Almost a year ago I visited our local farm supply store with my two daughters and made the impulse decision to buy six ducklings.

I’ve always wanted ducks so I had done some preliminary research on the pros and cons of owning ducks vs. chickens. Ducks are much hardier than chickens and are less prone to mite infestations which was a big plus. But I can’t say that my research fully prepared me for our latest adventure.

Basic Supplies Ducklings Need

The employees at our local farm supply store were very knowledgeable and pointed me to the must-have supplies for raising ducklings, including a clamp lamp, heating bulbs, wood shavings for bedding, a waterer, a feeder and food. We used a wire dog cage as our brooder to contain the ducklings. We learned that this was not the best option to use as a brooder because ducklings are very messy. A brooder with solid sides, such as a small stock tank or heavy duty plastic bin are better options. The solid wall sides reduce the amount of mess that escapes the brooder. Lining the brooder with puppy pads makes clean up much easier. The bigger the ducklings get, the bigger the mess gets and they get big fast.

Resources

When I had a question about the ducklings’ care I found that the website Backyard Chickens was a great resource. Although called Backyard Chickens, there is a wealth of information available on raising and keeping ducks. If you can’t find the information you are looking for you can post your question for one of the more knowledgeable forum members to answer.

Keeping Your Ducklings Happy

Khaki Campbell ducks are known to be fantastic egg producers, laying 280 to 300 eggs per year. We have raised our ducks as pets, not just egg producers. It is important to have more than one duck. They are social animals and need to be with other ducks. Ducks can be very timid with humans. The key to raising friendly ducks is to handle them as much as possible. Pick them up, feed them by hand. You want them to associate you with a positive experience. Each of our ducks has their own personality. Some are very loud and cautious while others are more laid back and quiet. Each duck is unique which is what I love about them.

Time To Move Outside

Once the temperatures warmed up enough during the day we let the ducks venture outside. We have lots of predators that can easily snatch a duckling so we needed to provide proper protection. We placed the ducklings in a puppy playpen with netting over the top. The netting protected them from any flying predators like hawks and owls. We placed a small plastic pool in the playpen as a water source. Obviously they absolutely loved playing in the water. When we couldn’t supervise the ducklings we would bring them back inside the house.

When all of the ducklings’ feathers came in we were ready to move them outside permanently. The mess was getting hard to manage inside the house. In late May, my husband started the difficult task of building a structure that would keep the ducks safe from all predators. He used a metal carport kit as the base. Raccoons and foxes are known to dig holes into a coop to get to the birds so enforcing the floor with chicken wire is an important step that shouldn’t be missed. Chicken wire was wrapped completely around the structure from the roof down to the floor. He used an old metal storm door as our entry point into the duck coop. We purchased a plastic duck house and placed it inside the coop. The ducks were secured in the plastic duck house at night. The coop is locked with a padlock to prevent any predators from entering. We have been able to keep the ducks safely in this house for almost a year with no issues.

Picky Eaters

As the ducklings grew into adult ducks, they became pickier eaters and were not happy with their poultry food. Every day we pick fresh grass for them and feed them fruit and veggie scraps, but I was worried that it wasn’t enough to keep them well fed. I started mixing my own duck food blend made up of cracked corn, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, dried mealworms, peanut butter suet balls, dried fruit and nuts. They absolutely love this blend. They have been extremely healthy and happy laying lots of eggs, even through the winter months.

What I’ve Learned

Raising ducks is a lot more work than I thought it would be. They are messy. They are much messier than chickens. Their coop needs to be cleaned weekly or else it starts to smell. They are also packed with personality. When we have the windows open in our house it sounds like we have our own laugh track in the backyard. If you are looking into getting ducks just know that it is a very rewarding experience but it is also a lot of work.