Duck Manure Good or Bad??

[OROZCONLECHE]

If My duck Eats Grass plants and Bird Food (Brown Pellets-Poultry Food) Would The Poop be good for Plants? The Poop gets stuck in the ground and at times I was it off with a hose and run it down to my plants? Will That Be Fine?

[!potatoes!]

depend on how dilute you make it with the water. there's definitely a chance of getting a too-much-nitrogen burning type effect on some plants if it's too strong.

[Bobberman]

One or two ducks should not hurt depending on the size of the garden! Chicken and duck are very hot and loaded with nitrogen! Also It may cause bacteria problems for eatting leaf crops and radish surrounded with fresh manure!

[OROZCONLECHE]

Its 1 Duck, she poops kind of like the runs so its looks like lots of water as she poops it, so I just use a water hose and wash it off I'm not really smart about all the nitrogen stuff so I just wash it down with about 1Liter of water.

[john gault]

The Poop gets stuck in the ground and at times I was it off with a hose and run it down to my plants? Will That Be Fine?

What kind of plants? I tend to think it'd be best to allow the duck in a garden when there are no plants, unless it's some type of cover crop.

[cynthia_h]

Ducks are a good first line of defense vs. snails and slugs. If the OP has a snail/slug problem--very common in mild-winter areas of California--the duck could be a valuable gardening assistant (except when destroying seedlings...).

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[OROZCONLECHE]

She eats grass for the most part and you onow what there are snail coming up I just spray em with some insect poison, and by the sounds of the comments I shouldn't wash down her poop with the new plants right?

[cynthia_h]

She eats grass for the most part and you onow what there are snail coming up I just spray em with some insect poison, ...

I'm usually not so direct, but STOP SPRAYING SNAILS WITH INSECTICIDE. Snails are gastropods, not insects, and the spray won't have much, if any, effect on them. Maybe a case of indigestion at most.

We've had many long discussions on Snail/Slug Wars here. Hand-picking, flashlight hunting by night, etc., are effective, non-toxic methods of dealing with these plant destroyers, but the ex-wife of my DH had a wood/teal duck who was her Snail Assistant. The duck was allowed to wander freely through her garden, eating snails to its heart's content (slugs, too). If "C" found any snails/slugs the duck had missed, she simply placed the gastropods on the ground near the duck, and YUM! BLITZ! they were gone.

Put some snails on the ground in front of your duck and check out her response. Maybe she'll get the idea to go looking for them herself....

But I'd be remiss if I didn't warn you about the raccoons. I don't know whether they're around Ontario or not, but the wood/teal duck was locked up in its locksmith-approved hutch one night as usual. When she came out the next morning, "C" found a broken-into hutch and the remains of the beloved duck, savaged by raccoons. The raccoons had indeed been able to break into the supposedly raccoon-proof hutch.

Cynthia

[john gault]

Ducks are a good first line of defense vs. snails and slugs. If the OP has a snail/slug problem--very common in mild-winter areas of California--the duck could be a valuable gardening assistant (except when destroying seedlings...).

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Makes sense, actually I periodically have white Ibis come through and eat in my garden, but never really checked for droppings, but I'm sure they do do their business. One day I'll get a pic, but I found one on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ln8iy4tCi8

[john gault]

She eats grass for the most part and you onow what there are snail coming up I just spray em with some insect poison, ...

Snails are gastropods, not insects, and the spray won't have much, if any, effect on them. Maybe a case of indigestion at most.

Cynthia

I agree, I have tons of snails -- they are all over the place (if there were only a market for snail farming ), because I use a lot of leaf mulch and never had any problems with snails attacking my plants in the garden. They seem more content eating decaying stuff.

[Bobberman]

The small snails will put tons of holes in your lettuce especially on wet nights! the duck will get the bigger snails but most of the snails come out at night. I would think duck oop would attract more snail! Poisoning the snails could make the duck sick! Salt for snails.
+++
Make a small ditch where the water runs into with the duck poop and drains into and under the pl;ants. Actualy a small 9 inch deep ditch across the garden filled with sand would drain the water poop mixture and feed the plant roots! Sand also hampers snails so throw it all over the garden or even wood ash will work some for snails!

[OROZCONLECHE]

Well my ducks wonder around the house yard and anywere so were ever it poops its were the poop is gana stay and mmm duck eating snails that is brillant, I did just noticed there's an empty spot from grass were we dump the ducks pool water, since the water is filled with poop -__- how did I not noticed and this girl duck has survived 2 attacks a dog who killed her mate as he defend her and the 2nd attack who attacked her 2 mate who also defended her and also passd away, for both attacks it was horrible seen her almost dying but she is here as part of the family so if she eats my plants I just suck it up and get more seeds.

[john gault]

Poisoning the snails could make the duck sick! Salt for snails.

Wouldn't salted snails give the ducks high blood pressure

[Bobberman]

Never thought of that. Good point. Use lite salt.!