My uncle was a farmer and made the "mistake" of being there when some ducklings hatched. They all bonded with him. They waited outside the door each morning for him to leave the house. They followed him around the farm all day. If he rested, they gathered around him while softly chattering. They all had long, happy lives together.
@@3lic3s That's about it. My aunt wasn't happy about the flock's gathering outside the back door on the walk each morning waiting for their human friend. She washed the area every day.
I'm a city guy who has made his living his whole life by talking. Well, using my brain and talking. So I am terrifically admiring of guys who use their brains to actually make things happen and have to deal with elements and animals and physical forces and objects, etc. and utilize strength and body effort and endurance to create food. Respect, sir, and kudos.
Lol. My cat is a murder, she's got no interest in our 6 (5, neighbors dog broke through the fence). She expressed no interest when they were little (though our introducing them might have influenced that) and she is more afraid of them than they are of her. My guess is a hawk
I had ducks and chickens and my cats use to sit on the brood boxes then when the birds got older my cats use to chase other cats off when they were sneaking around they where protective of the birds I know it sounds crazy but its true
When i was at the feed store and they had chicks and ducklings i was told ducks are more like dogs and chickens are more like cats. I'm a dog person so i went with ducks. Mine come to "hey ladies"
Haha! That's too funny! I have Chinese geese and when it's time for bed I just say "in" and in their shed they go and for morning, I say "out" and out they go for the day! Now I'm working on "NO" when they try to bite me. I'm getting there haha! Gotta love farming!
It's definitely not as easy as "in" and "out" but it seams to be working. I've had them since they were 4 months old and they only started nipping when breeding season started. They were quite gentle before that. I guess I'll know in the fall haha!
I just opened the gate every morning and got out of the way. Every night after they went in just before dark I closed and locked their door. They probably thought I was a mute!
At .30 remember to place eggs pointy side down in the carton. Air inside the egg rises completely, stays away from yolk & keeps eggs fresher longer. I love hearing the drakes little quibble compared to the loud, actual quack of the ducks! 🦆💚
I have ducks on my 2 acre pond they are happy as can be and they sleep on the water so you don’t have to watch out for predators. You seem to have enough land to dig even a small pond. in the winter put a heater or an underwater fan to keep the water from freezing. It would be much better then moving water all the time
For the coup, recommend layering straw or woodchips into the bedding. When soiled, and before adding more layers, turn the bedding to aerate. Makes a good compostable mulch for the following spring.
Great Job! As someone who's kept ducks for many years now I'd like to make two suggestions, 1. if you get some ceramic eggs & dig out a little depression where your ducks already like to lay IN THEIR HOUSE & letting them out of their house a little later in the morning, you may be able to get more/most of your eggs layed in one or two CLEAN spots in doors & in the morning. This is easier to accomplish if you start it before they start laying but, ducks are very trainable...anything you do CONSISTENTLY, they will learn. And, 2, a pond...trust me...you will spend much less time dealing with water if you spend the time digging out a pond. I've dug two now. The first was about 8' x 12' & 3' deep. The second, because I now only have 5 ducks is more of a puddle, 6' x 8' x 2+'. IF at all possible, a drain at the bottom that you can use to water the vege' garden is a BIG bonus because cleaning it is still necessary but, depending on the "load", maybe only annually. Good luck, ducky!
This is honestly a REALLY great video! I raise different types of ducks and hatch ducklings. All of your info was spot on! If I was just starting out this video would have been super helpful. One time we randomly lost a duck and when we checked our camera system we saw that a mountain lion came all the way down to our house during the day (which never happens) and our drake actually went after him! The mountain lion knocked him down with one paw as he was attacking him. It was crazy to watch, but at least we knew what happened. That's just farm life. Love your channel!
well then use the sales from the duck eggs to get some fertile quail eggs, and raise those for eggs, if you cant eat dinosaur egg meat then use their waste to feed plants to feed yourself, and the ducks a drainage system above a garden, with a delta system to break down wastes and filter water to a garden or flowerbed, or cultivate an ecosystem to enjoy and listen to your ducks
Khaki Campbell and Welsh Harlequin are the ones I want. This made me so excited to get started and confident I made the right choice picking ducks over chickens.
Actually I don't have to put my chickens in at night... I go out to the coop about 15 mins before sundown and they're already on roost ready for me to lock them in... They've been that way since I let them start free ranging at 6 months old...
Mine started out doing that and then a few months later they wouldn't go in inless i walked towards them,they would walk around the house once and then go in smh. Then a few weeks after that,they decided they didnt want to go back in at all. I have no clue why.
Snarky Dink Farm I’ve heard this from my uncle too. He lets the chickens free range on the farm and at sun down they’re all cooped up inside ready to roost.
Since you seem to be the only channel talking about ducks that comes up on my feed, and I enjoy your videos, I would be happy to purchase my ducks or eggs from you when I'm ready. Probably pretty close to a year from now.
Ducks are hands down my favorite poultry to raise. Such a gentle guy; the world would be a better place if all meat/egg production animals were raised with same humane level of dignity as this man does with his birds.
My brother owns chickens, and I don't know how, but he trained them... He can yell "come on chickens" and they will all run to the base of his porch, and wait there for another order... It's pretty cool!
A lot of people really like duck. I don't! But watching you deal with them has been interesting. Saying this I love chickens! They are easier to deal with and I enjoy watching them. My chickens have been easy to keep clean. But I admire your efforts. I truly appreciate your videos. Have a great week!
I picked and ate my first duck eggs during the winter months when my ducks were contained and eating only the food I provided them, I had a slight reaction to them making me believe I was allergic to duck eggs as well... however during the summer months when they were free ranging I tried them again and found I had no reaction to them when their diet was more diverse. The eggs had better flavor as well!
I was keeping two dogs and I had them trained to come outside to eat on the command," all dogs that want to be fed must come outside". Worked like a charm!
My 2 most favorite things about my ducks are the same as yours! You can "train" them to respond to voice commands and they have such a playful and comical personality!
Another great breed to consider, for ease of maintenance and egg laying, are the Swedish Blue ducks. We've kept them for years and are thankful. Also consider your feed when producing eggs. Fish meal will make your eggs take fishy....
I have 5 ducks all different species and yes they are so easy to command and they respond to familiar noises and sounds, i also herd them as you do by opening my arms and telling them where to go
I have chickens and we trained them to come when called. So everyday we let them free range and I will just yell, " chick chick " and they will all come running. It's really cute. We are also getting ducks soon and I'm very excited! Turkeys are also really nice to have.
Hi. It was probably botulism. To combat it I elevated the pools on pallets covered with rubber pavers. This was after I lost several ducks to it. I raised khakis and muscovy for way too long. We used the pools for bathing and nipple waterers to make sure they never ran out. In the winter when it got below 20 fahrenheit I put a fish tank heaters in the nipple waterer buckets and let them bathe once a day. I found that was the lowest maintenance solution to the water situation.
Love your editing. Such great humor! I watched your video as I prepare to get ducks of my own, and it just made me more confident that getting ducks is the right choice for me!
You are my kindred spirit. We live in California and have muscovy ducks. They are so interesting and funny. They are constantly broody and raise ducklings year round. We don’t collect the eggs very often. We usually let them hatch their babies and then sell them. They are serious about egg laying, and always build a nest and use it. We have a full on farm with cattle, goats, horses and chickens. The ducks are by far the messiest animal we have ever raised... we even had pigs for a time. They basically shoot poop everywhere. Nothing is sacred. Great job on your channel. I really enjoyed watching ducks in the snow.
I was listening to you about how you haul water back and forth. I have ducks also, it’s a lot of work to haul water, this year I purchased 2 heated hoses, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
Great video! I absolutely Love my ducks and too went through the ups and downs of learning how to deal with them. I started with pekins and all 5 were taken out by a fox. :( Now we have Welsh Harlequins (which derived from the Khacki Campbell) I love their durability. I found sand in the coop around their waterer has helped out with the mess! We have 6 females per 1 drake. I have the incubator full at the moment. :D. My husband is allergic to duck eggs....it was really bad finding that out. I peep at my ducks when it is feeding time. So when I want to round them up I start peeping and they come right away. ;) I agree with you Ducks are awesome! Happy Homesteading!! ~Shaina~
As the owner of a duck flock who is also duck egg “intolerant”, I totally feel your husband’s pain. It took me several tries to decide that yes it really was the duck eggs I was allergic to and not some other factor (ate greasy food with them, too much hot sauce/salsa, etc). It is very disappointing to have access to such an abundance of big gorgeous eggs and not be able to eat them.
We are planning on raising ducks this year for the first time. I was raised on a farm with chickens and geese, but not ducks, so I appreciate this video!
Morgan , if you have a flowing creek , you can make a ram pump to run water to the new pond to fill it. Then direct the pond overflow back to the creek again. A small ram pump does not pump a high volume of water but it pumps 24/7/52 and so will slowly fill your pond.
Great.. so you're just pumping sh*t water back into the creek.. thanks bud.. You should use the water to water/fertilize plants instead of pumping filth into your downstream neighbors water supply bud
I plan to get some Khaki Campbells this year although my husband has been reticent. I think when he sees you shouting "Release the quackin'!" and "All ducks, go to bed!" he will change his mind. Great video. It inspired me to subscribe!
TH-cam Recommended videos is strange. I'm living in a big town and it recommends me how to start a duck farm. But i absolutely loved the video, really well made and watched it till the end. Now want to start a farm ! Keep on the farm vids dude !
Subscribed because of the nice simple intro and you got straight to the point. Stayed because much respect for the environment you are in. Here in Texas the coldest it gets is 28, and I would not want to deal with anything colder than that!
I love ducks. There were these two Mallards that would greet me at the train station every morning in exchange for a couple slices of bread. Very sweet animals.
Crazy good production quality in your videos. I have not gone through all your vids yet, but you could def do a video on your production techniques and equipment. Thanks for sharing.
Super cute story and informative!! Love your ducks. I have 4 babies with 6 more on the way. I'm sure I'll be adding more. Ducks just make you smile. So glad I have mine no matter how much work they are!!
I raised ducks except i have 3 ponds close by ... shot 9 coyotes 1st year ... now i raise malards ... they hang around then fly South for the winter ... some come back and have babies . Loving nature .
We raise Rhode Island Reds for egg production, meat turkeys, broilers, and this year, Pekin ducks for meat. All our birds have been trained to respond to clapping when it is time to move them in or out of a building. This is our first year with ducks and I was very surprised at their hardiness and how fast they grow. At four weeks old, they are much larger than I would have expected with their slaughter age at only 7-8 weeks.
Wow, this video is packed with helpful tips! I especially loved the advice at [3:55] - protect ducks from predators. Can't wait to try it out in my own garden with 3 ducks. Thanks for sharing these awesome insights!
Thanks for the cool video dude. You have a much more professional filming style than most farmtubers and it shows in the quality of the video. Keep it up
As a Kid we had a big corral. We had id say about 50 chickens (and 3 geese) and I had them all trained to respond to my voice. They knew when i did a particular call that food was coming and they would start crawling out of the woodwork like a zombie invasion to where ever I was expecting to find food. (The geese were particularly eager and would sometimes trip over the chickens as they ran over)
I so far have 3 types of grown ducks. And a hole lot of chickens. Love them both. I've had them all since babies so even my chickens listen. When I say it's time for bed they all run to their houses and in to bed they go. I'm hatching my first set of ducks soon. And today I came home with 8 more baby ducks. I am very sure I have 2 more kinds. But I love how many eggs I get from them. Great job with your duck farm so far.
You should definitely also do a polycultural vegetable garden; more profit, more health, more varied food for you and the ducks. Don't put all your eggs in one basket! (no duck pun intended..)
I yell crazy Quakers and crazy cheekons to get their attention. I tell them alright go get in your house lol. if I walk outside and quack my quack at them they recognize it and start quacking back like crazy, i love both!
So, a quick point on duckling brooders and water: I've found that wood PELLETS, not chips, work wonderfully. When they get wet, the expand like sponges and, once they fill with enough water, the pellets pop. What's left behind is almost like dirt or sand. Once burst, they still had a good amount of absorption to do before it was time to change it. Since using pellets, we didn't have to change out the brooder bedding nearly as much and the ducklings loved it. Highly recommend.
thanks for the insight into a world i know absolutely nothing about. especially the part where you mentioned you can order ducks through the post. i have a feeling that will come in handy one day.
I've had both chickens and ducks in the Pacific NW, and I much prefer ducks for ease of care and personality. To make them easy to care for, there are some keys. -- Water source within a few feet of dirt is a bad idea. Ducks will splash water that far, and over time create a mini pig sty. Surround any water source with gravel or some other ground cover that they can't mix into mud. -- Any water container that the ducks drink out of will become dirty pretty fast. Moreso, if they can swim in it. The dirty duck water works really well to pump into a greenhouse as a fertilized water source, with it draining back into the duck pond. In fact, a greenhouse can easily be set up to do double duty as a duck house, and managed like an aquaponics setup using ducks instead of fish. -- I make my ducks forage during the day, and only feed them at night. No training necessary. There can be a problem after the first heavy rain as the ducks will be stuffed full of worms and other small creatures flooded out of their hiding places. Helpful to have a way to funnel them towards their door on those occasions, but the older ducks will go in with little effort out of habit. -- A 2 foot tall, 2 inch mesh, poultry wire fence with a hotwire 4 to 6 inches above is all that is necessary to keep ducks in and furred predators out. Weasels could get through, but so far, I haven't had any problems though they are native to the region, but never seen one in the neighborhood. Neighborhood coyotes could easily jump the fence, but they never do though I've seen them looking wistfully in from the other side. I also put the poultry wire flat on the ground under the fence, and the coyotes seem to shy away from that as if it was leg hold traps. Keeps the ever present raccoons out too. Once in awhile, some duck will fly over the fence. Those ducks end up end up on the dinner table, if a predator doesn't get them first. Very rare with my Welsh Harlequins. -- I only hatch out good quality eggs that are laid before 9 AM in a nest. Most ducks of most breeds will do this naturally, selectively hatching out eggs from only those that do really concentrates this behaviour in their genes. The rest of the eggs that are randomly laid get eaten. -- If you create a combo greenhouse/duckhouse, you can also raise duckweed and black soldier fly larvae all year round and never have to buy feed for the ducks again.
A greenhouse with ducks in it will increase CO2 which is very beneficial to plant growth. Commercial greenhouses will increase CO2 to 1200 to 1500 ppm. After 1500 ppm, adding CO2 is considered wasteful. Plants don't start being adversely affected until 5000 ppm. Ducks probably are going to be affected somewhere around 2000 ppm, I would guess. BSFL also produce CO2 because of their high metabolism, though I have never seen any numbers. I suspect that there tolerance for CO2 buildup is very very high though. Both the ducks and BSFL will add heat to a greenhouse, lowering heating expenses also.
I do not believe that I could ever thank you enough for creating this Awesome, Informative, video about owning ducks. No only did you clearly and effectively describe and explain the challenges and responsibilities of maintenance, care, and sustainable development of duck farming, you did so in a manner which easily crosses over into many areas of responsibility in other farming and sustaining successfully as well too relating to areas of personal responsibility of humanity. Thank you sir for sharing this nugget of LIFE WISDOM with the public.
I raise ducks here on the prairie of South Dakota. I absolutely love raising them. I currently have 30 ducks and 3 geese, I get about 15-20 eggs a day!
Loved this vlog. I will have a pond builted on my property. Just easier than supplying water everyday. Both ducks n geese will be there. For their eggs and meat anytime I want fowl for dinner. Good luck on your farm. Can't wait to see how the orchard turns out. Started mine from seeds as well. There is like 40 large canisters growing peach, pear, apricot and apple trees in the garage converted into my growing house.
Years ago I had ducks, they were my absolute babies, I had them from day olds, id walk around the house and call them by saying (in a slightly high pitched voice) "Come on come on come on"...One summer afternoon ducks were out in the garden and I was in the living room, my baby took her first steps and so, I stood her back up and said come on come on come on, you can do it... before I knew it I had 6 ducks thrashing up the back door step and into the hall calling me. It's a story we've told for years and now it's on the internet lol. Im soon to be getting ducks again, love all your videos, ive watched so many, ducks really are fab!
I have a duck too .. i live in trinidad my duck leaves me everynight but in the morning . He is there . But in trinidad its warm .. by you its soo cold
This was so informative & fun! I have a ‘flock’ on our MT 3 acres consists of 3 chickens, 3 ducks, & 2 huge grey geese. They all wander together & coop together at night & we enjoy our little ‘mixed family’ immensely. They are ‘pets’ & I appreciate the cold climate info. We are heading into our first winter w them. The chickens stay in the coop during the cold snaps but I fret about the cold affecting the waterfowls feet, should they have swimming water in winter etc. This vid really helped ease my mind about all that. Thanks & good luck w your farming venture! ☺️
Old tires make good winter waterers for waterfowl. They can dip their heads and drink but not swim in it,so no poopy water. Tires make great year round feeders for all fowl for the same reason.
have you ever heard of a hose my guy ? instead of carrying 5 gallon buckets. Also you can cover the water outlet with an insulation cup and it helps with freezing over
I thought that looked like Vermont... and I was right! Lived there for a little over five years. Wonderful place to farm and homestead! Salutations from Wisconsin. 👋🏻
He's an idea from a friend of mine overseas who has a couple of geese. He collects the egg, drills a small hole in the top or bottom and removes the contents completely. Then he plates the egg in silver or gold through some method... and does something artistic with it. The egg is whole and in tact - its shell is not broken. Easier to do with a duck egg which has a tougher shell than a chicken egg. Its sold as some kind of ornament. Anyways thought i'd pass on the idea.
This video was incredible! Taken in hand with Self Sufficient Me's video about why NOT to have ducks, the two videos compliment each other so well. Two very different climates and techniques produced very different duck experiences.
My uncle was a farmer and made the "mistake" of being there when some ducklings hatched. They all bonded with him. They waited outside the door each morning for him to leave the house. They followed him around the farm all day. If he rested, they gathered around him while softly chattering. They all had long, happy lives together.
aw thats not a mistake
love it !
Great story!
Nice story, please add more !
@@3lic3s That's about it. My aunt wasn't happy about the flock's gathering outside the back door on the walk each morning waiting for their human friend. She washed the area every day.
I didn't think this video was going to be this entertaining, but now i wanna start a duck farm!
Awesome!
I'm a city guy who has made his living his whole life by talking. Well, using my brain and talking. So I am terrifically admiring of guys who use their brains to actually make things happen and have to deal with elements and animals and physical forces and objects, etc. and utilize strength and body effort and endurance to create food. Respect, sir, and kudos.
Thank you! It wasn't that long ago that I was a city guy who just did talking, too.
Your ducks are single-handedly curing my depression my dude
That's expected
You sound surprised
Never knew i wanted a duck farm until the youtube algorithm
Ha ha ha
Same
had a fave Drake Mallard sweet lil man but ofc the mink found him
This comment is my life lol
@Steve the Piratehow so?
That cat...I bet he knows where that missing duck went.
Farmer: "we never found the body..."
Cat left chat.
Ha ha ha. Now that you mention it...
Lol. My cat is a murder, she's got no interest in our 6 (5, neighbors dog broke through the fence). She expressed no interest when they were little (though our introducing them might have influenced that) and she is more afraid of them than they are of her.
My guess is a hawk
@@TAPriceCTR Most likely, cats have to much of a ego to try and hide the corpse...
I had ducks and chickens and my cats use to sit on the brood boxes then when the birds got older my cats use to chase other cats off when they were sneaking around they where protective of the birds I know it sounds crazy but its true
Coyote, skunk, or UFO laughing.
When i was at the feed store and they had chicks and ducklings i was told ducks are more like dogs and chickens are more like cats. I'm a dog person so i went with ducks. Mine come to "hey ladies"
Haha! That's too funny! I have Chinese geese and when it's time for bed I just say "in" and in their shed they go and for morning, I say "out" and out they go for the day! Now I'm working on "NO" when they try to bite me. I'm getting there haha! Gotta love farming!
lol Good luck with "no" mitigating their nipping! hahaha
You’re probably right about that one.
It's definitely not as easy as "in" and "out" but it seams to be working. I've had them since they were 4 months old and they only started nipping when breeding season started. They were quite gentle before that. I guess I'll know in the fall haha!
I just opened the gate every morning and got out of the way. Every night after they went in just before dark I closed and locked their door. They probably thought I was a mute!
I thought yours was a serious comment until the NO training and I lost my POISE!
This is the cutest video about raising ducks.
At .30 remember to place eggs pointy side down in the carton. Air inside the egg rises completely, stays away from yolk & keeps eggs fresher longer. I love hearing the drakes little quibble compared to the loud, actual quack of the ducks! 🦆💚
MusCovy ducks are quiet. They don't quack. Lay good eggs and they are good size ducks.
I have ducks on my 2 acre pond they are happy as can be and they sleep on the water so you don’t have to watch out for predators. You seem to have enough land to dig even a small pond. in the winter put a heater or an underwater fan to keep the water from freezing. It would be much better then moving water all the time
I love that this was randomly recommended to me. Good luck farming!
I think you mean good duck...
For the coup, recommend layering straw or woodchips into the bedding. When soiled, and before adding more layers, turn the bedding to aerate. Makes a good compostable mulch for the following spring.
Once we have power, we can build a coop for our birds too.
All ducks, go to bed! All ducks, go to bed! Lmfao!
rounding up ducks for bed is hard.
That's Jack Spirko's classic command!
@Scottie Westfall I learned from the best of them!
Lol
ya that was good but I liked ""release the Quackins"
Release the Quackin,I love this guys sense of humor.
Oh my goodness. You had me at "Release the quackens!" Wonderful video. Loved every second.
"The more ducks the merrier." I can't argue with that.
Great Job! As someone who's kept ducks for many years now I'd like to make two suggestions, 1. if you get some ceramic eggs & dig out a little depression where your ducks already like to lay IN THEIR HOUSE & letting them out of their house a little later in the morning, you may be able to get more/most of your eggs layed in one or two CLEAN spots in doors & in the morning. This is easier to accomplish if you start it before they start laying but, ducks are very trainable...anything you do CONSISTENTLY, they will learn. And, 2, a pond...trust me...you will spend much less time dealing with water if you spend the time digging out a pond. I've dug two now. The first was about 8' x 12' & 3' deep. The second, because I now only have 5 ducks is more of a puddle, 6' x 8' x 2+'. IF at all possible, a drain at the bottom that you can use to water the vege' garden is a BIG bonus because cleaning it is still necessary but, depending on the "load", maybe only annually. Good luck, ducky!
This was soooo helpful!! Thank you for posting this!! I’m totally going to use the “All ducks, go to bed!” Phrase!
Go for it! Original credit is owed to Jack Spirko for that one.
Thanks for these videos they make our days valuable.
This is honestly a REALLY great video! I raise different types of ducks and hatch ducklings. All of your info was spot on! If I was just starting out this video would have been super helpful. One time we randomly lost a duck and when we checked our camera system we saw that a mountain lion came all the way down to our house during the day (which never happens) and our drake actually went after him! The mountain lion knocked him down with one paw as he was attacking him. It was crazy to watch, but at least we knew what happened. That's just farm life. Love your channel!
What a brave duck 😢
>Be a duck farmer
>Find out you're allergic to duck eggs.
Зато на мясо нет.
well then use the sales from the duck eggs to get some fertile quail eggs, and raise those for eggs, if you cant eat dinosaur egg meat then use their waste to feed plants to feed yourself, and the ducks
a drainage system above a garden, with a delta system to break down wastes and filter water
to a garden or flowerbed, or cultivate an ecosystem to enjoy and listen to your ducks
@@VincentGonzalezVeg Great knowledge, when I am ready for my faim, I'll contact you
Don’t consume your own supply. That’s just good business.
@Justin Y. the rare justin y found in many videos comments sections hidden
Khaki Campbell and Welsh Harlequin are the ones I want. This made me so excited to get started and confident I made the right choice picking ducks over chickens.
I always liked the large chocolate Muscoves.
I bought dozen of duck eggs for the first time and was looking for recipes on TH-cam and here I am in middle of the night looking at duck farming lol
Actually I don't have to put my chickens in at night... I go out to the coop about 15 mins before sundown and they're already on roost ready for me to lock them in... They've been that way since I let them start free ranging at 6 months old...
That sounds like a great situation. My mother is constantly trying to round up her birds. It's quite the chore!
you are lucky then.
@@nicelydone9776 ... I just bought 15 more chicks, we'll see this fall if my luck holds out...
Mine started out doing that and then a few months later they wouldn't go in inless i walked towards them,they would walk around the house once and then go in smh. Then a few weeks after that,they decided they didnt want to go back in at all. I have no clue why.
Snarky Dink Farm I’ve heard this from my uncle too. He lets the chickens free range on the farm and at sun down they’re all cooped up inside ready to roost.
Since you seem to be the only channel talking about ducks that comes up on my feed, and I enjoy your videos, I would be happy to purchase my ducks or eggs from you when I'm ready. Probably pretty close to a year from now.
Ducks are hands down my favorite poultry to raise. Such a gentle guy; the world would be a better place if all meat/egg production animals were raised with same humane level of dignity as this man does with his birds.
The ducks listen better then my kids when it’s time for bed
Lolz 😁👍
_Release the quacken_ Seriously? Yer quacken me up.
bluewater454 not sure whether to like this or dislike
Your ordinary SCSI hard drive controller
I'm sure you will make the right decision. Cheers.
bluewater454 just because you said that I’m liking it
Pun city
bluewater454 I'll send you the bill for that joke your cracking me up
My brother owns chickens, and I don't know how, but he trained them... He can yell "come on chickens" and they will all run to the base of his porch, and wait there for another order... It's pretty cool!
A lot of people really like duck. I don't! But watching you deal with them has been interesting. Saying this I love chickens! They are easier to deal with and I enjoy watching them. My chickens have been easy to keep clean. But I admire your efforts. I truly appreciate your videos. Have a great week!
I agree.
I picked and ate my first duck eggs during the winter months when my ducks were contained and eating only the food I provided them, I had a slight reaction to them making me believe I was allergic to duck eggs as well... however during the summer months when they were free ranging I tried them again and found I had no reaction to them when their diet was more diverse. The eggs had better flavor as well!
I was keeping two dogs and I had them trained to come outside to eat on the command," all dogs that want to be fed must come outside". Worked like a charm!
Brilliant!
This is an amazing and entertaining video. One of the best ‘farm, info videos’ I have ever seen.
I once owned a duck Farm.
Lost every single Duck in the first three months.
I finally figured out i was planting them too close together.
;)
Did you get your soil tested? Ducks don’t like a high pH.
🤣
I think they call that a duck cemetery. lol
Best comment ever! 🤣🤣🤣
Amazing video Morgan!!!! I learned so much! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
👌👌👌
Best thing for watering is 55gallon barrel with approx. 4"x12" slots cut around it. Heater in center for winter.
That's a cool idea.
My 2 most favorite things about my ducks are the same as yours! You can "train" them to respond to voice commands and they have such a playful and comical personality!
Another great breed to consider, for ease of maintenance and egg laying, are the Swedish Blue ducks. We've kept them for years and are thankful.
Also consider your feed when producing eggs. Fish meal will make your eggs take fishy....
I have 5 ducks all different species and yes they are so easy to command and they respond to familiar noises and sounds, i also herd them as you do by opening my arms and telling them where to go
“All ducks, go to bed!”
Hah, I had to subscribe 🤣
Thank you! I really appreciate it!
Gold Shaw Farm How are your ducks doing? I saw your most recent video where they have been attacked by something 😢
Recovering, but hurt. I had a second attack the other night. I’ll post a video about it on Monday. (Sorry for the bummer news.)
aaaawwwww, I dont wanna!
I have chickens and we trained them to come when called. So everyday we let them free range and I will just yell, " chick chick " and they will all come running. It's really cute. We are also getting ducks soon and I'm very excited! Turkeys are also really nice to have.
Hi. It was probably botulism. To combat it I elevated the pools on pallets covered with rubber pavers. This was after I lost several ducks to it. I raised khakis and muscovy for way too long. We used the pools for bathing and nipple waterers to make sure they never ran out. In the winter when it got below 20 fahrenheit I put a fish tank heaters in the nipple waterer buckets and let them bathe once a day. I found that was the lowest maintenance solution to the water situation.
Love your editing. Such great humor! I watched your video as I prepare to get ducks of my own, and it just made me more confident that getting ducks is the right choice for me!
Yeah get a loooong hose or I highly recommend building a pond. Paddles to keep water moving for freezing? Maybe
You are my kindred spirit. We live in California and have muscovy ducks. They are so interesting and funny. They are constantly broody and raise ducklings year round. We don’t collect the eggs very often. We usually let them hatch their babies and then sell them. They are serious about egg laying, and always build a nest and use it. We have a full on farm with cattle, goats, horses and chickens. The ducks are by far the messiest animal we have ever raised... we even had pigs for a time. They basically shoot poop everywhere. Nothing is sacred.
Great job on your channel. I really enjoyed watching ducks in the snow.
I like the slow mo duck walk....awesome business! Good job! Lol!
I was listening to you about how you haul water back and forth. I have ducks also, it’s a lot of work to haul water, this year I purchased 2 heated hoses, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
Great video! I absolutely Love my ducks and too went through the ups and downs of learning how to deal with them. I started with pekins and all 5 were taken out by a fox. :( Now we have Welsh Harlequins (which derived from the Khacki Campbell) I love their durability. I found sand in the coop around their waterer has helped out with the mess! We have 6 females per 1 drake. I have the incubator full at the moment. :D. My husband is allergic to duck eggs....it was really bad finding that out. I peep at my ducks when it is feeding time. So when I want to round them up I start peeping and they come right away. ;) I agree with you Ducks are awesome! Happy Homesteading!! ~Shaina~
Welsh Harlequins are the best! Some lay year round and are more calm than khaki Cambells.
As the owner of a duck flock who is also duck egg “intolerant”, I totally feel your husband’s pain. It took me several tries to decide that yes it really was the duck eggs I was allergic to and not some other factor (ate greasy food with them, too much hot sauce/salsa, etc). It is very disappointing to have access to such an abundance of big gorgeous eggs and not be able to eat them.
Grace Homestead Farm you should get Japanese ducks or geese to protect your flock
Kate Harris I cant eat chicken eggs I always puke it out I usually eat quail eggs or duck eggs
Jovan Alavanja I’ve wanted to try quail eggs for a while, they just look so cute.
We are planning on raising ducks this year for the first time. I was raised on a farm with chickens and geese, but not ducks, so I appreciate this video!
Our ducks get mad if we don't put them to bed on time.
Morgan , if you have a flowing creek , you can make a ram pump to run water to the new pond to fill it. Then direct the pond overflow back to the creek again. A small ram pump does not pump a high volume of water but it pumps 24/7/52 and so will slowly fill your pond.
Great.. so you're just pumping sh*t water back into the creek.. thanks bud..
You should use the water to water/fertilize plants instead of pumping filth into your downstream neighbors water supply bud
I subbed to your channel because you really care about the happiness of ducks :)
I plan to get some Khaki Campbells this year although my husband has been reticent. I think when he sees you shouting "Release the quackin'!" and "All ducks, go to bed!" he will change his mind. Great video. It inspired me to subscribe!
TH-cam Recommended videos is strange. I'm living in a big town and it recommends me how to start a duck farm. But i absolutely loved the video, really well made and watched it till the end. Now want to start a farm ! Keep on the farm vids dude !
Thanks and I'm glad you enjoyed our videos!
Subscribed because of the nice simple intro and you got straight to the point.
Stayed because much respect for the environment you are in. Here in Texas the coldest it gets is 28, and I would not want to deal with anything colder than that!
First time watching. Loved it! What a fun, light-hearted, and informative vid! And love the bison hat! Cheers from CO!
I love ducks. There were these two Mallards that would greet me at the train station every morning in exchange for a couple slices of bread. Very sweet animals.
Crazy good production quality in your videos. I have not gone through all your vids yet, but you could def do a video on your production techniques and equipment. Thanks for sharing.
Super cute story and informative!! Love your ducks. I have 4 babies with 6 more on the way. I'm sure I'll be adding more. Ducks just make you smile. So glad I have mine no matter how much work they are!!
"I can herd them" one duck just sits down the the grass as he chases he others.... 10:30 . I don't know why but it made me laugh.
I raised ducks except i have 3 ponds close by ... shot 9 coyotes 1st year ... now i raise malards ... they hang around then fly South for the winter ... some come back and have babies . Loving nature .
Thanks. This is really interesting for us humans that aren’t duck owners.
Is that you Mark Zuckerberg?
We raise Rhode Island Reds for egg production, meat turkeys, broilers, and this year, Pekin ducks for meat. All our birds have been trained to respond to clapping when it is time to move them in or out of a building. This is our first year with ducks and I was very surprised at their hardiness and how fast they grow. At four weeks old, they are much larger than I would have expected with their slaughter age at only 7-8 weeks.
when I get my own place I am 100% buying ducks from you.
Wow, this video is packed with helpful tips! I especially loved the advice at [3:55] - protect ducks from predators. Can't wait to try it out in my own garden with 3 ducks. Thanks for sharing these awesome insights!
Thanks for the cool video dude. You have a much more professional filming style than most farmtubers and it shows in the quality of the video. Keep it up
It's actually pretty amazing to see them in the snow. They do not seem bothered at all....
As a Kid we had a big corral. We had id say about 50 chickens (and 3 geese) and I had them all trained to respond to my voice. They knew when i did a particular call that food was coming and they would start crawling out of the woodwork like a zombie invasion to where ever I was expecting to find food. (The geese were particularly eager and would sometimes trip over the chickens as they ran over)
I so far have 3 types of grown ducks. And a hole lot of chickens. Love them both. I've had them all since babies so even my chickens listen. When I say it's time for bed they all run to their houses and in to bed they go. I'm hatching my first set of ducks soon. And today I came home with 8 more baby ducks. I am very sure I have 2 more kinds. But I love how many eggs I get from them. Great job with your duck farm so far.
You should definitely also do a polycultural vegetable garden; more profit, more health, more varied food for you and the ducks. Don't put all your eggs in one basket! (no duck pun intended..)
I yell crazy Quakers and crazy cheekons to get their attention. I tell them alright go get in your house lol. if I walk outside and quack my quack at them they recognize it and start quacking back like crazy, i love both!
Always up at the Quack of dawn.
the amount of racket these birds must be making in the morning will surely make it hard for anyone to get proper bed rest.
🙄
that's a tshirt.
Brett Roberts omg. You’re so ducking funny!😂😂😂😜
So, a quick point on duckling brooders and water: I've found that wood PELLETS, not chips, work wonderfully. When they get wet, the expand like sponges and, once they fill with enough water, the pellets pop. What's left behind is almost like dirt or sand. Once burst, they still had a good amount of absorption to do before it was time to change it.
Since using pellets, we didn't have to change out the brooder bedding nearly as much and the ducklings loved it. Highly recommend.
That’s a great tip!
No one:
TH-cam: hey. Let's start a duck farm
No regrets tho...
thanks for the insight into a world i know absolutely nothing about. especially the part where you mentioned you can order ducks through the post. i have a feeling that will come in handy one day.
I've had both chickens and ducks in the Pacific NW, and I much prefer ducks for ease of care and personality. To make them easy to care for, there are some keys.
-- Water source within a few feet of dirt is a bad idea. Ducks will splash water that far, and over time create a mini pig sty. Surround any water source with gravel or some other ground cover that they can't mix into mud.
-- Any water container that the ducks drink out of will become dirty pretty fast. Moreso, if they can swim in it. The dirty duck water works really well to pump into a greenhouse as a fertilized water source, with it draining back into the duck pond. In fact, a greenhouse can easily be set up to do double duty as a duck house, and managed like an aquaponics setup using ducks instead of fish.
-- I make my ducks forage during the day, and only feed them at night. No training necessary. There can be a problem after the first heavy rain as the ducks will be stuffed full of worms and other small creatures flooded out of their hiding places. Helpful to have a way to funnel them towards their door on those occasions, but the older ducks will go in with little effort out of habit.
-- A 2 foot tall, 2 inch mesh, poultry wire fence with a hotwire 4 to 6 inches above is all that is necessary to keep ducks in and furred predators out. Weasels could get through, but so far, I haven't had any problems though they are native to the region, but never seen one in the neighborhood. Neighborhood coyotes could easily jump the fence, but they never do though I've seen them looking wistfully in from the other side. I also put the poultry wire flat on the ground under the fence, and the coyotes seem to shy away from that as if it was leg hold traps. Keeps the ever present raccoons out too. Once in awhile, some duck will fly over the fence. Those ducks end up end up on the dinner table, if a predator doesn't get them first. Very rare with my Welsh Harlequins.
-- I only hatch out good quality eggs that are laid before 9 AM in a nest. Most ducks of most breeds will do this naturally, selectively hatching out eggs from only those that do really concentrates this behaviour in their genes. The rest of the eggs that are randomly laid get eaten.
-- If you create a combo greenhouse/duckhouse, you can also raise duckweed and black soldier fly larvae all year round and never have to buy feed for the ducks again.
Great knowledge
A greenhouse with ducks in it will increase CO2 which is very beneficial to plant growth. Commercial greenhouses will increase CO2 to 1200 to 1500 ppm. After 1500 ppm, adding CO2 is considered wasteful. Plants don't start being adversely affected until 5000 ppm. Ducks probably are going to be affected somewhere around 2000 ppm, I would guess. BSFL also produce CO2 because of their high metabolism, though I have never seen any numbers. I suspect that there tolerance for CO2 buildup is very very high though.
Both the ducks and BSFL will add heat to a greenhouse, lowering heating expenses also.
I do not believe that I could ever thank you enough for creating this Awesome, Informative, video about owning ducks. No only did you clearly and effectively describe and explain the challenges and responsibilities of maintenance, care, and sustainable development of duck farming, you did so in a manner which easily crosses over into many areas of responsibility in other farming and sustaining successfully as well too relating to areas of personal responsibility of humanity. Thank you sir for sharing this nugget of LIFE WISDOM with the public.
I raise ducks here on the prairie of South Dakota. I absolutely love raising them. I currently have 30 ducks and 3 geese, I get about 15-20 eggs a day!
Do you have any problems selling them?
I live in one of the best places for ducks in my opinion. Never gets colder than 20 Fahrenheit and we get lots of rain
"Release the quack heads!"
That's what I'd say to make my ducks go outside 😂
Loved this vlog. I will have a pond builted on my property. Just easier than supplying water everyday. Both ducks n geese will be there. For their eggs and meat anytime I want fowl for dinner. Good luck on your farm. Can't wait to see how the orchard turns out. Started mine from seeds as well. There is like 40 large canisters growing peach, pear, apricot and apple trees in the garage converted into my growing house.
Not tempted to install a tap closer to the ducks? :)
Thanks for this, always been interested in keeping ducks
Years ago I had ducks, they were my absolute babies, I had them from day olds, id walk around the house and call them by saying (in a slightly high pitched voice) "Come on come on come on"...One summer afternoon ducks were out in the garden and I was in the living room, my baby took her first steps and so, I stood her back up and said come on come on come on, you can do it... before I knew it I had 6 ducks thrashing up the back door step and into the hall calling me. It's a story we've told for years and now it's on the internet lol. Im soon to be getting ducks again, love all your videos, ive watched so many, ducks really are fab!
I have a duck too .. i live in trinidad my duck leaves me everynight but in the morning . He is there . But in trinidad its warm .. by you its soo cold
Love my khakis! Great video. Just the sort of video I searched for last year when first getting mine!
You forgot the one important fact about ducks, THEY ARE CUTE! Subscribed.
Ha! You are right. They are pretty gosh darn adorable. Thanks for subscribing!
This was so informative & fun! I have a ‘flock’ on our MT 3 acres consists of 3 chickens, 3 ducks, & 2 huge grey geese. They all wander together & coop together at night & we enjoy our little ‘mixed family’ immensely. They are ‘pets’ & I appreciate the cold climate info. We are heading into our first winter w them. The chickens stay in the coop during the cold snaps but I fret about the cold affecting the waterfowls feet, should they have swimming water in winter etc. This vid really helped ease my mind about all that. Thanks & good luck w your farming venture! ☺️
Is your work all that it’s quacked up to be?
It pays the bills.
How much can you make honestly not trying to pry into your finances but I have a lot of land and am thinking about starting a duck farm
I sure am glad you made this video. It helped me to get a better understanding of what to expect when I decide to buy some ducklings
Poop glacier? I came to this vid for a break on political stuff.
Great vid!
Old tires make good winter waterers for waterfowl. They can dip their heads and drink but not swim in it,so no poopy water. Tires make great year round feeders for all fowl for the same reason.
How do you orient the tire? Horizontally, or vertically (like on a car)?
Thanks for the video
have you ever heard of a hose my guy ? instead of carrying 5 gallon buckets. Also you can cover the water outlet with an insulation cup and it helps with freezing over
Turn that poop into compost.. he’ll throw it in the lawn and let it breakdown for a healthy grass feed for them
Lots of good information about raising duck. Inspired me to try to raise some ducks when I secure a protected area in my homestead for them.
Knew ducks love water. Now I understand why.
I thought that looked like Vermont... and I was right! Lived there for a little over five years. Wonderful place to farm and homestead! Salutations from Wisconsin. 👋🏻
He's an idea from a friend of mine overseas who has a couple of geese.
He collects the egg, drills a small hole in the top or bottom and removes the contents completely.
Then he plates the egg in silver or gold through some method... and does something artistic with it.
The egg is whole and in tact - its shell is not broken. Easier to do with a duck egg which has a tougher shell than a chicken egg.
Its sold as some kind of ornament.
Anyways thought i'd pass on the idea.
This video was incredible! Taken in hand with Self Sufficient Me's video about why NOT to have ducks, the two videos compliment each other so well. Two very different climates and techniques produced very different duck experiences.