Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: dave08 on October 20, 2008, 00:08
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i got 8 ducks 2 drakes they r aylesburys only 2 is laying is this normal? :lol: :lol:
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yes as they are not as proficient at laying as say a chicken so will be laying often but not as often as a chicken.
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No Idea Dave08 but welcome to the forums :D
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Hi Dave
Welcome to the froums
as Alandkell said Aylesburys are not the best egg layers to start with, it was originally bred as a table bird :)
They are also slow to mature, what age are they?
Also what are you feeding them?
Sarah :)
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Not all white ducks are Aylesburys. The pure breds, are very big ducks and as has been said, they are not particularly good layers. The term Aylesbury is often used to cover a multitude of sins and some crossbred white ducks do infact turn out to be pretty good layers.
The very best strains of laying ducks will easily out perform the best laying strains of chickens.
Certain breeds of ducks are known to lay through the winter, when their eggs are at a premium. Welsh Harlequins were designed with this in mind by their originator but I'm not sure as to whether or not breeders have been able to retain this most valuable of traits.
A warm welcome to the forum :D
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Hi dave08 and welcome.
Plenty of good advice for you there and more if you need it. :)
Make good use of the forum.
Rob 8)
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hi n thanx for the welcome.
vember! my ducks are abt 7mth old that what i was told im new to all this. the feed im giving them is layers mash that is what i feed the chooks :lol: but any advice would be more than welcome
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Sounds like your doing everything right to me Dave. They'll pop the eggs out when they 're ready :lol:
I would be tempted to get them all on layers pellets rather than mash though - less mess :D
Sarah :)
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if i give my ducks layers pellets do i need to put water to it like i was told to do with the mash? :?
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No Dave, just give it to them dry, but make sure they have plenty of water around :)
Sarah :)
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i have made them a pond and i keep giving them fresh water all the time. They are very funny to watch i give them a bucket of water n they jump in it :lol: The pond is very dirty should i keep cleaning it and putting fresh in? and it only takes a day 2 b like that :?
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I try and clean my ponds out every 3 or 4 days, I have geese as well as ducks & yes it get's dirty very quickly :lol:
In the summer it may need to be done more often :)
Sarah :)
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im glad u sed 3 or 4 days a friend sed once aweek will do ! and i was told that i could let them run free around n they wont eat the crops but hey they did oh dear :lol: so from now on i will do the pond every 3 days or 4. How deep should the pond b? mine is abt a foot deep is that right or should it b deeper? u can tell im new 2 all this :lol:
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Mine's a bit deeper about 3 foot :?
Certain breeds need more water than others, the main thing is that they can get their heads completely under water too keep their eyes and nostrils clean :D
Sarah :)
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looks like i have to get my spade out 2moz n dig abit deeper :lol: i want my new ducks to b happy . Thanx for the advice u have been a great help thanx