CAYUGA DUCKS and Looking after em

Discussion in 'Breeding, Raising, Feeding and Caring for Animals' started by mrrusher, Aug 14, 2013.

  1. mrrusher

    mrrusher Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2013
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hello out there, Got the opportunity to get 4 Cayuga Ducks, we have a pond and lots of area for them to be active in. Are these Ducks a good breed for permaculture? what type of housing do ducks need if any, would like to have housing for them as they produce eggs.

    Any thoughts would be great full

    Cheers all
     
  2. Granolarolla

    Granolarolla New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2013
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I've kept cayugas in the past. They're considered dual-purpose, but I only ate the eggs. They were good layers. More broody than other duck breeds I've been around. The three girls shared a clutch and were pretty brutal to the poor raven who peeled back enough chicken wire to try to steal some eggs. They were happy to graze on weeds and bugs as available, but being in the desert I also gave them pellets (Mazuri waterfowl) and in an emergency they can get by on cat kibble (the protein content is about right, but there's nowhere near enough calcium). I trained grapevines over their pen (a repurposed chain link dog run with chicken wire over the top to keep out owls) providing shade and the ducks really liked foraging on the leaves (they were unimpressed with the actual grapes). I let them out during the day to a small pond and garden area. They weren't inclined to stray far from the pen so I had to move their shade house (an old plastic playhouse my kids had used when they were little) closer to "home." I shooed them back into the pen at night where the three girls shared a large dog house full of frequently refreshed cedar shavings. I also kept straw in the pen to minimize mud slippage and would pile it around and over the duck house to keep them warm in the winter. I used to keep a bale in there for myself to sit on, but once the ducks learned how to pull them apart I was out of luck. One of my ducks was an indiscriminate layer (even found an egg in their kiddie pool once) but the rest laid in the duck house. Definitely worth it to keep them confined to an easily searched area until they've laid for the day. Set up your duck area close to a water source. They drink a lot and dirty up their swimming water quickly and I definitely got tired of hauling a hose around as much as they needed. I hope something in my rambling is helpful to you.
     
  3. yfnn

    yfnn Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2013
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Granola that was great to read! Definitely helpful. I have wanted ducks, and geese, for awhile now and really that's the first hands-on experience shared with me. Thank you.
     
  4. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2006
    Messages:
    1,519
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0

    I agree :) Its good to read someones real life hands on knowledge & experience :)
    Thanks for sharing that Granolarolla :)
     

Share This Page

-->