We adopted two 5 mo old Khaki Campbell ducks last fall. We think they're actually more Indian Runner than total KC, though...maybe mutts. They really have that tall winebottle shape and run instead of waddle. We always thought we'd start with chickens, but when the ducks became available, we just couldn't resist. We LOVE them! They're both females and look like they'll each lay an egg a day for about 10 mo out of the year with no extra night light. When they're not laying, the two of them go through a 50lb bag of food in about 3 mo. Now that they're laying, they're eating more, so maybe about 1 every 2 mo. We have lots of coyotes, bobcats, weasles, owls and hawks here, so we have them in a 12x12' outdoor pen fully enclosed on sides and top with wire fencing that's burried into the ground about a foot. My dh built them a 2x4' night box that's wired on one half and enclosed with plywood on the other half, so they can self-regulate with temps. We figured they'd need it for both nighttime predator protection and cold protection. They had no problem with minus 13 this winter and actually stayed in the open-air side of the pen for part of that night. Folks we talked to around here said they only ever had lean-tos for their ducks. We just herd them in each night, easy. We use straw for bedding in the box and in the pen. Seems to work fine, although I think I'd rather have wood shavings -- I understand that ducks can be susceptible to fungus that grows on wet straw. I have "the glove" that I remove the poopy straw from the box each morning into a compost bin, rake the outside pen every couple of weeks. They never smell, but we're in the SW, so maybe it all dries up quickly? The soil they're on drains very well. For eastern or clay soils, I'd recommend putting a layer of pea gravel and/or sand down -- might help with the smells.
We have a kiddie pool for them that we siphon onto our berry plants about once a week. The plants are doing great. Because their poo is watery, it can be added directly to the soil with plants -- won't burn them.
I've found them very easy to care for and super entertaining. They're very personable. They actually seem happier if we're out in the yard. We just sit and watch them and call it duck tv. They're not very good kitchen scrap eaters. They love all the greens from our garden though -- even the ones that have bolted, so we feed them those and any bugs/grubs/crickets we find. I can't wait to find out if they eat squash bugs! Dh saw one nab a yellow jacket out of the air the other day and eat it.
They're pretty quacky -- mostly in the morning when they're ready to be let out of the box. We're on 2.5 acres and our neighbors still hear them; not sure if I'd recommend them for an urban yard.
We have 5yro and 8yro boys -- pretty rambunctious. The ducks let them catch them and hold them, but the ducks don't really like it. They love the boys feeding them greens, though!
In the end, if you don't count labor, we come out roughly even on costs, compared to buying organic eggs at the store. (we feed them organic feed) But we get all the joy of them and know they're living the high life.
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