I'm a first time duck and chicken raiser. Ducklings are so cute for about the first day. After that, you're cleaning their plastic enclosure at least 3 times a day. I put a baking pan of water in their bin so they'd have plenty of water. What I didn't know, was that they got in the water and splashed it and food and poop all over their bin. Well they're babies so you can't have them in wet bedding. So change all the time. Finally they got big enough to go out in the pen with the chickens. Chickens have an upstairs coop so the ducks don't go in there. They have not 1 but 2 enclosures. One is like a dog house, the other one is big enough for me to stand in. I read that that would need a big house for the winter. Not. They like being outside. They're in a covered pen but it's open wire. Totally happy. The windy sides have plastic sheeting on them, because the ducks and chickens don't like the wind much. Works fine. So I have Buttercup, now white, Matilda, now a Matt, and Cocoa, also male. I get one duck egg a day and that does not get given to anyone. Best tasting eggs ever. Big yolks. I have 9 chickens and 2 roosters, so I get a lot of eggs daily. I keep waiting for the chickens to stop laying for the winter, like everyone says. Hasn't happened yet. Learning to make egg casseroles. I freeze individual portions and they come out fine. I searched for more female ducks, but couldn't find any adults in my area. No more ducklings for me thanks. Yes the adults make a mess of their water daily. I have a heated dog waterer for their daily water. It's a mess instantly, but I change it once a day. Their preferred drinking water is a mud puddle. So I don't worry about whether it's clean all day long. By the way, the chickens are fine with the water. They don't need clear water as they prefer mud puddles also. Still cute though.
I'm a first time duck and chicken raiser. Ducklings are so cute for about the first day. After that, you're cleaning their plastic enclosure at least 3 times a day. I put a baking pan of water in their bin so they'd have plenty of water. What I didn't know, was that they got in the water and splashed it and food and poop all over their bin. Well they're babies so you can't have them in wet bedding. So change all the time. Finally they got big enough to go out in the pen with the chickens. Chickens have an upstairs coop so the ducks don't go in there. They have not 1 but 2 enclosures. One is like a dog house, the other one is big enough for me to stand in. I read that that would need a big house for the winter. Not. They like being outside. They're in a covered pen but it's open wire. Totally happy. The windy sides have plastic sheeting on them, because the ducks and chickens don't like the wind much. Works fine. So I have Buttercup, now white, Matilda, now a Matt, and Cocoa, also male. I get one duck egg a day and that does not get given to anyone. Best tasting eggs ever. Big yolks. I have 9 chickens and 2 roosters, so I get a lot of eggs daily. I keep waiting for the chickens to stop laying for the winter, like everyone says. Hasn't happened yet. Learning to make egg casseroles. I freeze individual portions and they come out fine. I searched for more female ducks, but couldn't find any adults in my area. No more ducklings for me thanks. Yes the adults make a mess of their water daily. I have a heated dog waterer for their daily water. It's a mess instantly, but I change it once a day. Their preferred drinking water is a mud puddle. So I don't worry about whether it's clean all day long. By the way, the chickens are fine with the water. They don't need clear water as they prefer mud puddles also. Still cute though.