8 Reasons NOT to Have Ducks on a Homestead
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 มิ.ย. 2023
- ducks duck house duckie bunkie free range organic orchard homestead farm. 8 Reasons NOT to Have Ducks on a Homestead #ducks #homestead #duck
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I knew a woman who's son had a pet duck when he was young. The woman told me this with a deadpan face, "do you know that ducks poop every time they quack?". It cracked me up.
WOW that is a lot of ducks. One of your dogs seems to herd them to their pen at night. Well done.
Thank you so much for sharing. Happy Fathers Day. Lots of Love to you all. ❤❤❤❤
Doris, Penrith 🇦🇺🦘
Yeah I’ve been working with Olive on the herding, but really I just show you the good parts…sometimes it’s 20 mins of corralling the ducks. 😊
@@HiddenSpringFarm :)
My Runner Ducks definitely go back to eat any dropped food. They love food. LOL!
For sure they are amazing foragers too eh.
I have 6 mallards and 5 pekins. I absolutely love them, even if they are messy 😂I have them all named and banded. They are very spoiled. In my experience with them, mine are as much work as taking care of my chickens.
I’m with you, I really enjoy our ducks and have at least some solutions to these problems. Our chickens always have problems pecking each other too, doesn’t happen with our ducks.
Do they taste better that way ? When they are spoiled
All that stinky mess creates thee most awesome fertiliser for the garden. I have a routine where their bedding gets put on the compost pile and the water bowls get diluted into watering cans for the veggies and fruit trees. I do it daily so it works. As for my 14 idiot Indian Runners who think I’m the enemy, they are stupid, but they do put themselves to bed which I guess is a bonus. But their babies that I hand raised are exceptionally friendly and follow me everywhere and bring me so much joy.
The runner ducks look so fun too with their erect stance. I was thinking about harvesting all their water, but was worried about salmonella in my veggies. Do u think I’m worried for nothing cause I’m sure it’s very fertile water. I used their bedding to cover the garlic and the garlic survived the winter and is doing well.
Sounds lovely
Thank u for the interesting video! I'm from Russia, and I watch your videos to improve my english skills. Thank u for your understandable language and pronunciation, I appreciate that😄))) And I enjoy birds🥰
Awesome 😎
Hi Chad, I have 17 ducks with 5 eggs in an incubator ( fingers crossed ) here in Ireland. I gave up and just put in a pond late last year. Wow, what a change. I still leave a small pool inside the pen at night and for the most part they lay in the coop. having said that they have 5 acres to roam about so no doubt there are eggs everywhere. I use some food to get them into the pen and because they are so food obsessed and they just go straight in. I love ducks especially here in this Country where wet conditions are a constant.
Yeah ducks sure do love the rain. A pond is in my future also we just have Sandy fast draining soil so I’d need a huge liner or tons of clay…expensive. You’re doing right by those ducks, great job 👏
I am also in Ireland and I am currently making the decision of ducks vs chickens in the very near future!
@@griner65 why not both? Best of both worlds.
@@HiddenSpringFarm Yeah for sure. Just wondering which to start with. I have some experience with chickens, and I am trying to go with either something new or something familiar.
One thing I really like about ducks are that they are less aggressive. With two small kiddos, that appeals to me.
Do the two play well together like the geese, or do they need to be kept apart?
I am also going to try to track down duck eggs and try out eating / baking with them. I have never done that
@@griner65 I like to keep ‘em separate just cause their water needs are so different. Some people keep ‘em together though especially if they grow up together they’ll be fine. Ducks are easier to contain and are more fun, I personally like the taste of chicken eggs better. Good to try new things. I have plenty of videos about ducks if you need. 😎
Oh no, no, no, no, …….not for me! But I’m so happy that they are for you and that you share them with us! Has the heat hit your way yet? Is the smoke in the distance away from you? I think about you both often and wonder if you have to worry at all. Have a wonderful week🙋♀️
It’s not that hot here yet and no smoke. Smoke can travel though but we’ve been lucky.
All you say about ducks is true. I have a mix of 18 Pekin and Muscovy ducks. Cleaning up after them and my goats is just part of daily life on my little homestead. I make a special treat food of cooked rice, lentils, corn, nutritional yeast, oats, barley, fish oil, hemp hearts, flax seed, and black soldier fly larvae, which they love. As soon as they hear the pan clanking and the call “ducks, ducks, come quick”, they run into their enclosure to gobble up their treat. I also provide them with pet carriers filled with straw that they make nests in and that is where they lay their eggs, which are usually very clean. If one gets laid or kicked out of the carrier, all bets are off and serious washing is required. I love ducks. I live in rubber boots. I love water and don’t mind getting wet. I even have a couple of ducks that let me pick them up and pet them - but they are definitely not the norm. Most of them will hang around my feet and walk around with me trying to trip me because they think I have a treat for them, but they don’t want to be touched.
I love ducks too and I live in my “poo” boots 😂 Thanks for sharing, you’re doing a great job with your ducks.
I agree with everything you said. I have khaki campbells & just added a couple Welsh Harlequins. I used to have all Welshs but thought I'd switch to KCs to try. Welshs are about a pound heavier than KCs but that pound makes all the difference at harvest time. You can get the job done quicker if you skin the duck but then you don't get the beautiful & crunchy roast duck. A pond is really not that hard to dig out just with a shovel. I had to use a pick because my ground is full of big lava rocks...actually, mostly lava rock but I have dug out two ponds here & i'm a nearly 70 yr. old lady so...oh, & my ducks eat pelleted feed & I keep it at least 20 feet from the pond and in the nearly 10 years I've been doing this, I've never seen a duck choke. THAT would save you a lot of bucket filling AND the HORRIBLE smell of poo, feed, fly filled water! PS Ducks can be trained to drop their eggs in a certain spot using ceramic eggs but they'll never get as good at it as chickens. I love your content. Thank you.
I like the WH’s too they’re a beautiful bird. Do they lay as much as the KC? You must have clay soil good for holding water, our soil is like sand and drains very fast…I’d need a liner or have to bring in some bentonite clay for a pond. I’ll make them a pond someday though at least you’re doing it right. Age is only a number 😊
@@HiddenSpringFarm yes, the Welsh Harlequins lay just as good as the KCs & a larger better tasting egg, more fat, than the KCs. More fat on the harvested drakes also. But, it's really dependant on what they eat.
I bought an expensive liner for my pond. It really is well worth the money & I don't provide any water other than that. I would suggest, IF IT'S POSSIBLE, to have a drain at the bottom of the pond so you can drain the muck out to the garden. I have to pump & scoop the muck out & it's hard work. I used to have a water pump to circulate the water but maintanence was nearly daily. Now I use an air pump & 'set it & forget it". Either way, ducks are a bit more work than chickens, but hey, it's still better than sitting at a desk all day. 🙂
Everything you say is so true ;-) but we love them anyway! I laughed so much when you said they think you're the axe murderer.... mine are very skiddish too, but they're also so much fun! I got 51 ducks - Pekins, Rouens, Silver Appleyards (which are more trusting) and added some Runner Ducks (total nutcases, they constantly are running away and making a lot of noise, I wouldn't recommend them unless you get to hand tame them) and Khaki Campbells (nearly as skiddish as the Runner ducks). Now I got a few Saxony ducks just hatched and they're just so mellow and sweet! Ducks are so addictive. Luckily they're very good at fertilising the lawn, and just being so much fun to watch. I can't wait to try and eat some, haven't had the heart yet to dispatch them. But they do need a lot of feed.... still better than chickens, our chickens are just lazing by the feeder although they can freerange. The ducks are taking care of all the bugs :)
Yes they are addictive and we love em. Saxony ducks are beautiful. Runner ducks remind me of Beaker from the Muppet Show ( if your old enough to remember that show 😆) they stand so upright and tall. You’re a duck whisperer for sure, keep it up. 😊🦆
there are ways to clean up ducks peed in water you get like a feeder from tractor supply and you hang it a little bit off the ground so they can't climb in it I found the best thing if I feed him just scatter some crack corn on the ground or cornmeal if you get a classic vita mix works good for grinding corn
Helpful ideas for me just starting God bless you
Really appreciate this video. Based on our setup and the behavior you show in this video, ducks will not work for us! So wonderful that you are giving people an honest overview so they don't make a mistake and put ducks in an environment that won't be fair to them :)
All good points. I love my small flock of khaki campbells but would not want more because of the mess. The ducks are so fun to watch though!
Agreed, love our ducks. If I wasn’t free ranging them in our orchard I might think differently. Very peaceful to watch them work.
#7 Reason - good to know about the white guarding geese.
I have two ducks and that is enough, lol. Thanks for the great information.
Years ago, when I first discovered TH-cam videos, there was a guy building a watering trough for his ducks out of PVC pipe with perhaps slits cut into the top. I think the idea was there was only enough of an opening for their heads to fit so they couldn't get inside to poop in their water source. A similar thing was made as a grain feeder to cut down on waste feed. I can't vouch for how well it worked in the long term. So many of the best ideas on YT come from sources that aren't interested in becoming ongoing content makers/reality personalities.
If I hadn't watched my ducks digging in mud with beaks then going to their water leaving mud in water, lots ...... I'd think that was a good idea.
@@kimkrol1121 So a muddy beak alone is still an improvement over allowing the entire muddy duck and its wastes into a flat water bowl. I believe there was talk of the water being on a gravity-fed continuous trickle as well.
I haven't bothered searching YT for this old video because I have noticed that old content is harder to find than hens' teeth in this system. I imagine needing to clean it twice per week instead of more than twice daily would be a worthy gain.
I have seen those things. My feelings on it though, is that it’s no fun for the duck. A pond would be best to lessen the work load but expensive. When I watch my ducks wading and splashing I see they’re enjoying it. I’m sure it also keeps them free of fleas, ticks and mites too.
Like chickens, ducks need a bit of grit to help grind up the food and that digging in the dirt gives them grit for free without you having to buy or provide it. The trick is to keep them on pasture and keep moving your water sources so the grass doesn’t get ruined to the point of no return.
@@HiddenSpringFarm Perhaps I described it poorly but this is essentially what the manifold water and feed tubes were meant to do. Nothing about them limited the ducks from access to their natural wading behaviours elsewhere. They were free to make a pig wallow elsewhere but keep a relatively clean water source and feed trough available.
For people who plan to have ducks, to avoid any sound from ducks, Muscovy ducks are best solution, they don't quack at all, and they are broody
Yes I believe Muscovies are one of the quietest ducks, you’re right on.
@@HiddenSpringFarm Probably because they are scientifically not an actual duck, from what I read, although they are considered a duck breed.
I first clicked your 1year ago video on why you should get ducks- 1 minute in, saw your 9 month old video (this video) clicked! 😂
Haha that way everyone is informed 😂
I was having a bad day, & went to take care of my ducks & chickens. Within a minute, my pekin/Rouen mixed ducks lifted my mood and i felt 100% better when they all came to me quaking & grunting. I have a girl who will come to me & they all follow. They were all circling me, it was amazing! I have 21, 15 i hatched. They are still stinkers who are skitish even tho i handled them so much as babies. I love them so much. They use a 3 story coop and their mommas lay nice beautiful clean eggs in it, hopefully my girls will too.
That's the thing about ducks...They make you smile and sometimes giggle.
@@HiddenSpringFarm i had no idea, i could spend hours watching them & my chickens!
Oh but they and their eggs are sooooo tasty!
Someday I'll have some, but my water system isn't great yet. Thanks for sharing Chad!
We love the eggs too, my wife fries up some green onion and scrambles them with a bit of pepper and it’s so fresh & yummy. Good you’re waiting till your ready, cause you wants it to be easy and fun not a hassle.
@@HiddenSpringFarm well I did get Hugs Bunny and Honey Bunny 2 weeks ago. They are wonderful in the hoppin' pen on the lawn. (Californian Whites) Already transitioned onto rotational lawn grazing.
4 chickens arrive next month.
And of course there is Q my 3 yr old super sheltie.
@@PreciousPatchesFarms amazing, ur gettin it going.
Awe, they are so cute. Nature is amazing!
😊
Great info!!! Much appreciated ❤
😊
Good post ! 👍
🤙
I have had a a lot of ducks, chickens, geese, peacocks and Muscovy ducks and l loved them all but saying that I know exactly what you are saying and 100 percent spot on.
Love your video.
Nice
I have 3 backyard ducks at the moment and only had one for a good while (had two before that but had a puppy accident with her sister). Anyway i absolutely adore my ducks regardless of mess or anything negative. When i only had one she would stay out all night but now since i got the other two they put themselves up at night. I live in kind of a rural area however i do have neighbors on all sides of me and never have any complaints of noise and in fact often hear my neighbors laughing and mimicking the duck quacks as well as the neighbor kids watching them.
Aww that’s awesome 🦆
great video - thank you !!
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for the video! I really thought i wanted to raise ducks. Maybe chickens are the way to go.
3:14 for me handling one of my most likely to let me handle it….is the one that is least likely to 🐝 scared by me and one of the first to eat off my hands…I have been doing videos mentioning the 🦆 for over month…especially the turkeys im keeping it with.
The turkeys have been great to teach and grow close to…handling them more and more as they get old….unlike my other 4 ducks that are likely to run just with a small thing like move a foot slowly.
Im really proud and happy my friendly duck getting friendlyer almost every day. I’ve added 2 other ducks with that duck and the turkeys so it’s really going good on that front also.
I’ll do a TH-cam video featuring this again soon.
Ohh I think this will work with other birds too.
The concept is that good friendly attitudes rub off….I’m pretty sure I’m right that many birds can be changed with behaviors.
I saw the other video just after I spotted this one and I chuckled. I already watched the other video and after consideration of the water needs (I have to truck water in) and a couple of other factors (dirty eggs anywhere and having to corale them at night - I'll pass. But I'm loving the chickens I tried for the first time last Spring. Our first (Canadian) Winter and so far, so good; El Niño making it a breeze so far, (no power at the coop for a heater - so I built insulated).
Is it worth considering adding one, or two ducks to a small (about ten) chickens? Or asking for trouble?
I like your 'friendly' and casual approach so it was an easy subscribe, like and comment.
SEVEN section coup de poulet - indeed. I thought mine were spoiled!
Best from BC, Canada.
Ducks can be nestbox trained. before my Coop burn down ( all my animals made it out safely) all my ducks had a pacific place to lay eggs and I always had clean eggs. but in my new coop they have a couple different places they lay so I just keep those areas clean and I have clean egg but they do occasionally lay in very dirty spots like a burn pile or their giant pond
I love the khaki over mallards I had a few in the Peking duck yeah actually drag the chicken in my bag door knocked on the back door one night after raccoon almost got the chicken lol what are those white and black chickens you show at 2:31. I had some like that I thought they were Dominic's now I find out they might be Brahmas they seem to be a good top read it got through the winter good and could hold their own I'd like to get some more. In North West PA I've learned from the Amish to buy golden comet they grow the fastest they are laying machines look my cat suffocated my comets and others so now I got Bill Felders Eggers in Rhode Island red and white Peking ducks and I got a royal palm Thom in a artisan gold tom turkey all my pets are like my friends naked let loose during the day and they pretty much stay around me working outside what do you want to do though is get some watercress and growing in the spring or kitty pool and they will eat that all my animals pretty much free range water cress gives them super nutrients they lay way better eggs I can tell the protein difference. Because I don't have a stomach I need a lot of high protein all my animals found the watercress one year almost wiped me out of it and I have a ton lol let me know on the chickens if you can please thanks for the video I found that ducks like to walk around right before dark or in the dark they eat bugs and they also keep my springs and ponds cleaner
Ryan has a solution for water feeder
Just make a small outlet so the bill can drink but the head stays out.
I see it's effective and "pen1" is not bad as it was
Duck, chicken, turkey, goose all taste good when roasted 🤤🤤, so you put up with poultry nonsense for a couple of months 😪😪 at least you don't have to hunt for them in the woods 😝😝😝🤣🤣🤣Well done . Informative 👍👍👍. Thank you for sharing. Be safe🇨🇦
We’ve never even tasted goose, I think this will be the year.
The only thing don't like about ducks is that they will be pooping all the time. Thanks for your experiences.
How are you, brother? I am following you from Iraq 🇮🇶
Chickens and geese seem to be the best combo. Chickens are the best egg layers, have pointy peckers to get scraps and bugs and worms, eat meat, nest vertically in coops. The geese are the best meat birds and are herbivores. The males of both are great for protecting the other birds. I have never herded the geese into a coop they usually spend all night outside even in the rain as if its still daytime.
You don’t have any predators wanting the geese? Also to add to your point I find the geese eat very little feed compared to chickens and ducks even in winter when there is no grass.
@@HiddenSpringFarm You would think so but the older birds are always alert. The only regular predator problem has been skunks. The big rooster, a 12 pound giant jersey that is vicious, and the 20 lb geese seem to deal with that. I also have traps around the outside of the bird area with fish or liver in them to get predators before they get to the birds. The chicken coop is always open as well they come and go as they please, I never herd them and lock them in either. The chickens always turn in when it starts to get dark. Shredded coconut is the secret to add to the bird feed fyi. Azure has it cheap.
Can you raise hatched geese and duck eggs together?
I literally just watched your video of why ducks are better then chickens because I'm considering switching😂
If ur able to…have both, best of both worlds. I personally enjoy them all.
SAND AND LIME IN THE GROUND. CUTS SMELL WAY DOWN. MIXED GRAIN AND THEN LET SOME YARD CHICKENS CLEAN UP THE DUCK MESS. 😂😅❤
Maybe it's the breed of duck?
I had Peking ducks and they were the friendliest, they would run up to me for hugs, if I went inside the house to use the restroom, they would all be standing in a line outside the door waiting for me.
They were only nervous towards people that they didn't know.
At night time, all I had to do to put them away at night was to call them and they would come towards their house and all walk right into it.
If I was away from the house, when I pulled the car up they would all run towards the gate to welcome me home.
Definitely Khaki Campbell is know to be fairly skittish.
I am looking into Muskovies as they seem less problematic in most of these areas. The downside is that their meat is overly lean so I would have to raise something else like hogs or geese to compensate.
Not sure how they are less problematic, my feeling is that all ducks will cause these issues. Ducks are still awesome though just need to create a system that lessens these problems. Pekin ducks are usually the best meat ducks cause of their plumpness.
I was thinking that they are quieter, more of a match for predators, good grazers, and IIRC more of a land duck. I could be remembering incorrectly on that last point. Apparently they are pretty good mothers as well.
I am very open to being corrected as I want to go into this as well informed as possible.
Morning Chad. You have the patience and resources for raising them. I couldn't do it. Kudos to you and every farmer on the planet. Happy Juneteenth y'all 👊🏽
Yeah the orchard takes care of them fairly well
this video's thumbnail is gold
Haha YES!!!
I must run a diva flock l😊
My ducks all put themselves to bed
They also come running to me in case I have treats. I do have 2 drakes that ask to be picked up and most my ducks will eat from my hands
I use dog crates in my duck house as nest boxes and 95% of the time that’s where my flock lays their eggs. I seldom have a dirty egg
I even had a pekin x khski girl I hatched last summer decided to go broody this year I let her have 6 eggs and took out all new ones her sisters would add each morning
So only the 6 remained
She got 6 babies and so far in 5 days has been an amazing mom
won’t let me near them but that’s okay just means she is very protective
I did have the vets office say if she ever died she would want to come back a duck and live at my house
She said my ducks are beyond spoiled 😂
I have also realized mine are the abnormal ones as everything you said is what most people go through with their flock.
I just got extremely lucky !!
Love your videos
I also got a goose this summer
Hopefully she will keep my flock safe
We will get her a mate next spring as I wanted an unrelated male
Wow, I’m super impressed, you sure are doing it right. In 3 years I’ve only had a hen go broody once last year (2 hens teamed up to hatch 16 ducklings) The ducks are living a great life because of you. You’re doing a great job. Even if I have watermelon my ducks won’t come close. I think your crew is the exception to the rule as most ducks don’t behave like yours. For sure it’s even more fun at your place with the ducks around. 😊
My ducks put themselves in coop every day
wow they're good, ours will want to go back occasionally but most of the time they just wanna sleep under the big oak tree.
We have sheep and pigs that go in the coop so maybe they are just following for protection.
@@Justin-Outdoors they all live in the same coop? That’s cool.
@@HiddenSpringFarm 3 naked neck polish 2 pot belly pigs 2 dorper sheep and 2 ducks a mallard abs a white duck.
Only the sheep need to be chased in but they go quickly.
So my question is, especially with the cat, how do you make sure the dog and cat just coral the ducks and not try eating them?
Training Dogs to be Around Small Animals
th-cam.com/video/DRV_L38D8-Q/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the heads up! 😎✝️🙏💜🕯️🔮🧩🧩
😉
😂😂😂😂😂 i have two of them and i hatch them with my hands ..... But they run away from me 😂😂😂😂
Yeah, that’s ducks for ya 😆 I’ve seen people with such friendly ducks, but not ours. I still love em though.
Why not build a small deep pond for the ducks? That will fix the dirty water
Great video. I disagree Duck Eggs are great and taste WAY better than chicken eggs.
imo ducks do put themselves into the coop. i have 2 khaki campbells and they know once the sun goes its time to go in! you just have to herd them in the first few times but then they should be fine!
You did a great job training them then, smart ducks. Here in Ontario during the summer months the sun goes down past 9pm so it’s way too late to get them back in. Or maybe cause you have only two, either way you’re doing it right. 😊
Ive got a kiddie pool and just about every day we feed our cannibis plants with the duck water. Love my ducks even if they are scared of me.
That’s the way to do it 🤙
I have 4 Pekin believe me that’s enough lol
Haha that’s your limit eh, at least you have 4 though.
too late i have four in my backyard
Haha me too I have like 20. Wouldn’t trade them for the world. 4 is a good number 🦆
why not make a duck pool? = a lake / pond, which is a natural habitat for ducks
4ft hole with 3ft of water
no splash and all sh!t sinks to bottom
The Ducks Finally Did It - FARM VLOG
th-cam.com/video/U7nK17L5LN4/w-d-xo.html
Oh noooo
😆
We have 20 Khaki Campbells and 20 Pekin from day one. We still don’t know who the drakes are yet…. After a half a day in 3 pools it look like Hershey chocolate. We don’t have a hearding dog just 6 little very old rescue dogs. Just wondering if we let them loose on 3 acres with a chain link fence around how hard it would be to get them back at night? Might they hide under buildings for example? We got them thinking the duck was the new chicken and all the wonderful things you said about Khakis. We have 5 Embden goslings coming Wednesday or Thursday. 1 gander and 4 dames. Love your shows. I watch everyone! Your buildings are great!
@@joanhoughtaling9686 the ducks are very easy to herd without dogs, my dogs don’t really herd I just make it look good in the videos 😆 Olive will herd them once they’re in the straight away to their run but out in the open I’m training her with a leash. BUT although fencing will work just fine, they will for sure hide under buildings. If that’s really what you wanna do just staple some rabbit fencing underneath like what I did around the goose caboose. Not sure how long you’ve had your ducks but the khakis are easy cause drakes have darker colours & a dark or greenish head. Pekins I’m not sure but look out for the curling tail tip cause those are drakes. Or u can identify when you see them mating.
No😢 no no no
Not for meat no no no no
They 😮 no no 😢😢😢