Q is for Quack

Q is for Quack!

About a month ago, a little less, we brought home 3 baby ducks.  2 girls and a boy.

 They were adorable and little and soft and they pretty much did nothing but play in their water and eat and poop.  Babies.

 Then they started growing and we had to quickly build them a home.  This was about a week ago. 

 They liked their new home and settled right in, having space to shake their tail feathers.

 Having raises several batches of baby chicks, I can say without a doubt, ducks are way messier. 

 We literally clean their house out at least once a day and give them water anywhere from 2-3 times a day because they like to play and make a wet mess. 

 I woke them up this raining day to get pictures and video just for y'all. 

 They are about halfway feathered meaning they can go outside very soon.  We have to carry this house out to the yard but first I have to paint it.  I am going with barn red and white because if it ever stops raining, I am going to repaint our chicken coop and our little barn outside and I want it all to be matchy-matchy.  

So my little quackers don't really quack yet. They kind of squeak.   They do shake their tail feathers which I think, if you make it all the way through one of the last two videos you will see.  They eat chicken food but you can't give them the medicated stuff.  Luckily we don't have baby chicks so none of ours have anything to get into.  The medicated can kill ducks.  We plan on introducing them to the chickens slowly.  Leaving the ducks in their home for a day or two before letting them out.  Letting the chickens, especially the roosters, get use to the ducks.  They will be fine, I am sure. The roosters never cared if the neighbor's ducks waddled around or not. 

As for the ducks, we have Rouen's which look a lot like, almost exactly like, Mallards when they grow up.  Like all birds, the male of the species are much more flamboyant and attractive.  This is mostly because they are meaner by nature and therefore, they protect the females.  This is why I wanted roosters.

We will get some eggs out of this eventually.  I have never had duck eggs so I have no clue what to expect.  They are suppose to be amazing, so I hear.

So, have you ever raised ducks?  Do you have any words of wisdom for me?