Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition: Breeds, Care, Health

I've been raising ducks for 5 years now and still refer back to this books when I need to know something. It got us through our first year raising what arrived to us as day-old ducklings (egg layers) we got via mail from a farm, then the second year when we tried hatching our own, it got us through the entire process of incubating through raising the ducklings to "aduckhood" and it helped us select breeds. We mostly raise ducks for eggs, but occasionally we're raised them for meat, this book helped us raise ducks for meat, butcher humanely and use all parts of the ducks, from the meat to the down feathers and the duck fat. It also helped me to know what to do to help our ducks when they were sick or injured, although that rarely happened because if you know the basics of duck nutrition and care, they're remarkably hardy and they rarely get ill. This book helped us keep our ducks nourished and happy. The first ducks we got 5 years ago are still alive and are still laying! Anyway, this book is very useful and it's really pretty much the only book you'll need, whether you're incubating and hatching your own or raising day-old-ducklings you purchased. It was extremely helpful for the incubation section, I've referred back to that every year when I've hatched ducklings, and also when we order day old ducklings, because it's easy to forget important details. They also explain how to prevent things like spraddle leg, etc. Just an all-around good book for duck owners. We are now very comfortable with all things duck-related, I credit this book with taking us through our journey successfully.

Very through good explaining all aspects of duck keeping. The only thing missing is a summary or checklist for first time keepers.

Nice book about ducks. I have been around ducks most of my life and I found this book to be full of great information regarding them. I often review the contents about certain species.

First 100-150 pages go into immense detail about all the different breeds out there. These chapters are split up by weight of bird (bantam, lightweight, medium, heavy), then go into detail on each breed: giving a history, description, overview of varieties within the breed, how to select breeders, and factors going into show birds. As someone just starting out, I didn't find this info relevant and ended up just skipping it once I understood that the structure of the chapters. Similar comments apply to the chapters on duck colors/genetics.It was really the second half of the book that I found useful: chapters on incubation, rearing, managing adult ducks, and feed. There was also a very detailed section on duck illnesses which would be handy for reference purposes when needed.Bottom line, I went in thinking that such a large (and well reviewed book) would impart much greater knowledge than some of the shorter, more accessible books; but again, half the book was not relevant to someone just starting out raising ducks for the first time.

Nothing beats a Storey's guide for reliable and accurate information. I don't believe there is anyone west of the Mississippi who knows as much about ducks as Dave Holderread. Put the two together and you have one awesome resource for everything from choosing the right duck for your yard, personality, and purpose to how to handle an emergency. I couldn't quite bring myself to read the chapter on butchering my beloved pets, but everything else was interesting and helpful. The genetic chapter was over my head, but IF I were interested in breeding it would be a chapter I would study at length.It was lovely to have someone write to me and not at me or down at me. Some books treat readers as if they are children, others are trying to convince readers not to have ducks as pets, some are only about how to make money. Holderread covers all these things, but also gives the pet owner the information needed to have healthy happy ducks. Whether you want three little girls to eat your slugs or 100 gals to produce an income, this is the best book to get--you can trust me, I've read 47 books on raising ducks.

If you want to raise ducks, are thinking about raising ducks, dream about raising ducks, or just like to read about ducks, this is the book you need. This book is the Everything you always wanted to know about ducks written by one of the preeminent experts on ducks, covering topics such as genetics, housing, feed, and many others. Admittedly Mr Holderread is not the liveliest writer in all the world but he knows his stuff, and that is what I came for. It may well be true that in farming there is no teacher quite like experience but I have referred to these pages many times to help me to formulate feed, avoid potentially serious problems by understanding certain behavioral characteristics, and make sound management decisions not just for the ducks but my other birds also. I am quite certain that my ducks and probably my other birds too derived great benefit from the information gathered from these pages, and possibly live healthier and happier lives.