Morrissey . “ They are absolutely the happiest animal one could have on a farmyard . ”
