# Anyone here keep ducks?



## Careym13

I recently ended up with 4 ducklings, about a week old. I keep chickens but am new to ducks. Does anyone else have any knowledge they can pass on? I don't know what kind of ducks they are, still trying to identify them.


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## Yvonne G

Can we see a picture?

Years ago my husband had his knee fused after three failed knee replacement surgeries. He was confined to the sofa daily for quite a long time during recuperation. I bought him a little duckling as a joke to keep him company. It was yellow, but grew up to be a pekin (white) duck. She was just the cutest little thing. She thought my husband was her mama, and she stayed with him the whole time he was recuperating on the couch. When he graduated to being able to get up and move around, the duck also graduated to living outside. She stayed by the sliding glass door to the house waiting for my husband to go outside.

Ducks have a hole where the beak attaches to the skull on the under side of the lower beak. They filter water looking for food and the excess water goes out that hole. They are quite messy. My duck would take a bite of the chicken mash then go over to the waterer and swish her beak back and forth to swallow the mash. I would find tomato worms and toss them to the duck. And I would dig in the moist earth with the duck right there by the shovel waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting worm that I may turn over.

I was so taken by that duck that I eventually bought more. I had a whole flock of Call ducks (a bantam breed). I was thinking about getting some indian runners, but never did.

I learned the it's the female that makes the loud "quack". The males make a very quiet little growl sound. Also, an adult male duck has one curly tail feather that curls up towards the back while the female's tail feathers are straight.

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/pekinducks.html


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## Careym13

What a sweet story! I hope these turn out to be that friendly. Here are photos of each one...they aren't feathered so I'm having a hard time identifying them:





The one in the bottom right photo is the friendliest so far, doesn't squirm when you hold it. The black and yellow one seems to be the most anti-social currently.


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## wellington

Soooo cute. I love ducks. I had a bunch of mallards that was caught in an oil spill in a creek they lived by. They all needed to be rehomed so we took some. They are very messy both when eating and pooping. They do need water to both drink and swim in. Give them a place to sleep in that's dark and cozy but not overly big. They seem to like sleeping all snug together. Not much more really that I can think of. Enjoy


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## Careym13

wellington said:


> Soooo cute. I love ducks. I had a bunch of mallards that was caught in an oil spill in a creek they lived by. They all needed to be rehomed so we took some. They are very messy both when eating and pooping. They do need water to both drink and swim in. Give them a place to sleep in that's dark and cozy but not overly big. They seem to like sleeping all snug together. Not much more really that I can think of. Enjoy


I read that some people use dog houses for them to sleep in, does that sound like a good idea?


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## Careym13

I'm going to keep them inside the big area I've predator proofed for my chickens.


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## Rue

Adorable! 

I have chickens (and parrots - who I call the 'house chickens')...and have had turkeys. We eat the eggs. The animals themselves are pets.

The only ducks I've had were overnight Mallard babies. The mother was run over and the next day I dropped them off at a wildlife rehab centre. But they were adorable too!


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## Yvonne G

Black ducks are usually Cayuga, but I think your babies are probably mixed species. There's also a Swedish duck that's black with a white chest. As babies the Swedish look similar to your third picture.


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## wellington

A dog house should be fine. Do they have a place to go though to get out of they rain and sun if they want? Some place that if it gets rainy and windy they will have some room to still be fed and walk around while being out of the rain and wind? Doesn't have to be fancy or really big but you get what I'm saying


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## Careym13

Yvonne G said:


> Black ducks are usually Cayuga, but I think your babies are probably mixed species. There's also a Swedish duck that's black with a white chest. As babies the Swedish look similar to your third picture.


I guess I'll just wait and see when their feathers come in. Hopefully they're species that get along with one another.


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## Careym13

wellington said:


> A dog house should be fine. Do they have a place to go though to get out of they rain and sun if they want? Some place that if it gets rainy and windy they will have some room to still be fed and walk around while being out of the rain and wind? Doesn't have to be fancy or really big but you get what I'm saying


I'm going to get a shed or something like that where they can go to be dry and warm. I guess I'll lock them up at night to keep them safer like with the chickens.


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## Careym13

Rue said:


> Adorable!
> 
> I have chickens (and parrots - who I call the 'house chickens')...and have had turkeys. We eat the eggs. The animals themselves are pets.
> 
> The only ducks I've had were overnight Mallard babies. The mother was run over and the next day I dropped them off at a wildlife rehab centre. But they were adorable too!


I have 2 rose breasted cockatoos that I call "pink chickens" since they like to run around on the floor and pick at things.


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## Rue

Lol...I call mine the green or grey chickens....as the case may be.

I have two of them clucking.

"What does a chicken say?"
"Bok Bok Bok!"


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## dmmj

I will be getting some ducks sooner or later myself I love the eggs big and tasty. So I will be watching this thread for information. lurker status confirmed


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## tortadise

Careym13 said:


> I recently ended up with 4 ducklings, about a week old. I keep chickens but am new to ducks. Does anyone else have any knowledge they can pass on? I don't know what kind of ducks they are, still trying to identify them.


Yep just got 8 ducklings myself. I'm rearing them with a turkey and 6 chickens that hatched. They will follow the leader as usual turkeys or chickens do. But also they will venture onto there own like. All the chickens and turkeys(adults)I keep together but during the day when they're out they tend to flock together with their own.


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## tortadise

dmmj said:


> I will be getting some ducks sooner or later myself I love the eggs big and tasty. So I will be watching this thread for information. lurker status confirmed


Yes indeed. Turkey eggs are fantastic too.


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## dmmj

now I want 2 try turkey eggs


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## N2TORTS

I used to breed "Indian Runner Ducks" .......a very neat species. One of the few " flight-less" ducks , walk around standing erect like a penguin. Lot's of fun .......but duck poo is messy!














as well as hatch out button quail ( so tiny)....peacock (mean as Sh**) but beautiful......and heck quite a few other species.

but...................

"Sally" is still Queen of the Cove'


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## dmmj

I used to raise button quail when I was younger along with various finches. Those baby ducks are very cute though


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## dmmj

my neighbor's father has a 2 acre farm in San Dimas he has two ducks that lay eggs all the time about six months ago she brought me some, I tried them and I was hooked.


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## Mary <3

I was on the fence about getting some ducks, but I'm hooked now!! Very cute.


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## Cowboy_Ken

Careym13 said:


> I guess I'll just wait and see when their feathers come in. Hopefully they're species that get along with one another.


If you've got a feed or livestock 
store/shop, swing in and show them the pictures. At least here in Oregon all the feed stores are selling chicks, (after all, we are the Oregon DUCKS!).
They might make the identities easier and offer some keeper tips for you. Just post any new found information in this thread for all of us.


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## N2TORTS

dmmj said:


> I used to raise button quail when I was younger along with various finches. Those baby ducks are very cute though


Yes DJ ....very tiny when hatched out.....not much bigger than a bumble bee


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## Careym13

tortadise said:


> Yep just got 8 ducklings myself. I'm rearing them with a turkey and 6 chickens that hatched. They will follow the leader as usual turkeys or chickens do. But also they will venture onto there own like. All the chickens and turkeys(adults)I keep together but during the day when they're out they tend to flock together with their own.


How do you plan to house the ducks? I'm looking for ideas


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## Careym13

dmmj said:


> I used to raise button quail when I was younger along with various finches. Those baby ducks are very cute though


We have raised several clutches of buttons...they are super cute. They live on the floor of our walk-in aviaries, do a good job with bug control.


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## Careym13

dmmj said:


> my neighbor's father has a 2 acre farm in San Dimas he has two ducks that lay eggs all the time about six months ago she brought me some, I tried them and I was hooked.


I've never had duck eggs. With my luck, all four will probably be boys. We shall see.


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## Careym13

Mary <3 said:


> I was on the fence about getting some ducks, but I'm hooked now!! Very cute.


Go for it!


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## Careym13

Cowboy_Ken said:


> If you've got a feed or livestock
> store/shop, swing in and show them the pictures. At least here in Oregon all the feed stores are selling chicks, (after all, we are the Oregon DUCKS!).
> They might make the identities easier and offer some keeper tips for you. Just post any new found information in this thread for all of us.


I sure will!


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## Careym13

Day 2 photo: poop machines


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## tortadise

Careym13 said:


> How do you plan to house the ducks? I'm looking for ideas


They are free roam during the day. The. We put them up at night in the laundry room.


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## Careym13

tortadise said:


> They are free roam during the day. The. We put them up at night in the laundry room.


What about when they grow up? Where will they sleep then?


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## dmmj

if you keep duck how do you keep them from flying away? Nails or something


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## jaizei

dmmj said:


> if you keep duck how do you keep them from flying away? Nails or something



Domestic ducks generally can not fly.


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## dmmj

can't or don't? I'm not trying to be funny but I. Havevseen ducks fly look like a domesticated duck what is the difference?


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## dmmj

you know the old saying if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it probably flies like a duck


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## N2TORTS

Knock ....Knock .....


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## jaizei

dmmj said:


> can't or don't? I'm not trying to be funny but I. Havevseen ducks fly look like a domesticated duck what is the difference?




If your talking about 'real' flying (as in migration, etc) for most domestic ducks, it's can not. They can sometimes "fly" over low fences, but not fly in the true sense of the word.


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## Careym13

dmmj said:


> if you keep duck how do you keep them from flying away? Nails or something


LOL. I trying to determine if their wings can be trimmed or if that is considered inhumane in the duck world. It is quite a point of contention in the parrot world. Either way, I won't need to do it since I'm going to fence in and cover the area they will be in. Plus, I don't think the kind I have can fly well.


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## Careym13

dmmj said:


> can't or don't? I'm not trying to be funny but I. Havevseen ducks fly look like a domesticated duck what is the difference?


I never realized that there were "wild" and there were "domesticated" ducks. But, from what I've learned so far...the ones you buy at feed stores and such are dependent on humans and would not survive in the wild.


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## tortadise

Careym13 said:


> What about when they grow up? Where will they sleep then?


With the turkeys and chickens. The coop is 40'x12' but I'm currently placing a spot for a new one.


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## Careym13

tortadise said:


> With the turkeys and chickens. The coop is 40'x12' but I'm currently placing a spot for a new one.


So you've had good luck with the different species getting along? We are going to have 2 brahma hens, 2 cochin hens, 2 golden laced wyandotte hens, 4 ducks and 4 silkie roosters (bantams). I'm hoping they'll all get along, but I'm going to be prepared to have separate areas if necessary.


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## tortadise

Oh yeah they get along just fine. Had to cull out a few roosters over the last month though as they were getting a bit aggressive towards some hens. But they tasted fantastic. After all that's a good purpose for keeping them, eggs and meat when the time is just.


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## Careym13

tortadise said:


> Oh yeah they get along just fine. Had to cull out a few roosters over the last month though as they were getting a bit aggressive towards some hens. But they tasted fantastic. After all that's a good purpose for keeping them, eggs and meat when the time is just.


I fear I couldn't ever part with any of my Silkie Roo's. I'm glad to hear yours all get along though...that makes me feel better.


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## dmmj

so does anyone know what a good diet for high egg production is?


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## tortadise

dmmj said:


> so does anyone know what a good diet for high egg production is?


From what I hear keeping them happy and knowing they are secure produces the best eggs. None the less they will always produce eggs, but if you force a yield of eggs in a sub-par environment the eggs are less valuable in nutrients. Hence the difference between store eggs and farm fresh eggs having a different taste.


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## dmmj

I don't plan to force egg production just was wondering what diet would facilitate higher egg production


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## Cowboy_Ken

dmmj said:


> I don't plan to force egg production just was wondering what diet would facilitate higher egg production


Protein. When I had chickens, if I found a raccoon or possum in the coop, it would die from lead poisoning. Then I'd toss the dead critter in the chicken yard. As soon as it would pop open, the chickens would be all over it. They ate everything and turned it into yummy eggs!


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## Careym13

So the ducks are a week old today. We tried them in very shallow water for the first time. They hated it.


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## ZEROPILOT

I had one uniquely unpleasant duck experience and I can say to you make sure that your ducklings swim regularly.
My step son found a baby duck whos siblings and mother had all been killed by some dogs and we raised the duckling in our yard for some time until it was pretty large. (A Muscovy in our case).
However, the duck was never provided any water deep enough to swim in and apparently ducks and ducklings spend time oiling and waterproofing their wings and feathers once they learn to swim. 
Long story short, his duck sank like a rock in a small pond upon it's release and we had to dive in and save it. Then bring it back home and buy it a small pool until he could deal with water.


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## dmmj

ZEROPILOT said:


> I had one uniquely unpleasant duck experience and I can say to you make sure that your ducklings swim regularly.
> My step son found a baby duck whos siblings and mother had all been killed by some dogs and we raised the duckling in our yard for some time until it was pretty large. (A Muscovy in our case).
> However, the duck was never provided any water deep enough to swim in and apparently ducks and ducklings spend time oiling and waterproofing their wings and feathers once they learn to swim.
> Long story short, his duck sank like a rock in a small pond upon it's release and we had to dive in and save it. Then bring it back home and buy it a small pool until he could deal with water.


sorry a duck that doesn't float made me laugh.


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## Careym13

ZEROPILOT said:


> I had one uniquely unpleasant duck experience and I can say to you make sure that your ducklings swim regularly.
> My step son found a baby duck whos siblings and mother had all been killed by some dogs and we raised the duckling in our yard for some time until it was pretty large. (A Muscovy in our case).
> However, the duck was never provided any water deep enough to swim in and apparently ducks and ducklings spend time oiling and waterproofing their wings and feathers once they learn to swim.
> Long story short, his duck sank like a rock in a small pond upon it's release and we had to dive in and save it. Then bring it back home and buy it a small pool until he could deal with water.


Well, my 4 are likely to sink if they don't start staying in the water long enough to learn to swim. I think I am going to try them in one of those paint roller trays so they can waddle down into the water at their own pace.


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## Careym13

So I went to the local feed store yesterday. Since I have 10 chickens, and I'm going to attempt a mixed flock, I picked up 4 more ducklings. 2 are Pekins, 1 is a Swedish Blue, and 1 is a Rouen. I've managed to identify the existing 4 as Khaki Campbell, Cayuga, Swedish Black, and the last one we think is a Hybrid 300. I got the older 4 into the bathtub for swimming finally, they like it.



I'll try to get a photo of the new ducklings up tomorrow. It is amazing the size difference considering they are only a week apart. Have to keep them separate due to the size difference, at least for a while.


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## Careym13




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## Rue

Super cute!


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## Careym13

So the ducks are getting huge. Need to post updated photos. 1 of my Pekins when suddenly lame on saturday night. A lame duck. Go figure. Anyway, I think it is a niacin deficiency from what I've read. The other possibility is slipped tendons, but I think the niacin is more likely the culprit. They are on high quality food (mazuri waterfowl mixed with Purina flock raiser). They get tons of dark leafy greens and peas and cheerios for treats...all of which are supposed to be high in niacin. And, they get brewers yeast sprinkled on their food several times a week. So I'm pretty frustrated to say the least because I feel like I have been covering all my bases to prevent this from happening. My vet agreed to give the duckling a vitamin b injection (which contains niacin) so hopefully this little one will get better in 24 hours. Has anyone else with ducks ever had this happen?


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## Cowboy_Ken

Careym13 said:


> So the ducks are getting huge. Need to post updated photos.


A month has gone by and no updated photos? Hope all is well with these ducks. Though I've no desire to have any myself, I was almost living the dream of keeping them with your thread.


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## Careym13

Cowboy_Ken said:


> A month has gone by and no updated photos? Hope all is well with these ducks. Though I've no desire to have any myself, I was almost living the dream of keeping them with your thread.


I'm glad someone is keeping me accountable..haha. Sorry, these ducks have been keeping me terribly busy...I've hardly been on the forum at all. Here are a couple more recent photos, the big yellow duck is the one who went lame. His posture is still weird, but he is doing well otherwise. 



We have been working hard on their enclosure (the chain link in the photo all has to be covered with wire mesh...all 300 sq feet of it). The relentless rain in my area has slowed our progress WAY down. The older ducks are about ready to move out and I still have two weeks worth of work to due to predator proof their run. So, they are living in a big wooden enclosure inside the house for now...and man do they smell!! On my way home from work this evening I have to stop at tractor supply and get more pine pellets...it helps with the smell...a little. 

Oh and did I mention that we ended up with 2 geese?


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## Rue

Nice!

...and yes...they smell. ..lol...


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## TangyBubbles

Careym13 said:


> What a sweet story! I hope these turn out to be that friendly. Here are photos of each one...they aren't feathered so I'm having a hard time identifying them:
> View attachment 168369
> View attachment 168370
> View attachment 168371
> View attachment 168372
> 
> The one in the bottom right photo is the friendliest so far, doesn't squirm when you hold it. The black and yellow one seems to be the most anti-social currently.


Aaawwwee they're sooo cuuute!


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## Moozillion

Cowboy_Ken said:


> Protein. When I had chickens, if I found a raccoon or possum in the coop, it would die from lead poisoning. Then I'd toss the dead critter in the chicken yard. As soon as it would pop open, the chickens would be all over it. They ate everything and turned it into yummy eggs!



SO.GROSS. [emoji13]
...but that’s part of how nature works! [emoji849]


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## Crazy bird lady

Yvonne G said:


> Can we see a picture?
> 
> Years ago my husband had his knee fused after three failed knee replacement surgeries. He was confined to the sofa daily for quite a long time during recuperation. I bought him a little duckling as a joke to keep him company. It was yellow, but grew up to be a pekin (white) duck. She was just the cutest little thing. She thought my husband was her mama, and she stayed with him the whole time he was recuperating on the couch. When he graduated to being able to get up and move around, the duck also graduated to living outside. She stayed by the sliding glass door to the house waiting for my husband to go outside.
> 
> Ducks have a hole where the beak attaches to the skull on the under side of the lower beak. They filter water looking for food and the excess water goes out that hole. They are quite messy. My duck would take a bite of the chicken mash then go over to the waterer and swish her beak back and forth to swallow the mash. I would find tomato worms and toss them to the duck. And I would dig in the moist earth with the duck right there by the shovel waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting worm that I may turn over.
> 
> I was so taken by that duck that I eventually bought more. I had a whole flock of Call ducks (a bantam breed). I was thinking about getting some indian runners, but never did.
> 
> I learned the it's the female that makes the loud "quack". The males make a very quiet little growl sound. Also, an adult male duck has one curly tail feather that curls up towards the back while the female's tail feathers are straight.
> 
> https://www.beautyofbirds.com/pekinducks.html


Hi, 
We have some Indian runner ducks, we got them at the start of COVID-19 to keep us busy while we weren’t in school. We also keep quail in their own little area where they can run around, it is in the corner of the ducks. We also have chickens. We incubated the ducks eggs and they have seen us all since they first opened their eyes, but they are the most untrustworthy things ever! Quail are said to be most untrustworthy to humans but they are better then the ducks, chickens are probably the best. Chickens aren’t dirty, smelly and when you clean them out it is so easy and quick. 
With male ducks they all have a “drake feather” which is where their feathers curl upwards, females done have this. But with runner ducks you can’t tell their gender from that because they all have the same look of tail. Male and female. So, you have to tell from their quack, girls make a loud and really clear quack, while the boys make a sound like they are trying to quack but they just can’t. So let’s say it is a “raspy” kind of sound.
we are thinking about re-homing a tortoise, I have been researching and when we think of getting a pet and start researching... we end up having one! The same happened for quail. And the ducks, and the chickens. 
I have the job of designing their enclosure, we are thinking that it can live outside most of the summer(because we are in the UK) and come inside for the winter to hibernate, I know it depends on what kind of tortoise you have for if it hibernates or not. But, here in the UK, we can’t leave a tortoise outside for the winter. We learnt that with our 2 outdoor rabbits, they didn’t stand a chance agains that snow, hale, wind and rain. And they were in a clean, safe house that was warm and cosy, so I don’t think a tortoise would be able to survive the winter outdoors. We have a really big garden with a long field that the ducks and chickens live so if a tortoise can roam the garden I think they will love it as well. 
what is the best design of tortoise house? Is it best with two levels or just one? Can it go in the back of the ducks pen? Or maybe the back of the chickens where it is more clean? All these things are bothering be and I can’t find the answers, off of google or anyone I talk to. I joined this group to get some answers and learn more about tortoises and what they need. 
thank you if you know what I need for a tortoise in a garden like mine.


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