City Ducks

[Urban Farmer]

A couple weeks ago I was at a store looking for a plumbing part when I walked past some ducklings in a tub. Cute little things. My wife told me I should get some, which was enough to convince me she was right. We walked out of there with zero plumbing parts and 6 ducks.

One thing I have learned about ducklings is that they make chickens looks smart. Despite my efforts we are now down to 5 ducklings.

Something that amazes me is how incredibly fast ducklings grow! These ducklings are around one month old but they are the size of adult ducks. They are still growing their wings in, but their bodies are huge.

Ducklings are not very clean fowl. They require I change out their pools every day (the chickens and goats would let me go a few days).

I have learned why there is the saying, "get your ducks in a row." Who would have thought these little ducklings love to walk in single file lines everywhere they go. It is fun to watch, especially when they are following me for feeding time.

None of my hens have adopted them, but they tend to stay together and watch out for one another.

Overall, ducklings are great, but a more work than chickens.

[Urban Farmer]

I realize the internet is full of information but I did a partial impulse buy when I was at a Tractor Supply store and purchased the book, "An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Raising Backyard Ducks," by Gail Damerow. Based on what I am reading and seeing in this book, my ducks are most likely Pekin's, based on their color (feather, bill, leg and feet), overall look, and growth rate. This book says they do not fly.

A quick search and the same results are listed. Apparently because they are such heavy-bodied birds *and* they have smaller wings they do not fly.

One thing I will note is that these ducks thoroughly enjoy water.

[Urban Farmer]

Something else, ducks can dirty their water real quick.

I have several of those 3' kiddie pools which I use to water some of my animals, and the ducks have taken over these as their ponds. Just like all the animals, I feed them in the morning, they eat, then they chase their breakfast with some water from the "watering holes." The ducks just waddle up to the pools, hop into them, and bath themselves. They tend to all get into one, which allows the other animals to a different pool. The ducks used to swim across the pool, diving under water, when they were tiny, but they are now huge and cannot fully submerse themselves. (This brings me to another project, which will be building a pond.)

[Urban Farmer]

A week or so ago I lost all of my ducks to a determined dog that was able to push through my fence. It was probably a combination of the fence being old and the dog being strong and determined. The lesson learned here is to regularly check your fence lines for weaknesses and areas which require repair. Also, think about every realistic scenario that may punish that fence, such as weather, animals inside the fence, animals outside the fence, humans, falling trees or rocks, and then take it a bit further for the just in case scenarios. What if the animals outside the fence have the strength of a bull and want to get to the animals inside the fence?

It is an easy thing to add to your daily or weekly walk-through/eyes-on rituals.