I have 6 khaki campbells (for eggs) and 3 cayugas (for a splash of color) ranging from 4-5 weeks. From the sounds of it, I can tell I have at least one drake amongst them (hopefully more, cuz I don't want THAT many eggs!).
From my research, nearly everyone has free-range ducks. I don't necessarily have that option. (Can't fence in our yard, unpredictable vehicle/large animal traffic 50 yards away, and our two large breed dogs.) SO I built a comfy duck house and attached it to an already oversized chicken run that has been vacant. (To which I'm quite proud of.) However, my eventual goal is to be able to let them out of their run for a couple hours each mid-morning to roam through the grass/trees and our large gardens. This would give the feed bill and the run a break, at least. But they are still terrified of me, and trample each other, cringing in the corners, and am afraid I wouldn't be able to get them back in. Thoughts on how to calm my ducks? I've read the campbells are more skiddish in general, and maybe my flock is too big to be trusting of me. Currently, I let them out into the run about 9am, and lock back in the duck-house about 9pm. (We have sunlight from 5am to 9pm, ever increasing.) Most of the time they're already inside, but it could be because the dogs beat me there.
So my questions:
Currently switching from Chick Crumbles (18%protein) to Meatbird (22%protein). Then plan to transition to Layer (16%) and wheat option at approx 4mo old. There is an All Flock (18%) available at our feed store, too. Is this a good outline? And when is it best to introduce wheat? When/if/how to provide grit?
When in their run, I provide fresh tub of water every morning and fill up a hub-cap (from a vehicle wheel) with food. Inside their duck-house is a 7gallon poultry waterer. I leave the duck-house door open, with ramp, during the day. At night, I refill the hub-cap with food and put in the duck-house with them. Currently, their house is bedded with pine shavings. Can I use straw instead, now that they're older, and getting huge?! Each morning there's quite the mess in their house, which I scrap out, let dry during the day, and replenish the shavings when put in at night. Do they still need free-choice food and water throughout the night??
After visting the duck portion of the website, I saw that it's highly suggested to worm ducks twice a year. Since mine are primarily in a dirt run, do they need to be wormed more often? and at age should start worming?
Any other thoughts or advice would be great. I'm trying to make this work, and not be high-maintenance. (As the summer progresses, I will be less and less able to do chores due to temporary physical limitations.) Thanks for the help!
From my research, nearly everyone has free-range ducks. I don't necessarily have that option. (Can't fence in our yard, unpredictable vehicle/large animal traffic 50 yards away, and our two large breed dogs.) SO I built a comfy duck house and attached it to an already oversized chicken run that has been vacant. (To which I'm quite proud of.) However, my eventual goal is to be able to let them out of their run for a couple hours each mid-morning to roam through the grass/trees and our large gardens. This would give the feed bill and the run a break, at least. But they are still terrified of me, and trample each other, cringing in the corners, and am afraid I wouldn't be able to get them back in. Thoughts on how to calm my ducks? I've read the campbells are more skiddish in general, and maybe my flock is too big to be trusting of me. Currently, I let them out into the run about 9am, and lock back in the duck-house about 9pm. (We have sunlight from 5am to 9pm, ever increasing.) Most of the time they're already inside, but it could be because the dogs beat me there.
So my questions:
Currently switching from Chick Crumbles (18%protein) to Meatbird (22%protein). Then plan to transition to Layer (16%) and wheat option at approx 4mo old. There is an All Flock (18%) available at our feed store, too. Is this a good outline? And when is it best to introduce wheat? When/if/how to provide grit?
When in their run, I provide fresh tub of water every morning and fill up a hub-cap (from a vehicle wheel) with food. Inside their duck-house is a 7gallon poultry waterer. I leave the duck-house door open, with ramp, during the day. At night, I refill the hub-cap with food and put in the duck-house with them. Currently, their house is bedded with pine shavings. Can I use straw instead, now that they're older, and getting huge?! Each morning there's quite the mess in their house, which I scrap out, let dry during the day, and replenish the shavings when put in at night. Do they still need free-choice food and water throughout the night??
After visting the duck portion of the website, I saw that it's highly suggested to worm ducks twice a year. Since mine are primarily in a dirt run, do they need to be wormed more often? and at age should start worming?
Any other thoughts or advice would be great. I'm trying to make this work, and not be high-maintenance. (As the summer progresses, I will be less and less able to do chores due to temporary physical limitations.) Thanks for the help!
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