Duck Care "Quake quake"
Breno the Protector
Duck Care
quake quake
Hello and welcome!
Thank you for considering Michele and Bruno Duckling to join your family.
Michele wanted a family, but now there are too many ducklings for my backyard, so I need to find them good homes.
Here’s a summary of my 6-year journey with ducks and what you should know about caring for them. Ducks can't fly and rely on you for their needs. You’ll find many joys in adopting ducks, whether it's just for you or your entire family.
And learning new behaviors and rewarding routines you will be giving back to the earth.
After reading my tips, please fill out the questionnaire and send photos of the space for the ducks.
I will reply with pictures of the available ducklings. They are healthy and well cared for.
Delivery to your door will be arranged, and I'll inspect your setup and offer any additional advice.
Each duckling costs $35.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Paul :)
Temperament / Behavior
Silver Appleyard ducks are friendly, intelligent, playful, and easy to handle.
They like to search for food and settle where they are well-fed.
Generally, they are social birds that show emotions like love and fear, and they may bicker over trivial matters. They are great for teaching children about responsibility and caring for animals as they observe family interactions.
Ducks need companionship, so it's essential to have at least two together; otherwise, they may become lonely and depressed. Unlike chickens, they won't damage your garden.
Their webbed feet are gentle around vegetables, and they will help by eating pests like slugs and snails. However, they may nibble on bok choy or lettuce but leave silver beet alone.
Q.1 Why is it important for Silver Appleyard ducks to have a companion? What might happen if they are alone ?
Q.2 How do Silver Appleyard ducks differ from chickens when it comes to gardening ?
Please answer these question at the bottom page in form for Duck care
Shelter
Adult Silver appleyard ducks can sleep at night outside under trees between shrubs or reeds without a duck house but if you do have aggressive predators such as dogs or cats this can be a problem for myself all the cats that have entered my backyard have not attacked my ducks because ducks are a larger creature who will often run at the cat with their neck out to say go away and the jumpy cats generally runs and watches from a distance thinking what was that.
A duck house/palace is handy to protect them, to isolate ducks if needed and protect ducklings or shade them from the heat.
Q.3 In what ways does a proper duck house help ducks thrive in a garden ?
Ducky Palace
Main entrance
Two separate levels
Egg collection hatch
Design by Beneficials Gardens
Shade & Edibles
If you don’t have trees, plant some. They create a cool stable environment for you and your ducks.
Fruit trees like apples, avocados, mangoes, oranges, and nectarines allow your ducks to forage nearby. This helps water reach the roots, enriches the soil, and provides protein like snails, slugs, and insects.
Add Western Australian native ground covers, shrubs, and trees to attract pollinators and birds that eat spiders. Keep native plants separate from fruit trees, as they need less water and fertilizer. If there are no established trees, set up a shade sail to protect the ducks from the heat.
Q.4 Why is it important to plant trees in your garden ?
Q.5 What types of fruit trees would you like to taste around your ducky space (Mulberry) ?
Q.6 Why should you add WA native plants to your garden ?
Lots of figs near the front door YUM ..
Pollinator: Birds & Bees Hecker Native Pin Cushion
Mangoes in the Back
Water
Clean constant water, in containers doted around your green space or a medium to large pond depending how many ducks do live with you.
Empty the duck water onto your trees by bucket weekly which makes perfect liquid fertiliser you can hook up a dirty water pump from Bunnings for about $200 including parts to extract the water from your pond, that functions like a hose or tapped into your reticulation with a filter to water your trees.
Feeding
Silver Appleyard ducks are active foragers and like to eat slugs, Vegies from your kitchen or shopping center bins inside you can grab the lettuce from the bin at the fruit and veg section or go out the back to the general waste dumpster bins and see the wastage of fruit and veg that is going to land fill, grab some for your ducks as a treat like water melon, kiwi fruit, oranges, pineapples which they love soaking and floating in their water.
Feed the rest to your greens to compost this will convert the methane (Climate killer) produced from green waste in landfill. Turn this poisons gas into soil for your edible garden and you will be doing one good action for Earth and your family.
Collecting eggs
Collecting eggs Silver Appleyard ducks are determined sitters and love to raise a family and one female will produce 200 to 250 eggs which you can be 1 to 3 a day you can give to your neighbors, friends, family, teachers or trade for home grown food or coffee at your local shops.
Collect your eggs daily in the heat or twice a week in cooler months so they do not go off and cause food poising. If you have lots of shady trees the ducks will nest under them which helps with the eggs shelf life.
Eggs in the morning :)
Duck eggs are nutritious and tasty, similar to chicken eggs but slightly richer. They are larger, have more protein, and are great for baking, omelets, or eating alone. The taste can vary based on the duck's diet and whether it forages freely.
Duck eggs with Paprika
Calcium
Your female ducks will need calcium because having eggs does take it out of them. Blending the eggs shells produces for you a mix of fine blended shells which you mix with of the duck food or pellets it is good for their bone structure and for you.
Eggshells blended to digest for ducks
Maintenance
Maintenance
If you keep ducks in one area, it can get smelly and attract flies. Change their bedding weekly in Summer or monthly in the cooler months. I use grass clippings from my yard, which dry out like straw or hay. Ensure the clippings are free of chemicals to protect your eggs.
Adding chopped lavender branches helps mask odors and calms the ducks. I use the soiled bedding in my vegetable garden, as it works well as fertilizer and mulch to retain moisture, reducing the need for watering.
Free range means ducks can move around easily. It's simpler to manage because I can hose down the area, and I often skip this in winter because of fewer paved surfaces.
Q.7 Why is it important to change the bedding of the duck pen regularly ?
Q.8 Why should you avoid using materials that have been sprayed with poisons ?
Q.19 What benefits do you get from using the old bedding in your edible garden ?
Weight
Male Silver Appleyard ducks can weigh up to 4kg, but a healthy duck should look alert and bold and be able to get around easily.
Noise
The female can quake loudly the quack is lower than a dog barking this may happen if she is upset as a warning, if they are running out of food/pellets or communicating with their partner usually this is low mutters when they foraging together.
The drakes or males are very quite quack they will announce themselves or call to their mates and the quack is much quieter than the females.
Medical
Ducks are resilient and tough but if one hurts its legs or has breathing problems you will need a good veterinarian like the Unusual pets vets Osbourn park Dr Lucinda 08 6117 7450 or Riseley Veterinary center, Dr Ian or Dr Peter on 08 9329 9222 in Myaree.
Bruno the Protector says Good bye and be Kind :)