The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Hilarysmum on April 07, 2009, 06:38:20 pm
-
At what age do ducks start laying. Also any hints on how to sex my k.c. ducks. Do I have to wait until they colour up or the tails curl (at what age does this happen)?
-
think its about 20-25 weeks as mine didnt all start together.......... i waited till tails curled... KCs males have a much darker neck and head ie HOODED.... harry
-
Here you go, hope this helps. I have some Kakhi Campbell Drakes available from last years hatches.
1Listen to the ducks' voices at one month of age. Females will have a loud quack; males have a softer cluck.
Step2Check the ducks' tail feathers when they are two months old. The males will have a distinct curled feather at the tips of their tails that will be present even if they have molted for the summer.
Step3Look for extravagant plumage. Males of the mallard-type northern duck species have brightly colored feathers in the winter, but beware: they molt in the summer, adopting a more feminine appearance.
-
Can anyone advise me please,? I have some ducks -2 female 1 male, mallard type I think? I inherited when we moved to our new house, they are kind of wild as they are in an enclosed part with a pond etc, they get their own food,grass etc I feed them pellets once a day & scraps at night time. They now have a nest each one on the island which I cannot get to, the other first nest I can and she laid 14 eggs -I found them around the 17th March. She sat on them all the time but over the last few days she seems to be out in the pond everytime I go out to look at them. I picked up a couple of the eggs they feel cold? is this normal? she does cover them up & I presumme she goes in there at night on them? and could possibly sit on them in the day time, but unless I sat watching all day I dont know what she's doing! Shall I leave her to it, the eggs are due to hatch (if they will?) this weekend -Easter OR do I bring some in? Please help me I dont know what to do for the best!
-
Should hatch about 28 days so still a few days to go. I'm no expert but ducks, in my opinion, do spend a fair bit of time off the nest and they do normally cover the eggs while they go. You could always "candle" one of the eggs - take it to a dark room and shine a light through it. You would be able to see inside the shell and then you would know if there is growth or not. Probably best at this late stage though to stand back and let nature take its course. I once had a young duck sit for the 28 days and eventually she just got up and destroyed the nest. Don't know what went wrong but she was just a youngster herself. Now I hatch them myself in the incubator. Let us know how you get on.
James
-
Thanks for your reply James. I might bring one in and candle it. I'll see if she's still off the nest later when I go over to feed them etc, she's been off them every time I've been outside though today, so its not looking good. If they don't hatch and I remove the eggs and throw them away, will they lay again? I'm a complete novice at this and all the web sites I've been on usually all talk about hatching yourself, incubators etc nothing about what to do when you've got them in your garden kind of semi wild! If she will lay again I can prepare myself better I think and take advice at an earlier stage, hopefully then I might get some chicks, well ducklings! I'll keep you posted. Nikki
-
Nikki, none of my ducks have gone broody since that first failure. One did start making a nest the other day but that came to nothing. Ducks don't really make good parents I am told but if you get a hen to sit on duck eggs - problem solved they say. As I said I bought an incubator and that brings a great deal of pleasure and fun.
-
James, How much are these incubators then?? and can you get a small one as I dont want to have hundreds of eggs hatching!
-
You can get small ones that do 3/6 eggs cheap enough. My one was about £250 and does about 14 eggs but does the turning for you which saves me the work. You also need a brooding box and a heat lamp. The box is where they go after they are hatched and dried out but this can be a cardboard box I guess. Some people use a 60w builb for the heat lamp but I bought the real thing as the build cannot explode if water is splashed on it. Once you have bought everything that's it and each hatch gets cheaper.
-
Hmm - a thought here, James - was going to save it for when i come down with Sandy, but here goes. Is your heat lamp the same size as the type I'd use for my pups? About a foot diameter and cone shaped.
-
Annie, sounds about right, maybe not quite a foot but i guess it is kind of cone shaped. It does say on it "for use with poultry".
-
Just wondered as I have two for my kennels and if i ever got round to rearing chicks, wondered if I could use one of these. I guess the bulb wattage would be the deciding factor and I can't remember offhand what they are. Do you know what wattage your special poultry ones are?
-
I don't but I will have a look when out tomorrow. After a dreadful wet and windy start to the day about 3.00pm I managed to get the ducklings outside for about 2 hours. They were so dirty by spilling their water and getting a mud bath that I brought them straight inside for a bath. They grow so fast, many of them are 2 weeks old today and next Friday their new family will come for them and take them away. This will be the first time I have parted with anyI have hatched but I will be ok as I know they are going to a good home and will be well looked after. I still have another 12 to hatch in 3 weeks time, 6 for a friend and 6 Aylesbury. As you know hpefully 2 girls will go to Sandy and I am hoping to expand my Aylesbury population - only if I can re home some of my Kakhi Campbell drakes though. After that I am going to incubate 6 more Indian Runners for myself, I have decided. I have always liked them and now that I have hatched 6 and seen how great they are - I want some too.
On a different note tomorrow evening I am going to Beth's to collect Fred and Gizmo. I have to say I am dead excited at getting them and looking after them. They are so beautiful and I am so grateful to Beth for being able to help out. Rosie and Toggi are getting old so it is brilliant at being able to introduce new companions to them. I have never had any goat to look after so young before and am really looking forward to the arrival. I was going to mate Blossom(pygmy goat) last year but for some reason it didn't happen. I was very disappinted but at the same time relieved as I would be terrified anything went wrong or happened to Blossom. Blossom is such a treasure, sounds daft but she really is - if she were human she would be a dumb blonde! She was a right sook with me but last year I was off my feet twice for longer periods of time so we were unable to spend as much time together as we were used to so she in now not as close to me - if that makes sense without sounding daft ( I guess she want in the huff with me). Any kids she had I would have kept.
That turned into an epic, sorry.
-
Our youngest hatched in August and started laying 10 days ago - you do the maths, it's quite late at night...
We guessed and I (gladly) lost the bet. I was convinced she was a boy because she's been quite big from the start. I was never sure about the tailfeathers. Over the last weeks her orange legs turned brown and her bill stayed like that, too. The boys have a lighter coloured bill. And yes, she quacks occasionally...the final proof was the extra egg, lol :&>
-
Annie
The heat lamp actually says "For all animals" and the sticker on it says maximum 250 watts. Can't see if there is anything written on the builb at the moment but as I said it is a builb designed for waterfowl so that if water gets splashed on it it doesn't explode.
-
They are 8 weeks old, they dont have curly tails and the ones I can hear have a raucious quack. I was planning to eat the males and to keep the females. Will update as soon as those tails curl. Thanks for all the help
-
Annie
The heat lamp actually says "For all animals" and the sticker on it says maximum 250 watts. Can't see if there is anything written on the builb at the moment but as I said it is a builb designed for waterfowl so that if water gets splashed on it it doesn't explode.
The lamps I have are white ceramic things not really proper bulbs like the red ones you can get