How to Care for Call Ducks

When bred for show, the color, size and shape of the call duck matters greatly. Although showing call ducks motivates many owners, others choose to care for call ducks because of their entertaining qualities. Introduced to the United States somewhere between 1880 and 1909, the species has evolved into an ever-changing palette of colors and mutations. Raising call ducks for personal enjoyment requires the owner to provide the call ducks with a few provisions to ensure their health, safety and overall happiness.

Things You'll Need

Shelter
Food pellets
Wheat pellets
Duck-breeder pellets
Calcified seaweed

Instructions

- 1
  Provide a shelter for the call ducks. A fenced-in garden area that contains a coop or even a shed should suffice. The shelter will provide security from predators throughout the day and during the evening hours.
- 2
  Provide plenty of water for the call ducks. Call ducks require water for drinking, bathing and cooling off. A pond or man-made water source will work well. Just make sure that the ducks have easy access.
- 3
  Supply the call ducks with an adequate daily food source. Call ducks love duck pellets, but will make do with chicken pellets. Call ducks also require limestone chips to help them grind their food. The limestone chips also provide much needed calcium.
- 4
  Feed the call ducks wheat pellets daily, during the winter months. Wheat contains protein and high amounts of vitamin B, which are essential elements for the call ducks during the coldest times of the year. Feed the call ducks "duck-breeder" pellets in the early spring to prepare their bodies for breeding.
- 5
  Mix calcified seaweed in with their feed, per instructions. You can also scatter the calcified seaweed over the water. The calcified seaweed will provide the extra amounts of calcium necessary to produce shells on the eggs that the call ducks lay. Without enough calcium, the eggs will contain only a soft outer membrane.