[LillyF]

Hello !  . I feel like a real "newby" here.. I have just purchased 6 hens for the first time    and I am already thinking about ducks  never realised how addictive this would be i now have square eyes from reading / googling etc but have to say even though im muddy , wet and stink of chicken ive never been happier! 

[Bionic]

  Good for you Lilly and welcome to the forum

[LillyF]

Thankyou very much .. I came onto this site as I was worried about my chickens in the rain but my mind is now at ease. Real fountain of knowledge here 

[in the hills]

   Hello and welcome from a wet Powys

[Bert]

never realised how addictive this would be i now have square eyes from reading / googling etc but have to say even though im muddy , wet and stink of chicken ive never been happier! 

I know exactly what you mean  . Hi from the Isle of Mull 

[Lesley Silvester]

  welcome from not-so-sunny Shropshire. A word of warning - this forum is also addictive. Enjoy your hens and your ducks when you get them.

[Julestools]

Hello and welcome from......

..... Cheshire

Hens are great but ducks just make a mess.... And the peacock has eaten my cabbages!   Honest..... not a slug in sight

[LillyF]

Thanks gang .. I have heard that ducks are messy so they will have a section of the garden instead of being given the whole range fingers crossed it works  though im sure there will be some who read this and chuckle  at my naivety ...the chickens are already looking at me with the "so you thought that would work eh?" expression 

[mowhaugh]

hello! I am hoping to get my first ducks soon too. Need to make them a pond first though.

[roddycm]

I have always kept call ducks! (As well as chickens, geese and guineas) They are real characters, only make make noise when they are unhappy (a female on her own or you're late with their evening feed) they hatch their own babies very reliably and dont need a big pond... In fact mine have large washing up bowls which i can swill out daily and give them freesh water. I keep mine in pairs or trios, and they really arent very messy at all. The othe bonus is that if you buy decent parent stock you can easily sell the babies that you dont want to keep! The apricots and the white ones are the most popular! I would not be without mine, i'd have hundreds if i had the room!!!

[Victorian Farmer]

hi and welcome from the highlands of scotland LillyF get some call ducks there no problem and very nice lots on here

[Manda Lid]

Hi Lilly, welcome to the world of mud & grubby nails 

[ex-pc]

  Hello from another Cheshirite who has just joined this forum.
We have recently bought 4 individual hybrid hens who until recently were very well and laying daily. Unfortunately the black rock hen 'Roxy' was over indulging in the ornamental grasses through the chicken wire and suffered with a compacted/sour crop. Finally, after 2 vet consultations and wash-outs she had the blockage surgically removed under local anesthetic (not my choice) and now she is hopefully on the mend.

[Ray Baxter]

Hey,

Ducks are great fun - so different to keeping chickens in many ways. They can create such a mess!!!!! They will need water - a pond or river and they will need training to lay eggs where you would like them.

We incubated about a dozen ducks three years ago. They lived on our pond for ages. A few were eaten by foxes and the rest flew off. But they return each year and have ducklings - it is really nice to watch. They have no productive purpose for us - but are fun to have around.