Meet the ducks!

Saffron and Olive are the latest editions to our family. They are khaki Campbell ducks (more about this breed later). Well, I thought it would be fun to do a blog post all about ducks as pets!

Benefits of ducks

Ducks offer several benefits over chickens...

Hardier- this is my favourite benefit. Their high body temperature means they rarely suffer from diseases (they are almost completely resistant to mareks disease and coccidiosis) or internal parasites. Because they spend lots of time in water, they are not susceptible to lice or mites and less likely to become egg bound. They don't really struggle with the cold or heat either.
Longer lifespan- Ducks usually outlive chickens. Bear in mind that smaller ducks live longer, as the larger ducks suffer from leg and joint issues due to their size (the exception being Muscovies and possibly Cayugas).
Simpler setup- Unlike chickens ducks do not need a roost to sleep on (except for Muscovies and mandarins) and they don't tend to use a nest box. A pond and some treats will keep them occupied all day!
Easy to herd- chickens can be difficult to move around (although I usually have little trouble), but a flock of ducks will group together when you walk behind them and be easier to herd. Hence why they are used in sheepdog shows!
Calmer males- Drakes are rarely aggressive to humans and do not crow like roosters, making them easier to keep in urban locations. The only noise a drake makes is a quiet chirpy croak making them quieter than the girls! Drakes should only be kept with females at a ratio of 1 male to 5 or 6 females or in a bachelor pad.
No pecking order squabbles- Ducks do have a pecking order like chickens, but they don't tend to fight over it. We have never seen our ducks have a disagreement.
Eggs- Ducks lay for a much longer period of time than most chickens and often don't stop for the winter. Khaki Campbell ducks (more on them below) outlay most breeds of chicken. Duck eggs are usually larger and proportionately higher in fat and protein. I have read mixed information on how long they last. It is also worth mentioning that ducks don't eat their eggs like chickens sometimes will.

Hard boiled eggs. Our duck eggs are in the middle.

Disadvantages

However, as with everything ducks do have their disadvantages and there are some reasons why you would rather have chickens or other poultry (or you could go for a combination, as we do!)

Lots of water- If you have waterfowl, you will be spending lots of your time dealing with water. They need a large water container to wash themselves in and will more than likely spill some. However, the water they don't spill is good to re-use for watering plants. Their poo usually very wet too!
Not as friendly as chickens- Our ducks are not as friendly as our chickens however they are improving. I think they are like rabbits in that they don't like being held.
More vulnerable to predators- Ducks are awkward on land and most domestic duck breeds cannot fly; these things make them more vulnerable to predator attacks. However, if you give them a secure enclosure, supervise them when/if they are not in a safe area (to chase off a predator if they come) and shut them in at night they will be fine.

The breed

The khaki Campbell duck was bred by Mrs Adele Campbell (as far as I know they are the only duck breed created by a woman) in the UK around the turn of the 20th century. She used a penciled runner female who was a prolific layer and bred her to a Rouen. She then bred the offspring with mallards to increase hardiness and foraging ability. These birds were coloured similarly to a mallard. Around the time the Campbell duck was bred, buff ducks were all the rage, so Adele Campbell attempted to make her breed buff coloured by breeding them back to penciled runners. The cross resulted in a duck that was darker than buff but paler than chocolate brown. This colour reminded Mrs Campbell of the khaki military uniforms worn at the time, so she named them "khaki Campbells". Since then White and dark colour varieties have also been created.

The world record for the most eggs laid by any bird is held by the Khaki Campbell duck, 365 eggs in 365 days (the record for the most eggs laid by a chicken is 364 eggs in 365 days and is held by an Australorp hen.) In fact, Saffron and Olive's previous owners were selling them because they were getting too many eggs to use! On their first morning with us they laid a very pale green-cream egg each. And we now get one egg between them almost every day.

As domestic duck breeds go they are quite tiny, ours being a little bigger than a mallard. (My estimation is 34cm tall) For this reason they also have a longer lifespan than most domestic ducks, as they are much less likely to suffer from leg and joint issues.

Saffron

"Saffie" is our dominant duck. She is slightly larger than Olive and paler in colour. Saffron is the more outgoing of our ducks, generally being first to explore things. She is also more friendly with us, and I can very easily stroke her when they have gone to bed.

Olive

Olive is the subordinate duck, identified by her smaller, darker head and neck, larger eyes, much paler legs, and dark blotches down her back. She quacks louder and more often.

Our setup

The ducks currently sleep in an old shed. We bedded the bottom with straw. There is a nail in the top of the shed which we use to hang lavender, curry plant, eucalyptus, and cypress sprigs for a nice scent. Ducks aren't meant to put themselves to bed but ours do.

We feed them smallholder range layers pellets (the one for chickens) because it has no soya or genetically modified organisms (or fish meal). We also give some oats and peas for extra niacin. We are currently looking into making our own feed for the chickens and ducks.

For their pond we started off with a plastic washbasin with a brick as a step. Now they have an indoor rabbit cage base with steps made from bricks.

Eventually we want to have them swim in a pond made from an old butler sink, but we are still trying to sort out a plug that won't leak. Here is a photo anyway!