Tell me about raising ducks

[Livi's Mama]

I have the chance to get some ducklings (Pekin) from an aquaintance. They would be mostly for entertainment. We have about 3 acres with several old farm buildings. I was told the ducks will pretty much fend for themselves & find shelter when they need it. I like the idea of them not needing much attention, given baby #2 is joining us soon. One concern I have is them wandering off our land. 2 sides are fields, one is wooded, the other is the road. It's not very busy, but we still get some traffic. Anyone have experiences to share? TIA!

[farmer mama]

I have muscovies and I really like ducks. They will just find shelter as needed, and mine prefer a small amount of water to splash in. They also need their drinking water changed daily because they like to "muddle" as they eat. Even though the bulk of their food is foraged, we still put out some feed for them. Our road doesn't get much traffic, but if they are used to cars they should stay off it, or you may want to get a small fence up to deter them. Male duck can be a little ornery (although our male is nice), and in spring time they will mate if you have a male and female(s). Their mating is a little uncomfortable looking, so be warned. You also want a good male to female ratio so it isn't too hard on the poor girls. If you only get girls this isn't an issue. Hope I didn't scare you away, ducks are really a lot of fun, and we have a bunch of cute little ducklings right now.

[coopnwhitsmommy]

our ducks just kind of waddled around didn't go too far. They were rescued ducks though two mallards that had been shot through their wings, and a muscovie that had been hit by a car and a couple of somthings not sure what they were that someone just dumped off half dead. I guess people see a farm and think Hey! why not dump off our unwanted animals there! they find shelter when they need it we had a wading pool that they could splash in they also eventually found their way down to the pond and would spend most of the day down there with the geese molesting the coy and then would all troup back up to the barn just before nightfall. We put out cracked corn and that seemed to get them to stay around better.

[Livi's Mama]

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, I recently recalled that our homeowner's insurance, already none-too-thrilled with our farm buildings (even though it's not a working farm) will drop us if we get anything more than house pets. I guess I'll have to check on the rates of farm insurance. If it's much higher than we pay now, the ducks will probably have to wait. :

[Ravin]

Ducks can be house pets. Haven't you ever seen Friends? As long as you have no intention of raising them to eat, and not in large numbers, they can (I would think) be legally argued to be pets and not livestock.

[Saki]

Originally Posted by farmer mama

I have muscovies and I really like ducks. They will just find shelter as needed, and mine prefer a small amount of water to splash in. They also need their drinking water changed daily because they like to "muddle" as they eat. Even though the bulk of their food is foraged, we still put out some feed for them. Our road doesn't get much traffic, but if they are used to cars they should stay off it, or you may want to get a small fence up to deter them. Male duck can be a little ornery (although our male is nice), and in spring time they will mate if you have a male and female(s). Their mating is a little uncomfortable looking, so be warned. You also want a good male to female ratio so it isn't too hard on the poor girls. If you only get girls this isn't an issue. Hope I didn't scare you away, ducks are really a lot of fun, and we have a bunch of cute little ducklings right now.

My muscovies keep running away from our yard, which is not good since we are near the ocean and there are eagles. Any way I can get them to stick around without fencing in the yard???

[farmer mama]

Are they full grown? If not, you may need a low tempory fence and then take it down as they get big enough. We have eagles occassionally eye ours but I think they are too big for them. Wish I had some better ideas, I will think on it and get back to you.