This is intended as a very basic care sheet, due to the wide variety of species
included within diving ducks it would be impossible to include every
requirement within one care sheet for each species. I have a separate page for
Stifftails.
Please refer
to the other pages that include ponds, planting schemes, nest boxes,
incubation, rearing ducklings etc for more info.
Before contemplating keeping ornamental waterfowl you should realize that they
are not domesticated in any way, they will not behave like any domesticated
duck, they will escape if they can and will find the smallest hole through
which to do so, their ducklings are very “wild " and behave as such. The
adults can not survive confined, say in a shed in winter for long periods.
Their health will deteriorate and disease sets in. They are truly wild ducks.
As the name suggests diving ducks dive! Some in water up to several meters in depth,
some species can of course live on a shallow pond but you would be denying them
one of their most basic instincts, to dive. Therefore the most important factor
when considering a pond for diving ducks is the water depth, it need not be
overly deep, my own pond is approx 80cm-100cm at the deepest, but of course if
you can make it deeper then do so. For the true sea ducks, make the
water as deep as possible.
Most species of diving ducks are extremely hardy, but there are some exceptions
and I would advise checking before obtaining any birds. Most species will
withstand whatever the British winter will throw at them with only a few shrubs
and grasses for protection, and will refuse to enter a shed or box for shelter.
They do however need access to ice free water in severe weather, but there are
ways around this. Pond pumps help and even large air pumps, but if the pond
does freeze you must provide large dishes of water regularly throughout the day.
Dabblers can cope with this situation better than the divers and I would make
every effort to keep your pond clear of ice if possible when divers are kept.
Another important consideration is whether to get pinioned or un-pinioned
birds, the former will never be able to fly whilst the latter can be rendered
flightless by feather clipping one wing, this will last until the next moult
when the feathers are renewed, if you forget or time it wrong, your prized bird
could well fly off. Most people who keep birds in a garden setting keep
pinioned birds, and in my own opinion most divers should be pinioned, they are
mostly very poor, clumsy fliers and are very likely to injure themselves when
trying to fly in a flight.( I think perhaps the rarer sea ducks, king eiders, longtails
etc, should be full winged ) but I doubt I will ever have the privilege of
keeping these ! )
I always
keep my ducks in pairs, trios can work with some species but pairs are less
troublesome. Take care when selecting species that may interbreed and do some
research before hand, odd drakes can cause trouble in the breeding season.
I feed my sea ducks a diet of layers pellets, ( as used for chickens), these
are available at all times in a dish actually in the water and under cover, they quickly deteriorate if wet, and so only enough to be eaten daily is in the dish. Every morning and evening they receive floating sea duck pellets, large
and micro, and for eiders I also use a high protein dried dog food! The make I
use is an ideal size for eiders, and has the advantage of floating very well. Occasionally
I also feed small strips of trout, some individuals will take this readily whereas
others take some time to realise it is food. I have tried my eiders with fresh small
whole mussels but they did not recognise them as food at all. The pellet
mixture is thrown onto the water, if put on the edge you will soon attract the local
wild life, and divers prefer to feed on the water.
My diving ducks ( Scaup, etc ) get a dabbling
duck feed as well as access to the sea duck diet, I am sure the eiders do eat
some of this as well. Please see my page on dabbling ducks for different feeds.
I worm my stock twice a year with a proprietary brand of wormer added to
the layers pellets, but some people may say this is not enough, my theory (
right or wrong ) is that too strict a worming routine will leave the birds
unable to withstand even a mild infestation. I worm them in the autumn and then
again in spring, before the onset of breeding. Most individuals will also enjoy
occasional live foods such as meal worms; these are good for getting the birds
close for health inspections. You should find that waterfowl are rarely ill, and
very hardy, I do put down straw in prolonged frozen weather, dabblers do use it
but most divers will stay on the water if not frozen, the straw helps protect
their feet from frostbite and it is the one form of "help" they will
accept, it tends to be a little messy but soon cleared up when the weather
improves. A good planting scheme of shrubs and grasses will go a long way to
protect against winter winds.
For breeding please see breeding page.