Names: A drake is a male duck, a hen is a female duck, and a duckling is a baby duck.
Diet: Feed a high-protein diet. Egg shells, cooked eggs, romaine lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, cucumber, squash, soaked rolled oats, and honeyberries are all good duck treaties. We supplement our duck's food with soaked field pees as well.
Ducks: You should have at least 6-12 hens per drake. This will prevent the over-breeding of the hens as well as aggression in the drakes.
Bedding: Make sure you always have lots of clean bedding for your ducks. We use straw, hay, and pine chips for bedding. Do NOT use cedar chips.
Nesting Box: We have a homemade wooden nesting box that is about 3.5ft long, 1.5 ft deep, and 2.5 feet tall. We also have a large Sterlite tote on its side. Ducks need a large nesting area.
Breeding: Your ducks will start breeding and laying eggs within a year of hatching. When they breed, the males bite the female's neck or head feathers. He will then proceed to climb onto her back. Once he is on her back and has a good grip on her neck/head, he will "lean back". Their bums will meat and he will "do the job".
Incubation: The female will lay as many eggs as she thinks she can incubate, and then will sit on them for 28 days. She will pluck out some of her breast feathers to line the nest. Make sure you have plenty of hay/stray, in the nesting boxes so the female can make a good nest. She will only leave her nest to eat and drink. At this time she will also "go to the bathroom". Expect to find a big giant poo as they only leave their nest to eat/drink and a lot of food builds up in that time.
Hatching: Once the ducklings hatch they will start coming out with the hen in the first day or two once they have absorbed their yolks and start to get hungry. Watch carefully, they may need to be separated into their own pin as the other ducks are likely to pick on the ducklings. Only have shallow water and food dishes or the ducklings will drown.
Specialize: I recommend specializing in a certain duck breed if you are looking to make money.
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