A week ago I got a call from the post office that I had a special package waiting to be picked up – our new order of baby ducklings!
The lady at the post office was a little freaked out by it, and refused to let me open it in front of her (which you’re supposed to do so someone official will vouch that they’ve all survived transit). It was so cute to hear the little cheeping coming from the box and open it and see them all eight of them healthy as could be (this was the minimum number I could order – usually the minimum is ten but I was able to get just 8 since it’s so warm now). I ordered from Holderreads in OR since I heard very good things about the quality and health of their birds. I was lucky to have called in time to place an order for the very last batch of ducklings available this year.
If you’ve been reading here a while and know that we incubated duck eggs a while back and hatched out three ducklings, you may be wondering what happened to those ducks! As of now, those three ducks are reaching their adult size (they’re 6.5 weeks old now and are adult sized at 8 weeks). I’m planning to take them to their new home in two or three weeks on a 27 acre farm where they will be able to free range with the other chickens, ducks, and geese that have a home there. We wanted to wait to see the final development of feathers and growth, which is why we haven’t given them away yet – and after the entire incubation process and seeing them freshly hatched and every day since, you start to feel attached so we’re not rushing to give them away.
Ducks make such nice pets! I know it might sound funny, but they’re fun to watch, easy to take care of, and they are relaxing to have around. I enjoy sitting outside and watching them. We kept them in a straw lined box the first few weeks during the day and night, then transferred them outside for the day and then finally outside for the night as well. We didn’t do this until the yard was fenced, but now they free range (though they still love when we give them the duck feed once a day) throughout the day. They also eat pesky bugs and slugs that you don’t want in your yard.
They do quack a lot at about 6 or 7 am, which is the main problem we have (since I don’t want my neighbors to be disturbed). I thought it was because they got thirsty and needed to have their water refilled, but then we realized it wasn’t the water they were missing, but us! Even though they have each other, they get lonely for us after a night with no company. So I’m trying to preempt the noise by having someone go out early in the day to see them. Otherwise they’re not especially loud.
As far as their droppings (in case you’re wondering about that!), it’s really not a big deal since they are waterfowl and their wastes are pretty liquidy. So it’s quickly absorbed in the ground and we don’t have lots of smells or piles of fly attracting stuff around. I think the main reason this isn’t a problem is because they have the entire yard – if they were confined to a small pen, it would be different. When they were younger and in the box with straw every night (like the new ducklings are now), we’d use the ‘fertilized’ straw to mulch around the garden plants that weren’t yet fruiting.
If we like these ducks so much, why are we giving them away and why did I buy more? It’s because I’d like to use the eggs from the ducks eventually – I’m not keeping them around just for the fun of it. I don’t know what kind of ducks I have, since I got the eggs via a friend of the person who raises ducks, and I don’t know what breeds she has. I only know that she has a number of breeds and that the eggs could have been crosses of any of them.
I specifically want Welsh Harlequin ducks, since they are fantastic layers (comparable laying rate to the best chickens), very pretty, and have a number of other advantages. (Here’s a site I found yesterday with more details, which sums up a lot of the benefits of Welsh Harlequins.) They’re not very common, and I couldn’t find anyone within a two hour radius who was selling any, so at the beginning of June I turned to Holderreads, a high quality hatchery, to aquire them. Initially I was planning on Khaki Campbells, which are also top egg layers (along with Runner ducks, which my kids don’t like the look of) but then learned about the Welsh Harlequins, which are bred from the Khakis for their coloring distinctions and have all the same advantages but look nicer (in my opinion) and are calmer. If I knew any of what we had were Khaki females, I would keep them. But I don’t know anyone to ask about it, and I can’t figure it out on my own – the internet pictures aren’t enough and because they could be crosses of any number of breeds, it makes it impossible for someone inexperienced like me to work it out. So buying ducks of the breed I wanted is what I decided to do.
I was planning to post pics of the new ducklings and older ducks, but my brand new camera that I never used has disappeared without a trace. Sigh. Such is the reality of life in a big family. So I have to wait for dd to be around to use her camera. So for now, here’s a link to the site where I bought our ducklings; you can see what the ducklings look like at the very bottom of the page. They are extremely cute! When I have the use of a camera I’ll add some pics. (Edited to add pic below.)
I’m not planning to keep more than four of the eight ducklings, though if I had room and the zoning allowed it, I’d keep more. Someone is interested in buying two and wants to come by tomorrow for them. Due to an eye injury yesterday of one of the new ducklings, I’m not sure what I’ll do with the remaining two that I planned to sell. I won’t sell one with an injury but I can’t sell them individually, since they’d be lonely without a companion. I could always give them to the same farm where the older ducks are going, but I’d really like to offset the purchase cost by selling some. I’ll have to see!
Avivah
We’re planning to get ducks too! We want to get Muscovy ducks (don’t need a pond and they’re very quiet and good layers). Probably next spring after we’re settled into our new house. Happy creatures! 🙂
You’re going to love having ducks, Kerith! Because muscovies are big birds that fly well and I have a small yard, smaller ducks that don’t fly much and have a good feed to conversion ratio were an advantage! Muscovies are great foragers and good mothers, though the claws on them are something to be careful of – but I’ve read that leather gloves and the football carry are a good way to deal with that. Their personalities are supposedly great, very gentle. Will you have a lot of space in your new yard?
You mentioned that you can only have a specific amount in terms of zoning laws. What are the zoning laws where you live regarding if you can keep ducks/chickens, etc.? There was a man in the town next to mine who had chickens in his backyard and he got busted by the police (I guess it was against the zoning laws). Another woman I know has chickens in her backyard — neighbors don’t care so she just does her thing even though her neighbhorhood isn’t zoned for that kind of thing. But she raises the chickens because being able to procure free-range eggs for her family from her chickens is very important to her, even though technically it’s not permitted where she lives. What do you feel aobut that? How do you find out about zoning laws, pros/cons, etc.?
Chana – you can search your laws online. Most cities allow 3 – 4 hens, no roosters (because of the noise). Some have rules about distance between houses. It’s common sense that you need to keep the area clean so that there’s no offensive smell.
I don’t really have an opinion on what others choose to do in this regard, but I prefer to operate within the boundaries of the law. A person who is really passionate/motivated can work politically to change laws they feel are restrictive; my city is rezoning right now and at a recent neighborhood association meeting, the rep said that they’re making more concessions for ‘greening’ – urban agriculture, compost piles, and rain barrels are the three example she mentioned in passing. I’ll be keeping an eye on that and will add my comments online if I feel it necessary; the rep said they’d appreciate comments and feedback about suggested changes. I’d guess that more and more cities are going to go in this direction.
Muscovies are good meat birds too, but we’ll see. Probably another year or so. Or we might just do chickens. Or a combinations. We can have 5 chickens/ducks w/o a permit here in Savannah, and up to 2 goats, but no beehives. 🙂 Raw milk is illegal here, as is importing it across state lines, and as irked as I am about that we’ll stay within the law. But the law doesn’t stop us from drinking milk from our own goat! 🙂 We’re meeting with a permaculture consultant soon after we move be’h to come up with a short- and long-term plan on how to take best advantage of the space we have (10,000 square-foot lot w/2160-square-foot house). A few giant oak and pine trees so that limits things a little. We’ll see!