Khaki Campbells

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Khaki Campbells
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Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 04 4:57 pm Post subject:
Excellent, well done Beth. Bet you can't stop at two.................. I'll put money on that as well!!

beth

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Milton, Cambridge

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 04 5:09 pm Post subject:
Well we haven't got any more room in the garden.... but I do have my eye on a field nearby. But that might be for GOS's, later. Beth

beth

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Milton, Cambridge

Posted: Thu Dec 30, 04 11:05 am Post subject:

Okay, here's another question... Water in their house. I assume they need water overnight until they are let out in the morning? So we put a 'super drinker'(1) in one corner. But this morning the straw around it was pretty wet. I suspect they were trying to bath in it(2) Is that usual. Or now that they have a bath/pond they will probably drink more than they splash?

Thanks,
Beth

1) as in a plastic bulbous thing with a base which lock together with a hole to set the water level. The base has legs so it can sit just off the ground.
2) They were moved on xmas eve and we think they haven't had bathing water since, until I deployed the baby bath this morning.

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Thu Dec 30, 04 1:56 pm Post subject:

My ducks don;t have water overnight - the mess in the house would be horrendous. Although they do drink out of the chicken drinkers sometimes (similar to the ones you are describing - they are fine for chickens, but the ducks' beaks are much bigger), the ducks have an old enamel bowl for drinking out of; having said that, Clive insists on sitting in it every morning while he eats his breakfast!!
It's difficult to keep their drinking water clean as they dibble about in the mud at the same time, They don't seem that fussy, and will drink out of their pond as well.
I've kept ducks like this for 16 years with no problems that I'm aware of.
As long as their house is dry and draught-proof overnight, they should be fine; clean drinking water as much as possible and practical (it only lasts about 5 minutes, in reality, though), and decent food to eat during the day. Ducks like routine as well, so it's best to stick to one as much as possible to make everyones' lives easier.

beth

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Milton, Cambridge

Posted: Thu Dec 30, 04 9:27 pm Post subject:
Ah right. It figures, but at the moment I'm going to be letting them out around 8:30 - 9am and it's dark at 4ish so thats around 15 hours without water.... Or do you have a different regime? Thanks Beth

beth

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Milton, Cambridge

Posted: Thu Dec 30, 04 9:57 pm Post subject:
Paul has put up a few pictures... some from first thing when I let them out. And later once I deployed the baby bath.... https://home.the-hug.net/photos/index.php?album=ducks_20041230 Beth

beth

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Milton, Cambridge

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 11:16 am Post subject:

Another question

They dont seem to be eating much if any of the layers pellets or corn. The pellets I've been putting in a shallow stainless steel bowl, dry. The corn I've thrown down a handfull on the ground and also put some in their water. Which yesterday they ate. This morning I've given them a bit of pre-soaked bread, which the bits I've thrown near them they've eaten. They seem happy and bright eyed interested in anything I'm doing in the garden, just not eating anything other than the bugs and worm they are foraging for.

Am I unduly worrying? They've had two upheavals in the space of a week. And as for last night I could murder the people down the road who far from had fireworks, they had bl**dy artillery. I wouldn't be surpised if they were spooked by the racket. Poor ol jake (dog) was absolutely petrified.

Thanks,
Beth

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 11:44 am Post subject:

I feed corn in a wide shallow tray - an old roasting tin, in fact. White bread is not good for them; I was told this by the breeder I got my very first ducks from, and mine never have it. They like greens, but chopped up quite small, eg lettuce (not keen on cabbage and stronger tasting greens), and fruit as well.
Putting corn in the water is not something I'd do, but if their water is changed often, then it shouldn't psoe a problem.
Mine get let out about 8 - 8.30 in the mornings, and go away when I shut the chickens up, whenever that is, usually as it is getting dark. As I think I said, ducks are great lovers of routine and thrive on it. You can be sure they won't starve themselves, if you are feeding them like that; their first preference is always to forage about for worms and bugs, then they'll eat corn, and the pellets probably last of all.
Hope this helps.

beth

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Milton, Cambridge

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 1:43 pm Post subject:
Yeah thanks for that. I didn' give them much bread, just a little to see if they would eat something. The corn in the water is something I think we read in the Katie Thear book, and I canhe that water every day so it shouldn't be a problem. When I'm back at work their letting-out time will probably be more like 8am too. They've found themselves quite a few slugs and worms this morning! Beth

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 2:12 pm Post subject:
As I said, they won't starve themselves..............

beth

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Milton, Cambridge

Posted: Mon Jan 03, 05 5:49 pm Post subject:

Is that a bit like domestic non-ornamental ducks can't fly?.....
...cos they're too heavy or something. At least thats what Katie Thear's book 'Starting with Ducks' seems to be saying. Except no-one told Rebeccah. She managed to fly out of an enclosure of length 20ft with 6ft high fences. Having done that she had the sense to stay close, and Jemima had the sense to stay put and quack loudly. Which is how I found them. I'd only just come in from saying hello to them, and telling them off for not eating enough of the food I put out for them. The next half-hour saw both of us trying to catch Rebeccah. We first trapped her between us. But she ran past Paul and started flapping.... Flight number two was witnessed. She hit the garages doors and flew off the path down the side of garages into an area of another set of garages and someones garden. Complete with a pond. Which was netted as it had very large goldfish in it. Eventually Paul managed to trap our wayward friend, grab her and when we'd walked back round to the house put her into the cardboard box we used when we went to collect them.

So there we were standing in the enclosure wondering how to clip there wings. Rebeccah was easy enough. Hands in the box and hold her and snip.
But Jemima wouldn't go back into the house without Rebeccah, so we had a fair chance of grabbing her. Sigh. So with all the excitement we have left Rebeccah intact for now.

More exiting episodes later!...

Beth

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Mon Jan 03, 05 6:00 pm Post subject:

From what I was told when I bought my two, Campbells have had the flying instinct bred out of them, witness the comparatively small sie of their wings; if yours are young, though, they may be able to get off the ground. When they are fully grown, they shouldn't be able to get airborne at all. Clipping one wing is a good measure for now though, else you may lose one or both. The smaller breeds of domestic duck can fly - especially the Calls; I didn;t expect to see Clive return after he had a fight with another Call drake and flew off into the wild blue yonder over the pub roof; he returned about 5 hours later, none the worse for wear, much to my surprise! My two miniature Appleyards took off earlier this year, and haven't been seen since, and I've no idea where they are, but I hope they're happy - Bob Flowerdew and Ivan Hicks, they were..........

DarrenG

Joined: 26 Dec 2004
Posts: 110
Location: Lincolnshire Fens

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 05 7:09 am Post subject:
if you hatch any out or buy in D.Os pinion them by snipping one of the bastard wings of, then they are safe, if you buy adults and they are not done then you've got to live with flight.

DarrenG

Joined: 26 Dec 2004
Posts: 110
Location: Lincolnshire Fens

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 05 7:11 am Post subject:
btw knowing the zealousnous of the moddies on here the bastard wing is the little piece sticking of the first joint of the wing, I didnt mean cut the whole wing off

deerstalker

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 589

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 05 10:54 am Post subject:
Don't know much about poultry, but I did know that!

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