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Lisa Steele. Duck Eggs Daily
DUCK EGGS. Daily
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
ADDING DUCKS TO A CHICKEN FLOCK
ONE. WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT DUCKS?
Ducks are quieter
Ducks are generally healthier overall
Ducks are more heat-tolerant
Ducks are more cold-hardy
Duck eggs are superior to chicken eggs
Ducks lay more regularly
Ducks adhere to a far less aggressive pecking order
Ducks are easier on your lawn
Ducks are wonderful for pest control
Ducklings are adorable!
TWO. HATCHING DUCKLINGS
Obtaining eggs for hatching
Before you turn on the incubator
In the incubator
When a broody chicken sits on duck eggs
THREE. BROODING AND RAISING DUCKLINGS
The brooder box
Heat
Water
Feed
Feed supplements
Treats
Swimming
The big outdoors
Determining the sex of your ducklings
FOUR. A DAY IN A LIFE WITH DUCKS
Feed
Water
FIVE. DUCK BEHAVIOR
Head bobbing
Head tilting
Walking in a row
Mud dabbling
Foot stamping
Surfing in the pool
Post-swim preening
Nipping toes, fingers, arms or legs
Standing on one leg
Sleeping with one eye open
Burying eggs
Puffy, hissing duck
Tail wagging
Happy quacks
Standing facing wind and rain
SIX. TREATS
Early Spring/Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Better safe than sorry checklist
SEVEN. DUCK HOUSES AND PENS
At night
Housing your ducks with your chickens
Shelter from the wind
EIGHT. DUCK POOLS
NINE. A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH
TEN. ALL ABOUT DUCK EGGS
ELEVEN. COOKING WITH DUCK EGGS
Basic Cooking Tips
Appendix
DUCK BREEDS AT A GLANCE
EDIBLE HERBS, WEEDS AND FLOWERS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Online Resources
Rare Breed Ducks
Rescue a Duck
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS FROM ST. LYNN’S PRESS
Отрывок из книги
Praise for Lisa Steele and Duck Eggs Daily
“As someone who has kept ducks off and on my entire life I find it bewildering that they are often overlooked as candidates for the home flock. They can be easy to keep, prolific egg layers and endlessly amusing to have around. Lisa and I share equally our enthusiasm for ducks. Lisa’s book sets the homeowner on the right path, providing both the knowledge and confidence for success.”
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Once the ducklings hatch, I move them with the mother duck into a separate cage or crate inside the duck house for a week or so and then let mother duck see how she feels about taking her babies out to explore. Just keep an eye on them initially to be sure the other flock members don’t bother them, and be aware that they are very vulnerable to all kinds of predators, including hawks, snakes, rats, cats, and all the other normal predators, so restricting them to an enclosed pen is safest.
Duck eggs need 28 days to hatch, compared to the 21 days that chicken eggs require, but a broody chicken can, and will, successfully sit on duck eggs for the entire four-week incubation period. To help maintain the proper humidity, duck eggs benefit from putting a piece of sod on the bottom of the nest and misting the eggs once a day. Remember that the ducklings won’t have the protective oils a mother duck would impart to their feathers at hatch, so swimming should be limited for the first few weeks. But the look on the mother hen’s face when her “baby chicks” hop into the water tub and start bathing will be priceless!
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