SPILLS OF RANDOMNESS #7 - Raising Ducks

Raising ducks is an amazing experience. They are so cute and funny. And you could make a lot of money off of their eggs.



Ducks are fun to watch and to play with and they are really easy to take care of. As you all know, I have six ducks, and I love them SOOOOOOOO much. Four of them are Khaki Campbells. The other two are American Black Ducks. If you are looking to start a farm, or maybe you just want to have a few animals around, just to make your life more interesting, ducks are a great animal to start with.

Recommended Duck Breeds:

• Khaki Campbells are my first recommended breed to start with. They are smaller in size and have a really pretty natural khaki color. They also have less flying ability. This is very important because if your ducks are good flyers, it becomes more difficult to keep them home. On top of all that, they are known to live 10-15 years. They are one of the prettiest types of ducks, in my opinion. 
• Another great duck breed is the Pekin duck. In contrast to the Khaki Campbell, Pekins are very large ducks and therefore are too heavy to fly, so you can allow them to roam free in the day.

(I wouldn't choose American Black Ducks for your first ducks. They tend to be a little bit more aggressive and do not get along well with other ducks)

Another thing...

You Must Protect Your Ducks!!!

For your ducks, you always need to have some kind of protection for them. You must build a good, preferably smaller fenced-in area that predators can't climb, fly, or dig into. If you allow your ducks to roam outside during the day, you may want to have a pond outside for them to escape into, for most ducks are aquatic, and most of their predators aren't. You must ALWAYS put your ducks away in their enclosure at night, probably around dusk, since that is when the majority of their predators come out.

Also...

Ducks Lay Eggs!!

You must always be familiar with the laying habits of your ducks. Unlike chickens, ducks do not lay eggs all year round. They usually quit laying in November and pick back up again some time in the spring. During the time in which they lay their eggs, a female duck will lay one egg every 24 hours, whereas chickens lay an egg at any time of any day, pretty much whenever they feel like it. Duck eggs are also typically much larger and whiter than chicken eggs are. 

Food and Water

Ducks love to eat. They can pretty much be found eating 24/7. But, the most important thing is to keep their food and water separate, for if their food is wet when they eat it, it can make them sick. Ducks are foragers and will eat almost anything from leaves to bugs to frogs, and they are perfectly capable of finding food on their own, but it is also a good idea to provide them with bags of actual duck feed, since there are certain vitamins and such that sometimes can not be found on their own. Ducks also eat corn and frozen vegetables. (They will not eat rose petals, though. I tried giving one of my females one, and it didn't work out very well).

Ducks are very hardy, pretty, silly, and all-around awesome animals to have around. If you are looking for an outside animal to have around, well here you go! I really, really recommend you get some ducks (And make sure they are Khaki Campbells).  ;)