# Ducks



## HorseyTee (22 September 2022)

Anybody have ducks? 

Just after advice on day to day care ect. 

I'm picking up a few on the weekend, and have a sturdy shelter ready, plus little plastic pond (I'm aware domestics spend much less time in water than wild fowl? It's big and deep enough for a little swim around and a bath, but small enough to easily clean regularly). 
I'm picking them up some feed (using the same as what the breeder uses) and have a bed to put down for them. 
They'll be free ranging the garden during the day and safely locked securely at night. 

Is there any do's/don't's, or anything specific I should know. 

I've researched of course but nothing better than first hand advice.


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## vhf (22 September 2022)

We've kept ducks for 25 years now, wouldn't like to be without them.

They will eat almost anything, in quantity, and will create a mess in the process.
I cook potato/veg peelings for them, they love their 'stew' and create a lot of mess throwing it around and dabbling in it.
They will mess up veg and flower beds, eating flowers, buds and fruits.
They will need their pond re-filling and cleaning far more often than you want to, and will play in any other wet thing they can find, making a mess.
They will squirt liquid poo over any gravel/patio/path area.
You may notice, there's a theme to duck ownership!
Ours are fox magnets, even more so than the hens. They are also very good at hiding in inaccessible places, especially in breeding season - whether that's instinct to find a nest (they almost never go broody!) or hiding from the over amorous drake I'm not sure. They are very funny characters, with distinct personalities. Some breeds are much noisier than others, same is true about egg-laying and flightiness. Some domestic breeds can actually fly, most can't. They are less prone to disease than hens but watch for lameness. I've had a few old-timers go blind, and some get injured by said over-amorous drake, so watch out for that if you have one.


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## Dexter (22 September 2022)

They will destroy your garden. They like to forage and dig and make mud pits. When I say destroy I mean destroy. They are very charming and funny but are best well away from a garden.


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## Lindylouanne (22 September 2022)

We have 11, 2 miniature Silver Appleyards who are just the loveliest ducks and 9 (soon to be 5) Call ducks who are a complete pain in the backside. If you live in a built up area don’t get Call ducks, they make a hell of a noise. My cockerel is quieter.

I have a very large pond in the garden and they are banned from using it and are made to slum it in two paddling pools instead. The mess is incredible, the water goes from clean to filthy in minutes and they are also banned from the anything but grass. I don’t mind them digging the grass as it aerates it and they keep the slugs down but you have to put their food on concrete or the seeds germinate and you end up with half a crop field in the garden.

Give me chickens any day.


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## HorseyTee (22 September 2022)

Thanks for replies. 

I'm getting a male group as I had read that the boys can be a bit full on with any girls. 

I'm keeping them and their water on concrete so no mud to make, but they'll have access to grass to mooch about on. 
I don't have flowers or anything, just a few weeds so not worried about that. 

Are they as sensitive to respiratory issues as I've read online?


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## vhf (22 September 2022)

HorseyTee said:



			Thanks for replies.
Are they as sensitive to respiratory issues as I've read online?
		
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I've never had any (touch wood) but that could be pure luck...


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## Dexter (22 September 2022)

Dont underestimate how noisy they can be as well. Not that noticeable at the yard, but your neighbours may strongly object if its in a residential area.


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## Lindylouanne (22 September 2022)

Ours never suffer any respiratory issues. Bedding wise Aubiose is really good as it’s so absorbent and it keeps the smell down as well. Also a little goes a long way. Don’t put them on hay or straw, it turns into a slimy mess. They poop for Britain and don’t care where they go which is why the water gets so dirty. Ours do spend a lot of time in their pools especially when cleaning their feathers. If they are young they will learn to be hand fed so the boys will have fun feeding them.


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## HorseyTee (22 September 2022)

Appreciate replies. 

They're about 3 months old and pretty tame already plus used to dogs. 
The boys will be so excited but they don't know yet. They love animals and going to feed the ducks at the park, so I'm hoping to teach them more responsibilities by helping me feed and things. 

I've had all sorts of pets over the years and have budgies but never had ducks, so I like to learn as much as I can beforehand.


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## Errin Paddywack (22 September 2022)

I have told my friend, no more ducks. Hers was a large Swedish Blue, dual purpose breed and very messy and noisy.  Fortunately my next door neighbours liked hearing her, no idea about the others.  I have said I will get some Silkie bantams as I like them and I am not bothered about egg production.


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## HorseyTee (22 September 2022)

We live right by a big lake so duck noise is background noise and we often have Canada geese flying over the houses honking. 

I'm not bothered about eggs either which is why I'm happy to have a male group. 
I believe the lady is going to clip the wings of the ones I have as they are flyers. 

I like that they're quite cold hardy so I won't have to worry too much about the winter, but their house is in a sheltered area away from the wind and strong sun too. 

I'm happy to chuck my wellies on and hose down a couple of times a day, I do with the dogs toileting area anyway  
Looking forward to binding with them as well and hopefully eventually being able to have a little ducky cuddle.


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## Dexter (22 September 2022)

what sort of ducks are they?


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## Amymay (22 September 2022)

Rats…..

Just sayin


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## Clodagh (22 September 2022)

Rats, duck shit and more duck shit! I hatched ducklings once, never again. Literally all they do is poo.
Keep the boys away from the muck.
Avian flu is a big problem now and I imagine soon the annual covered locked in housing until April will start. 
tbh you are mad! I hope you enjoy them.


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## Lindylouanne (22 September 2022)

Amymay said:



			Rats…..

Just sayin
		
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Yup I’ve got another one running round my attic as I type. Had to throw a whole tub of poison up there today and I can hear it dropping the block as it eats.


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## HorseyTee (22 September 2022)

I appreciate the honesty, I need to know the gory details, not just the cute stuff. 

I'm fine with poo. I used to keep guinea pigs and omg they were the most dirty things I'd ever had. 
I have tubs of pet safe disinfectant that I use in the garden for the dog wee so I'll just extend it to the duck area. 

I probably am mad tbh. 

If things really did become terrible here, I have 12 acres I could move them to, but I haven't just decided on a whim, I have read lots and spoken to the breeder and asked lots of questions too. 

I've got 4 cats and the area has lots of ferals so hopefully rats won't be too much of a problem 👀 if not then I suppose I'll have pet rats too 😂


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## Amymay (22 September 2022)

Clodagh said:



			Rats, duck shit and more duck shit! I hatched ducklings once, never again. Literally all they do is poo.
Keep the boys away from the muck.
Avian flu is a big problem now and I imagine soon the annual covered locked in housing until April will start.
tbh you are mad! I hope you enjoy them.
		
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Unless you have a really large garden, and can keep them well away from where your boys play and the dogs walk, then I would seriously reconsider.


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## Esmae (22 September 2022)

HorseyTee said:



			I appreciate the honesty, I need to know the gory details, not just the cute stuff.

I'm fine with poo. I used to keep guinea pigs and omg they were the most dirty things I'd ever had.
I have tubs of pet safe disinfectant that I use in the garden for the dog wee so I'll just extend it to the duck area.

I probably am mad tbh.

If things really did become terrible here, I have 12 acres I could move them to, but I haven't just decided on a whim, I have read lots and spoken to the breeder and asked lots of questions too.

I've got 4 cats and the area has lots of ferals so hopefully rats won't be too much of a problem 👀 if not then I suppose I'll have pet rats too 😂
		
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If you thought GP's were dirty you have a shock in store with ducks/drakes. Rats can become a problem with poultry/waterfowl cats or no cats. (been there, done that)  Water becomes disgusting in very short order. I changed the water daily. Was the only way. Would I have them again?  Hell no, too much mess.


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## Dexter (22 September 2022)

Esmae said:



			If you thought GP's were dirty you have a shock in store with ducks/drakes. Rats can become a problem with poultry/waterfowl cats or no cats. (been there, done that)  Water becomes disgusting in very short order. I changed the water daily. Was the only way. Would I have them again?  Hell no, too much mess.
		
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This. There is absolutely no comparison at all between guinea pigs and rats. Guineas are pretty clean creatures, I'm surprised to find you think they were dirty. Ducks are utterly filthy. You won't be able to let your dogs or kids in the area where the ducks are. It will be a slippy, stinking mess of duck poo and mud. Concrete or not, they find a way to make mud. They smell bad. You clean them out and almost instantly its filthy again.

The water will need changing once, probably twice a day. You wont want your kids or other animals anywhere near a small area of water used by ducks.

And you will get rats regardless of having cats or not. 

As Clodagh said, they will have to be under cover from any time now for about 16 weeks. Do you have a big enough run to keep them happy like that? 

If I was your neighbour I would hit the roof if a load of ducks arrived to live in a residential garden. Ducks living a short way away on a pond and geese flying over is not the same as ducks housed next door. Have you chekced your deeds? Lots say no chickens or ducks in them. 

I liked my ducks, but I kept them at the yard in a huge run, and even then I rehomed them in the end as the mess was just too much and I couldnt get on top of the rat problem depsite having 3 feral mousers.


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## Clodagh (22 September 2022)

Dexter said:



			As Clodagh said, they will have to be under cover from any time now for about 16 weeks. Do you have a big enough run to keep them happy like that?
l.
		
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Was it only 16 weeks? Last year it felt like 26.
And Guinea pig poo is neat little pellets. Duck poo is like slurry squirted from a high pressure water pistol.
They carry salmonella I believe so seriously I wouldn’t let children handle them or go in their run.


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## druid (22 September 2022)

We've got breeding groups of Minature Silver Appleyards. They're noisy, the pens are at the furthest reaches of the veg garden about 80m from the house and they'd still wake you up in summer quacking if you sleep with the windows open. The drakes are much quieter than the ducks though.

Mine are in large (20 x 30ft) roofed pens with 10" bases of woodchip laid on top of grass. It's the only solution I've found to mud. They stay clean, dry and in showable condition. Two paddling pools per pen (one drake and four ducks).


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## Clodagh (22 September 2022)

I love MSA’s. And call ducks. Beautiful. But no way.
Stick to bantams!


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## twiggy2 (22 September 2022)

I currently have chickens and turkeys, as well as ferrets and dogs.
Previously have had chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, rats etc etc as pets.
We had 3 ducks in a 20x20+ outdoor run of gravel, they had 2 washing up bowls of water and my it was a shit pit out there, the mud, smell and mess was bad, the flies too were bad. My other half wants ducks but never again for me.
Guinea pigs are really clean compared to ducks, you really can't compare them.


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## Apercrumbie (22 September 2022)

Oh I'd love ducks but can't have them, partially due to the reasons mentioned above and partly because our dogs wouldn't be trustworthy with them and I couldn't risk it.

You do sound well prepared OP but the comment about guinea-pigs also struck me - they're very clean animals really so I think you may be surprised at how mucky the duckies are. Not a problem if it doesn't bother you of course, but something to keep in mind.


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## millikins (22 September 2022)

My son in law bought a trio of ducks, can't remember the breed but fairly big ones. I was astonished by the mess 3 ducks could make in a large grassy pen. Absolutely filthy animals, rather dull too, nowhere near the personality of bantams. They were returned to the breeder and exchanged for more chickens. I wouldn't allow small children near confined ducks either I'm afraid.


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## twiggy2 (23 September 2022)

With the run of the garden they will co e in the house too.
Why my girls were young my husband bought home 13 orphan ducks from work, we had a large shed free and the garden around our mid terrace and right round the end house too, so a huge area, I came home once to ducks in every window of the house and shit everywhere which only got worse as I tried to usher them back to the garden


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## Errin Paddywack (23 September 2022)

Clodagh said:



			Duck poo is like slurry squirted from a high pressure water pistol.
		
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Brilliant description.


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## HorseyTee (23 September 2022)

I wasn't comparing ducks to gpigs, rather mentioning that my pigs were very dirty, they pood and weed absolutely everywhere, including in their food, and I wasn't bothered by the mess. 
Animals make mess, I'm well aware, I've had many animals for many years and I haven't decided blindly to just get ducks, I'm prepared for the work they will entail. 
And of course I'm not going to be letting the boys roll around in a pen full of poo...they'd be donning their wellies to help put feed down ect. 
I already wash the garden down twice a day because of the dogs so extra poo and stink doesn't worry me, I enjoy having animals and all that it comes with. I find cleaning up their space calming. 
I've been preparing for ducks for quite a number of weeks now, and spent most of that time doing lots of reading up and educating myself, but of course first hand experience often enlightens on things that books/online doesn't mention.


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## Amymay (23 September 2022)

I don’t think anyone would judge your commitment to their care etc.

I suppose, to me at least, it seems mad to effectively destroy a garden that could be enjoyed by you and your boys for play etc.


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## Pinkvboots (23 September 2022)

Your braver than me I worked at a very small yard for a lady that bred some really nice horses and she had ducks geese and chickens, the ducks and geese were the most difficult to look after and the mess is like nothing else I have ever experienced.

I certainly wouldn't want them in a garden they seriously do smell and they are so messy, they are lovely don't get me wrong but I wouldn't have them on my property, I have a pair of wild ducks that frequent my garden as I have a pond and they wreck my patio and they try to come indoors if my doors are open.


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## Pinkvboots (23 September 2022)

I inherited some guinea pigs years ago from friends that moved to Hong Kong, they were indoor kept and although they are not really pets I would choose to have they were no bother and I really did love them, but ducks you couldn't pay me enough to keep them no way never.


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## twiggy2 (23 September 2022)

I think we have established that HorseyTee is alone in ever wanting to have ducks in the garden due ti mess and duck invasion.
Good luck HT, we need photos as ducks are super cute.


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## PurBee (23 September 2022)

When i was a kid we had around 9 ducks, 4 large geese and 20+ chickens roam on quarter of an acre garden, by the side of a river. It was a lucky set-up as the geese and chickens had their own straw bedded large huts to be settled-into at night, but the ducks took to the river overnight and came back in the morning to be fed with the rest.

So i never dealt with the duck mess that others are speaking about - maybe due to the size of the garden, their collective poops fertilised the grass and wasnt an issue with poop being everywhere. Deep straw beds cleaned weekly, i found chickens and geese to be fairly clean. These were large sebastopol geese. They went on the river too with the ducks. So no pools to clean out regularly. It was the easiest/luckiest set-up for various fowl.

We had baby ducks hatch one year and moved the run they were contained in around the garden to fresh patches regularly. I loved the baby ducks! 

See how you get on HT, you dont know until you try!  Housing them in a more confined area means selecting correct number of birds so the mess isnt too much of a burden, and more cleaning out. The warnings of mess are warranted, if someone thought they were clean like chickens.  I loved ducks, they were fairly friendly and comical, not too noisy. I never petted any of my birds, but ended up having a wild pair of swans decide to stay who were partial to a chat and stroke! 🙂


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## Somewhat Off The Way (23 September 2022)

@HorseyTee we have ducks, we love them 😊 amazing personalities and a total time-waster, can sit watching them for hours.
We have a basic set up, hut with straw and sawdust. Make sure hut has ventilation though. They have the run of the lawn and a couple of paddling pools that are refreshed once a day. Cup of pellets and handful of treats (peas, lettuce, cucumber), they forage for insects for the rest of their diet. 
You'll love them! 😍


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## HorseyTee (23 September 2022)

Thank you.  

My garden is not a nice one, it's an animal one, so I'm out there cleaning up a lot. 
I appreciate the advice but it doesn't need to be repeated a multiple of times...I get that they will be messy and I'm OK with that. 
If it really did turn out to be more than I could cope with at home, I'd move them to my 12 acre field...I remain committed and responsible for them whatever as I always have with my animals. 

I will be sure to add some photos once they're settled. 
It's most likely I'll get a trio of call duck drakes...tiny, bachelors so no naughty behaviour toward ladies, and a small enough number for the space they'll have whilst still being able to be social together.


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## SO1 (23 September 2022)

My sister has an Indian runner duck as a pet. He is fab no more messier than the chickens and very friendly and affectionate. She has a little pond for him and at night he goes in the chicken shed with the chickens. Chickens and duck have the whole garden during the day and in at night. They have not destroyed the garden which has vegetables and flowers. 

Duck comes in the house sometimes and she has taken him in the car to a river for swimming and taken him to her work. 

The only problems are if you are in an area where there is avain flu and then they are in "flockdown" or if they need the vet as they are not covered under most small animal practices and it can be hard to find a farm vet for them.


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## Dexter (23 September 2022)

HorseyTee said:



			Thank you. 

My garden is not a nice one, it's an animal one, so I'm out there cleaning up a lot.
I appreciate the advice but it doesn't need to be repeated a multiple of times...I get that they will be messy and I'm OK with that.
If it really did turn out to be more than I could cope with at home, I'd move them to my 12 acre field...I remain committed and responsible for them whatever as I always have with my animals.

I will be sure to add some photos once they're settled.
It's most likely I'll get a trio of call duck drakes...tiny, bachelors so no naughty behaviour toward ladies, and a small enough number for the space they'll have whilst still being able to be social together.
		
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The problem is ducks aren't really suitable to be a garden pet. Call ducks are very loud. Have you spoken to your neighbours to see if they are ok with ducks, esp loud ducks? I absolutely would not be and I think most people would feel the same. 

You didnt answer if you had checked your deeds or not? 

Most will prohibit keeping ducks and chickens in a residential garden, for good reason.


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## Somewhat Off The Way (23 September 2022)

She has said her garden is an animal one and you are assuming that a residential garden is a quiet place to be. Our various neighbours have cockerels, geese, barking dogs, kids that play out and are frequently mowing their lawns and DIYing. No way was I gonna ask them their thoughts on us having ducks or not!

Flipping heck, leave her alone to enjoy her ducks! She's an adult, I'm sure she can decide whether ducks will fit into the neighbourhood or not!!! 🤨


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## druid (23 September 2022)

Oh I forgot we have a Runner Duck, Slug, she lives in the garden proper to control slugs along with the lawn chickens (Booted bantams and Pekins). She makes no mess at all really but also has no pond just a bucket.


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## tatty_v (23 September 2022)

We had ducks for a bit - got to say, I really liked them (far more than the predecessor chickens we had who were miserable sods at the best of times!) They we’re very chatty when I was on the yard ☺️ The mucking out of their house wasn’t too bad (we used straw and just scraped it all out regularly and started again) but the constant cleaning of their paddling pool was a bit of a pain, especially in the winter. That might be because we have three horses though who have their hay soaked so I just got thoroughly fed up of carting water about!


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## the shadster (24 September 2022)

Don’t do it! Only joking but seriously they are messy. I have 11 khaki campbells on a smallholding so plenty of space, but my god winter is awful especially with the avian flu lockdowns that seem to be occurring most years now.  They will turn grass into a mud bath in days during inclement weather…


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## julesjoy (24 September 2022)

My smallest nursery have ducks. The kids feed and clean them out, they never seem particularly messy.


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## HorseyTee (24 September 2022)

I'll be collecting them in the morning. 

Their bed is done ready. 
I've got a little plastic pool that is easy to tip out and refill. Their main area with the pool is on slabs, then I've got a fenced off bit of grass they can forage on. 

The boys will be very excited and no doubt will be wanting to feed them every day. 
I'll be doing the cleaning but I'm sure they'll enjoy helping fill the pool with the hose or sweeping. 

Looking forward to bonding with them and hopefully they'll enjoy some cuddles.


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## HorseyTee (25 September 2022)

Ducks are here. 
3 beautiful drakes, this year's ducklings so about 4 months old. 
The breeder has clipped their wings but they haven't even attempted to fly away, they've had a mooch around and had some mealworms and now in their little pool.

The boys are napping so haven't met them yet. 

They're really tame so I'm sure it won't be long until we can have cuddles if they want, and they are very quiet too, just some little humming sounds, but I'm sure they'll have some quacks once they're settled.


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## HorseyTee (25 September 2022)

Oh and I need names...I was going to do the obvious of Donald, Daffy....but have no third name? 
Also need to learn their personality so I can tell the 2 whites apart.


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## Lindylouanne (25 September 2022)

They are very pretty, I like the white ones. As they are drakes in theory you shouldn’t get the same amount of noise as with girls. Our girls are terrible, one starts and the rest join in but the boys rarely make much noise. Hope your boys love them.


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## HorseyTee (25 September 2022)

Ye the breeder had separated a group of girls and some groups of boys...the girls were quacking away, the boys were just sort of doing little hums lol. 
The other group of drakes weren't as tame, but these 3 are lovely, and the breeder is supportive if I have any questions. 

They met the dogs briefly as the dogs need to go out for toileting, but I only kept it very brief while they settle and learn the dogs are friends.


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## scats (25 September 2022)

Scrooge as in Scrooge McDuck.


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## Apercrumbie (25 September 2022)

Oh they are very sweet. How about calling the third duck, duck? As in Donald, Daffy & Duck. (I'm a bit silly with names sometimes...)


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## cauda equina (25 September 2022)

Lucky
As in Ducky Lucky


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## NR88 (25 September 2022)

Huey, Dewey & Louie. Those are the names of Scrooge McDuck's three great nephews and Donald Duck's nephews.


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## Esmae (25 September 2022)

HorseyTee said:



			Ducks are here.
3 beautiful drakes, this year's ducklings so about 4 months old.
The breeder has clipped their wings but they haven't even attempted to fly away, they've had a mooch around and had some mealworms and now in their little pool.

The boys are napping so haven't met them yet.

They're really tame so I'm sure it won't be long until we can have cuddles if they want, and they are very quiet too, just some little humming sounds, but I'm sure they'll have some quacks once they're settled.
		
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Drakes don't quack


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## druid (25 September 2022)

Drakes do quack it's just much more muted than ducks. 

You can stick coloured leg rings on the white ones for identification purposes


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## HorseyTee (25 September 2022)

I was looking into the rings, not only to tell them apart but also to have my number on in case they ever did get away (I'll maybe clip their wings on their next moult but not sure). 
Where can I get the rings fitter? All I can find is rings to buy.


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## druid (25 September 2022)

Just buy the snap closed ones. You don't need any tools to fit them, Eton brand off Amazon are fine.


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## HorseyTee (25 September 2022)

Oh ok thank you. 
Can I just write my number on those?


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## druid (25 September 2022)

Yes with a sharpie. You can get printed up ones from Australia but I didn't find them any better. I use those Eton ones on about 100 pheasants a year that get released into the wild and they survive that no problem


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## HorseyTee (25 September 2022)

Great thank you, I'll do that then 🙂


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## Esmae (25 September 2022)

druid said:



			Drakes do quack it's just much more muted than ducks.

You can stick coloured leg rings on the white ones for identification purposes
		
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https://www.google.com/search?q=do+...+quack&aqs=chrome.2.0i512j0i22i30l2j0i390.118 For information


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## druid (25 September 2022)

It's literally the same noise but much quieter.


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## HorseyTee (27 September 2022)

Thought I'd give a little update. 

The ducks are settling really well. 
I've ordered some leg rings for them and will settle on names in a few days. 
Have discovered that they love kale, but don't seem bothered by peas or corn. They also go nuts for mealworms. 
They're more vocal now but it's just the occasional muted quacks and humming sort of noises. 
They're not bothered by the dogs or cats either. 
They're not making as much mess as expected, and the poo is just easily washing away with the hose.


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## NinjaPony (27 September 2022)

Ducks really are quite cute!


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## HorseyTee (27 September 2022)

I'm really taken with them, they are lovely and I'm sure once they fully trust me I'll see some lovely little personalities come out.


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## HorseyTee (1 October 2022)

Ducks are totally settled, they take themselves off up the garden for a forage. Despite all the rain we've had there's no mess at all, if anything it's washed away any poos. 

They have their daily mealworms and kale in the pool, which they love. 

Also think I'm settled on names. 
Rusty, the brown one, and Ernie and Jerry. 
None of which were on my initial list lol but these names seem right for them.


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## SO1 (15 October 2022)

How are you enjoying the ducks.

My sister's duck, dog and kitten all enjoy some dinner in the house.


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## HorseyTee (15 October 2022)

Haha, mine wonder in if I leave the door open. They're not bothered by the dogs or cats, in fact they are more scared of the ducks, and Rusty, the brown one, will run and try and grab their arses when they walk past 😂
They will walk away if I try and grab them but once picked up are happy to receive head rubs, and run at me if they hear the packet of mealworms lol. 
They like to go for a wonder up the garden to forage and then will come and nap by the door or in the house if the door is open. 

That's one of the cats blankets that they dragged there to sleep on 😂


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## Ratface (16 October 2022)

Here on the river, we have mallards, swans, seagulls, heron, and kingfishers.  One day, I noticed an Indian Runner!  Most impressive.  Kevin Kat decided to go onto the marsh and stalk her/him.  Mistake.  The speed of the spin/dive/run was alarming.  Kevin gathered his fluffy trousers and - ran!  Indian Runner sauntered back to the marsh.  Kevin sat in the wheelhouse, washed his nethers and looked insoucient.  "Indian Runner?  What's one of those? Gimme sweets. Now".
Calm restored.


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