The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: xenedra on August 28, 2017, 02:05:59 pm
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Hi there, I'd like to start keeping ducks for eggs (and occasionally for the table). So I'm considering getting Silver Appleyards because they're pretty and seem multi-purpose. As I'm very new to duck keeping I'm trying to read up on the subject, but haven't yet found any info on problems with them mixing with wild ducks. I have a moat at my house and it's regularly visited by Mallards.
Will the wild ducks beat my ducks up, pass on any nasty diseases or encourage my ducks to fly off? Will they breed with each other and end up wild? Do I need to do anything special to ensure my ducks remain tame, separate and happily waddle into their own duck house to be safely locked in at the end of the day? The wild ducks come and go as they please, and nest on the bank. I have visions of me buying ducks and building a cute little duck house only to find they all lay their eggs among the bushes where I can't find them then disappear.
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Hmm, the Silver Appleyards I raised a few years ago wouldn't have followed your script. Remember that last Winter, from late Autumn until early May this year, keepers of poultry, including ducks, were required to keep their birds under cover to avoid contamination from migrating birds (mostly wildfowl) due to avian influenza. I'm working on the assumption that this could well be repeated this year.
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If you want eggs and no worry about ducks flying off get runners. Not for the table though. Ducks can be notoriously bad at going to bed at night. To prevent flying off you would need to clip their wings. Ducks can lay out whether they have wild ducks to lead them astray or or not.
Yes, there is always the chance wild ducks and wild birds in general will bring disease but mostly it isn't a problem. Wild birds are everywhere and so is domestic poultry. However, bird flu caused a real problem last winter and potentially will again.
Runners are quite easy to herd in at night.
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Oh lordy what a nightmare that must be for people with a lot of poultry. In that case, do you think there's anything I can do to chase off the Mallards? From what I can gather, wild ducks can be territorial and more aggressive towards each other than domestic ducks, so maybe there's nothing I can do to get rid of them...
I've also just read that despite Silver Appleyards being quite heavy birds, they're good at flying. So maybe I should be considering a different breed anyway, or stick to chickens :-\
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If you want eggs and no worry about ducks flying off get runners. Not for the table though. Ducks can be notoriously bad at going to bed at night. To prevent flying off you would need to clip their wings. Ducks can lay out whether they have wild ducks to lead them astray or or not.
Yes, there is always the chance wild ducks and wild birds in general will bring disease but mostly it isn't a problem. Wild birds are everywhere and so is domestic poultry. However, bird flu caused a real problem last winter and potentially will again.
Runners are quite easy to herd in at night.
We were both typing at the same time Harmony ;D
I love runner ducks, they're so comical to watch. And as they don't fly it would solve one of my potential problems without having to clip them. It would be nice to watch my fat feathered friends swim about though, and as you say, they're not great for the table. Hmm... more thinking needed.
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Runners swim too ;)
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I don't understand people who can't train their ducks to go to bed at night! I've trained dozens! Yesterday I came back home slightly after sunset and they were already inside the coop!
Every time I go to lock them up I throw some food inside the coop. when they see me in the evening they go inside themselves! No problem at all! This is muscovies, Campbell's, Aylesbury, as well as geese!
I have brook flowing through our place and plenty of mallards and other birds at certain times of year. My ducks scare them away normally. Also most domestic ducks are simply too fat and their wings are too small to fly. Silver appleyard are huge in comparison to wild mallards. Definitely won't fly! But... they won't lay the most egg though. You rather get runners or Campbell's for eggs and either commercial white ducks or muscovy for eggs.