Life of a Duck Rancher
I am a Duck Rancher / Farmer. I've been raising 55 ducks for the last few years, selling their eggs to bakeries and farmer's markets. I get asked often what tools I use to raise the “messy” birds, and so I've added them all to make things easier for you.
What to Feed Your Duck
Here's an actual list of things I give to my flock and to ducks at the local ponds. No tricks, just treats!
This is a great treat for your own ducks, or for the ducks at your local pond. You're sure to make friends quickly and it hands-down beats giving ducks bread. We keep these in our car… you never know when you're going to meet a duck!
After much shopping around, I know for I can't beat this price for 10 pounds of mealworms. This is the perfect treat for my ducks. They get a scoop each morning with breakfast.
Ducks need fats and oils along with their other dietary needs. I add this blend into their mealworm treat bucket because it has shelled sunflower and pumpkin seeds, peanut halves, raisins, and dried papaya. I'm a huge fan of these treats as they are big enough for my ducks to grab with their bills. Nothing goes to waste.
This is the brand of duck food I have to have. My ducks laid eggs all throughout the winter, even in single digit temperatures. Having the right feed makes all the difference.
With all the things you feed your ducks like worms, pellet feeds, fresh fruits and veggies… They often need sugars to help keep up their energy. But they need natural sugars. We feed our ducks fresh fruits like watermelon, strawberries, and grapes. W... These raisins do not have unnecessary additives.
The Go-To Items You Need to Raise Ducks
Over the past few years, I've had the privlige of spending money on things I shouldn't have, while learning about the things I should have. Here is my list of things I wish I would have known to get when I first starting raising ducks.
These are the best egg cartons I've found for Duck Eggs. I should have bought them again in my last order and now I have to suffer through a terrible brand until I sell 500 more dozen eggs. The large surface area on the front is great to add logos and directions, and the pockets fit all of my duck eggs, including the really big ones. I won't buy any other carton in the future.
We have about 40 of these hard plastic cartons. They orange version is big enough to fit jumbo eggs. They are great to use for friends and family so you don't have to give them disposable cartons. They can even go into the dishwasher.
When it comes to my ducks, the easiest clean up is when I use pine shavings over their linoleum floors. When it's time to clean up, I open the back hatch, easily shove it out into a wheelbarrow, and add it to my compost bin. Considering I need 8 bags to cover their large floor, I can't beat this price.
When we had spots of water shortages, we needed to supply our own water to the our ducks. These filters work great to filter out most of the additives in city water. It even works for our gardens.
Ducks need about .5 gallons of water each day per duck. Having two of these 5-gallon waterers made my day much easier when we only had 20 ducks. Now that we have more than 50 ducks, we had to build a pond. But I still use these waterers as backups in case our ducks need to be away from the pond. These are perfect for those with only a few ducks. They are able to dip their bills in them so they can clean their nostrils and drink freely.
What to Use to Protect Your Ducks
Here are the things I use to keep my ducks safe. Besides their large coop at night, these are things I use to keep them from being prey during the day.
My Quackyard has 4 of these nets installed to protect my ducks from hawks, owls and other birds of prey. In Spring 2023, it actually did catch an owl, which we were able to safely free from the net and rehome. This product absolutely worked for us.
At Jingleheim Ranch & Gardens, we feel that it's our responsibility to keep our ducks safe. This wire, dipped in a PVC coating, keeps our ducks safe from ground predators, and safe from themselves. The PVC coating keeps rust and abrasive metal from harming them. Be careful though, the larger sized holes are big enough to let ducklings slip passed. Recommended for ducks older than 6 weeks.
In a perfect world, your ducks won't get hurt or sick. In a realistic world, you should be prepared. This flock fixer is a great way to hydrate your duck when it seems like it doesn't want to drink. This isn't medical advice; you should always consider seeking medical attention.
Sometimes, one of our ducks will seem a bit off. Sometimes all they need is a boost in vitamins and potasium. This is an excellent product to help suppliment their needs. Of course, always consider seeking medical attention if you are unsure of their symptoms.
Everyone often needs a little help on their ranch. I bring one of these out to the quackyard while I'm feeding my ducks just in case of trouble. These come in handy when our clumsy birds have accidents and you need to call for backup!