Reddit reviews Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition: Breeds, Care, Health
We found 3 Reddit comments about Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition: Breeds, Care, Health. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
If you move the decimal over. This is about 1,000 in books...
(If I had to pick a few for 100 bucks: encyclopedia of country living, survival medicine, wilderness medicine, ball preservation, art of fermentation, a few mushroom and foraging books.)
Medical:
Where there is no doctor
Where there is no dentist
Emergency War Surgery
The survival medicine handbook
Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine
Special Operations Medical Handbook
Food Production
Mini Farming
encyclopedia of country living
square foot gardening
Seed Saving
Storey’s Raising Rabbits
Meat Rabbits
Aquaponics Gardening: Step By Step
Storey’s Chicken Book
Storey Dairy Goat
Storey Meat Goat
Storey Ducks
Storey’s Bees
Beekeepers Bible
bio-integrated farm
soil and water engineering
Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Food Preservation and Cooking
Steve Rinella’s Large Game Processing
Steve Rinella’s Small Game
Ball Home Preservation
Charcuterie
Root Cellaring
Art of Natural Cheesemaking
Mastering Artesian Cheese Making
American Farmstead Cheesemaking
Joe Beef: Surviving Apocalypse
Wild Fermentation
Art of Fermentation
Nose to Tail
Artisan Sourdough
Designing Great Beers
The Joy of Home Distilling
Foraging
Southeast Foraging
Boletes
Mushrooms of Carolinas
Mushrooms of Southeastern United States
Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast
Tech
farm and workshop Welding
ultimate guide: plumbing
ultimate guide: wiring
ultimate guide: home repair
off grid solar
Woodworking
Timberframe Construction
Basic Lathework
How to Run A Lathe
Backyard Foundry
Sand Casting
Practical Casting
The Complete Metalsmith
Gears and Cutting Gears
Hardening Tempering and Heat Treatment
Machinery’s Handbook
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic
Electronics For Inventors
Basic Science
Chemistry
Organic Chem
Understanding Basic Chemistry Through Problem Solving
Ham Radio
AARL Antenna Book
General Class Manual
Tech Class Manual
MISC
Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft
Contact!
Nuclear War Survival Skills
The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization in the aftermath of a cataclysm
Hi there!
My wife and I just got 10 ducks about 6 weeks ago, its our first time with this sort of thing and our situation is really similar to yours. We have two large dogs, a garden, and 0.25 acres.
People warned us how messy the ducks are, but they're actually not bad at all. When they were inside growing up we kept them in a pool and used an old puppy pen to surround it so they couldn't get out. When it came time to clean out their pool each day we used an old dust pan to scoop out all the gross pine shavings into a trash bag. We also used a large backing tray and wire rack so we could lift their water and food off their shavings, to try and keep everything a little drier. It took us maybe 10 minutes each day and was super easy. We kept them in the garage and the smell wasn't bad.
We moved ours outside at 3 weeks old. They'd grown up a bit and we ran an extension cord out to their house and pen, that way we could still keep their brooder out there. They free range during the day and walk themselves into their house at dark, each night just after sunset we close them up. We've also removed the brooder now since they're bigger.
I would highly suggest you buy a book, I'll go ahead and link one below for you. It's the most popular one and I found it SUPER helpful. I'd been researching online and such, but the book was by far the most helpful. I'll also go ahead and link you the other equipment we got, some of it has made a HUGE difference in keeping our yard tidy and water free. Its been great.
The Book. I highly suggest this. The guy who wrote it is considered the leading authority on ducks. He is the duck superhero. Get the paper copy though, I had thought about audible and I'm glad I didn't go that route.
Our feeder. We started using this feeder when we moved them outside. At 3 weeks old our breed was big enough to use it and its cut down on a lot of waste and hassle. We bring it in each night and have only needed this one unit to feed all 10 of our ducks. We refill it maybe once a week or so.
The Baking Tray Pretty self explanatory, but just in case... We got ours used for free.
Our Waterer Man oh man, has this thing been a game changer. Its expensive, but its great. We have almost zero mess and the water stays full and relatively clean at all times. We turn it on in the morning and off at night, and that's it. Every 3-4 days I also move its position so the duck's feet don't overly trample the grass around it. I highly highly suggest this. That being said, be prepared to mess with it a little when first setting it up to ensure its working properly and not leaking. Once its good though, its great.
Lastly, our brooder We went with this because they're much safer and cheaper to operate than the lamps. Its also much easier, all you have to do is move it up a notch each week. It was also great to put outside so we could get the ducks out there at 3 weeks. I'm really happy with it, and we used just 1 for all 10 ducks. More than that and I think we'd need a 2nd though...
To answer some of your questions directly. To get everything setup we spent about $1000 initially. This includes the cost of all equipment, the ducks, and the mansion we built them. My wife jokes she thinks about kicking me out to the duck house, its big. It took the majority of our costs, even though I built it myself. Keep this in mind. Also, in addition to the house costs we purchased an electric fence and solar charger. Total that cost us about $200, but we're really happy with the purchase. I've moved the ducks to a different part of grass just once now and its nice to be able to do this. I'll continue to rotate them so my grass can recover and stay nice. Regarding monthly costs, we spend about $75 per month on feed, fresh bedding, and diatomaceous earth. Pro tip: mix a little diatomaceous earth in with their bedding to reduce the change of molds, bacteria, bugs, and smell. Get the food grade stuff only though. We've not seen an increase in water usage or power, at least with the setup we're using. They also do not need a heated coop during winter, or at least in my area. The winters get down to about 15-20 degrees here and I'm confident they'll be fine. We'll over-stuff their house with extra bedding though, they're quite hardy birds. More importantly than heated / insulated coops though, is an extremely well ventilated on. They're wet birds and are prone to respiratory issues if left with poor ventilation.
Cons: I haven't experienced any yet. They're awesome.
Pros: Webbed feet are soft on plants and grass. They can be larger birds and therefore more predator resistant. Their eggs are healthier than chicken eggs, their meat is very tasty too. They're super funny and entertaining. The neighbors seem to enjoy them more than chickens. Their quacks are fun. On and on we can go...
Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or thoughts. I'm happy to help where I can. I'd also suggest you get more than 3-4, how about 5?
I currently have the following books open:
Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks - Dave Holderread
Everyday Saints and Other Stories - Archimandrite Tikhon
Revolt Against The Modern World - Julius Evola