#quackquack #pekin #duck #chatty #iamcountryside #farmlife #backyardpoultrymag, A post shared by @ phillipsfarmbatavia on Apr 20, 2018 at 3:41pm PDT. I was told that they are not supposed to be indoor pets. Many of the eggs had a double yolk. The next morning, I anxiously came down to see if there was a new egg in the duck house. I found that the female duck had thrown the two eggs I moved out onto the ground, but she had made a new nest of straw at the back of the duck house and in it was a new egg. If you let her raise out the ducklings, that will save you a lot of work. At night the chickens moved into the small coop and the ducks walked or were carried over to the garage, where we had moved their expanded home from the house. Each morning the ducks came out and went straight into the pond. At first we thought they were chicken eggs, but we figured out it was one of the ducks laying because we found the eggs before the chickens were let out in the morning and they were huge. Raising ducks for meat is an easy, efficient way to raise your own meat. The cost of the ducklings is one of the biggest variables in this project. Our idea was that the ducks would be in the run at night to keep them safe from predators, but that we would let them out in the morning to spend the day down at the pond. It will also save you... 3. We examined where the ducks had put their nest and determined there was no way to safely fence it in with the huge downed trees on either side. Looking back now, we probably weren’t ready for our ducklings, but we have learned much through trial and error and nobody is too much worse for the wear. So as the days progressed, we continued to walk the ducks to their new home each night and the female continued to lay eggs in her new nest. Like the Aylesbury, Pekins seldom go broody. We used the trailer to dump it into the pond, tied a rope to it so that we could pull it back to shore, and shoved it out into the water. 7 Plants You Can Grow for Homemade Duck Feed. Their first home was a large plastic tub with a screen on the bottom that my husband made so that the watery mess they made would pass through. Pekins originated in China, and immigrants brought them over mid-19th century. It was taking us longer than expected to finish building our final chicken/duck coop so we decided to set up the smaller run in the front yard to get the birds outside until the larger building was complete. The Pekin and Rouen are the most popular farm flock meat ducks. The Difference in Gender. They are, without doubt, a larger bird than the Rouen, and for their beauty and size a great acquisition to our poultry stock. You should keep a minimum of three ducks or three chickens together to create a flock environment. The only problem with the scenario was that someone would have to be there to let the ducks in and out of the run. Duck Raised Ducklings After a week or so, though, the eggs stopped coming. The run was really the first time that the ducks and chickens were together in one space. They are extremely social, so consider raising at least three and preferably 5 or 6 together. They tried to swim to the edge and come back out initially, but we blocked their passage, and they spent the whole rest of the day out on the water. Many times the questions involve raising ducks. I saw one duck wandering around aimlessly in the grass, like he was trying to cause a distraction. It is … So I followed the ducks when I let them out to see if they had hidden a nest somewhere in the yard. For now, feel free to continue reading. Magpie Ducks: Adorable Dual-Purpose Duck Breed, How to Choose the Right Duck Breeds for You, How to Raise Ducklings More Naturally in a Brooder, How to Raise Ducks for Meat Economically and Sustainably, Feeding Ducks: What Do Ducks Eat, What NOT to Feed, and Everything Else You Need to Know, 5 Ways to Use Duck Poop to Enrich Your Edible Landscape Soil, Khaki Campbell Duck: An Impressive Egg Producer, Duck Nesting Habits and 7 Tricks to Collect Clean Duck Eggs Easily, Silver Appleyard Duck: A Heritage, Dual-Purpose Breed. Choosing a duck breed. They are tucked neatly in rows around the edge of the straw nest. We had no boat and no way to physically put the ducks into the duck house. We started with bowls for food and water but switched to the same feeders we used for the chicks because the ducklings were walking through the food and swimming in the water bowl. Next we worked on fencing. So if you are keeping a duck, then keep another one for company. Pekin eggs, like most descendants of the mallard, take approximately 28 days to hatch and will require consistent temperature and humidity as well as the tedious turning of the egg throughout the day. https://www.newlifeonahomestead.com/raising-ducks-ultimate-guide ✰ It is always advised to get ducklings instead of a grownup duck, because, ducks are unfamiliar to humans and they take their own time to get familiar with the environment. We filled a baby pool each morning for the ducks to swim in. Raising Ducks: What Ducks Eat And How To Care For Them | HGTV If you want to guarantee your ducks set multiple nests each year, you’ll need to take away those... 2. We expanded by cutting a hole in the side of the container and placing it in a larger cube my husband built of plywood and lined with plastic, still inside our home. But, if you do want to raise one of the best multi-purpose meat and egg duck breeds in … Step 2. The ducks stayed as far away from it as possible! So I picked up one duck and my husband got the other two. Some left over treated wood that we had from building the chicken coop served nicely as a skirt board to help keep digging predators out. A pekin duck is docile and well-adapted to local Philippine climate. Pekins rarely sit on their eggs so an alternative incubation method is required. We decided to give this a try. When people think about raising ducks, they often envision this white duck as the stereotype. That night we picked up the ducks when they came up to be let into the chicken coop and carried them down to their new home. https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/poultry-101/raising-pekin-ducks In the mornings, we shooed the ducks out of the run before opening the door for the chickens. The more rapid growth rate and white feather color tend to favor the Pekin. Pekins or Pekin/Aylesbury crosses are also the most popular commercial meat ducks used in Australia. We brought our ducklings home the day they were born: adorable, yellow, fuzz balls. We answer why we have ducks. Other meat breeds include the Aylesbury, Rouen, and Muscovy duck. I don’t see a feeder or water in the pen. One day a groundhog came, as she had left briefly to get water and ate all the eggs. We put a towel on half of the screen to give them something softer to stand and lay on. The following 101, on raising ducks, comes from a HOMEGROWN contributor Lauren Klouda, of Honest Desires Farm.Lauren has broken each section below into two parts: First come the nuts and bolts that any prospective duck keeper needs to know (“the basics”), followed by insights Lauren has gleaned herself (“our experience”). I have them in my back yard. I kept a close eye on the babes and when they seemed tired I took them out. Pekin Ducks. A normal everyday price for Pekin ducklings seems to stay around the $7 mark for small orders. Then we widened the opening on the duck house, hoping this would make it more appealing for the ducks, and loaded it on the raft. They stayed off to the side with their backs turned to the chickens, but the smaller birds way outnumbered the ducks and their curiosity soon drew them in close. As I write this article on raising Pekin ducks, there are twelve eggs inside: the same amount that our neighbor’s duck had when hers were eaten so many years ago. Everyone was locked up for the evening, safe from predators. Hopefully, in reading this, you too can learn from some of our mistakes and have a smoother process in getting started with raising Pekin ducks of your own. It would have been smart to have our plan completely developed before we got them so that they could have learned their routine from the start instead of changing things around on them so often. Once they get used to doing something, it takes them a while to learn a new procedure. We came in one afternoon and found them shivering and wet from swimming in their drinking water. So we continued to let them in the run for the night with the chickens while we brainstormed how to proceed. We did this routine for a couple of weeks until finally the coop was finished. Whether it's Pekins, Cayugas, Indian runners, Call ducks, or Khakis, they are all part of the same mallard species. They had found a protected spot in between two downed trees, in a pile of dry sycamore leaves, to make a nest. How to Raise Pekin Ducks From Ducklings Step 1. Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. Umm you have something in your nose. My husband used some scrap metal we had sitting around and welded together a simple gate for the enclosure. A good flock makeup is a three females or a male with 4 or 5 females. Generally, lots of 10 to 25 are minimum orders. Days passed and the ducks were everywhere but the pond…, …enjoying the shade of the corn in the garden…, …trying to get back into the coop with the chickens…. There is so much to learn! On the other hand, if you’re raising ducks purely for pets or meat production, you can get all males. We hauled the house out of the pond, cut the opening even wider, and put it into place under the willow tree. It didn’t take more than a couple weeks for them to outgrow their first home. Most times, people choose to raise ducks for meat or for eggs. Raising ducks for meat is just as easy as raising chickens for meat. The optimum temperature for Pekin ducks drops as they grow and mature. Sometimes it is mistaken for a goose because it carries its body rather upright. They drank a lot and enjoyed sticking their whole heads down into the water, which was impossible with a chicken waterer. One thing you’ll learn when raising Pekin ducks is that ducks are animals that thrive on routine. Ducks do need a water source for dipping their heads. My husband and I decided to start raising Pekin ducks kind of on a whim. We had some Pekins that grew so fast, they were ready for butcher in 6 weeks. Then something exciting happened on our journey raising Pekin ducks: the ducks started laying eggs in a corner of the run. We ran more welded wire over the top, using zip ties to hold it all together. Place the ducklings in an enclosure that is large enough for them to walk around and explore. 10 Important Things to Consider When Building a Duck Coop, Muscovy Duck: The Most Unique Ducks You Can Own, Complete Guide to Incubating Duck Eggs for Optimal Hatch Rates. It was obvious from their attempts to swim in their bowl that the ducklings wanted to be in water. At last, the waterfowl were on the pond, just how we had envisioned raising Pekin ducks. Often an incubator or broody hen will get the job done. Some modifications need to be addressed when raising ducks, and they add a new dimension to your barnyard. The ducklings seemed to spend most of their time out in the bigger run area, laying around on each other. Aim for 73 degrees during their third week. Next I put in some fresh straw and moved as much of their nest as I could inside, including the two eggs the female had already laid. Raising ducks for eggs and bug control (and giggles) Raising ducks can be so simple and rewarding. The feathers are growing in nicely. Now if we get a new generation of ducklings they will start things off right and learn their routines from the beginning without having to go through so much trial and error. My husband built large food and water containers that can hold a week’s worth of supplies. They could not get up the walls of the bathtub without me picking them up so I stayed nearby. The mainstay of the meat duck industry is probably the White Pekin duck. Soon we switched to paper towels, which could go into the compost. Pekin ducks are good layers, and duckling are ready for market at 2 to 3 months old. The birds spent the days together in the run. When raising Pekin ducks, you’ll learn that the ducklings tire easily when they are first learning to swim, and can drown if they don’t have a way out of the water. I’d like to share with you some of the information about raising Pekin ducks we have learned from our experiences at Phillips Farm. Also, a female:male ratio lower than 3:1 will lead to over-mated female ducks and a higher likelihood of injury. My pekin ducks often quarrel among themselves. About Raising Ducklings 1. Usually they only swam for 15 minutes at a time. One variety of duck however, is descended from a different species: Muscovies. Even they feel lonely and dejected just like humans do. They are very smart and beautiful. They splashed joyfully and also enjoyed walking around in the grass eating dandelion heads. Stay tuned for the first newsletter in the morning, straight to your inbox. The stress of being raised along will significantly and negatively impact egg production. They seemed scared to make the jump from the baby pool into the much larger pond. The first egg was almost the size of my palm. This was not the case though. Required fields are marked *. ✰ Ducks are outdoor animals and cannot b… Initially the ducks seemed to think that if they just pretended the chickens weren’t there, they would go away. A heat lamp clipped to the side of the container seemed just right for warmth. Raising Pekin Ducks For Sustainable Meat Production. I let the ducks out and took the two eggs that she had abandoned. Since most duck breeds don’t roost like chickens do, they are … I began raising broiler chickens for meat and I like freezing them for winter. © 2021, Countryside - All Rights Reserved, Ask the Expert — December 2014/January 2015, Ask the Expert —December 2015/January 2016. The yolks were rich yellow, almost orange, and one egg was a big breakfast because of its large size. The next step on our journey with raising Pekin ducks was outside. Disclosure. https://rurallivingtoday.com/backyard-chickens-roosters/raising-ducks They acted like something was bothering them at night. Most ducks are purchased from hatcheries as day-old ducklings. I know they would not sleep in a duck house so I am trying to think of the better answer like creating a nice environment and a shelter they can go under for comfort and shelter instead of inside of a pen. I went out in the morning to find nothing in the run. Finally, we feel like we have a home in place for the ducks where their needs are met and they seem happy. … Buy Pekin Ducks and ducklings online from Metzer Farms – we have live Pekin Ducks and baby ducks for sale online. Can You Keep Ducks and Chickens Together? Are smart creatures, capable of learning to do something new, but it takes time and to! 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