Waterfowl South Africa

The Basics

Breeding waterfowl, like Swans, Geese & Ducks are easy.  

There is only a few basic things to keep in mind.

Waterfowl normally is not susceptible to sickness as is the case of many other birds and don’t asked much from the fancier as long as the camps or aviaries are not overcrowded, they have clean and the correctly balance food on a daily basis and the water in the ponds are kept fairly clean and if possible with running water. 

First to remember is to keep away from any medicine, except for de-worming them twice a year, normally just before and just after the breeding season. Feeding vitamins with their food will not harm them, but don't over do it. 

However, fanciers have to keep in mind that these are wild birds in captivity and any unusual disturbance can lead to fatal losses due to stress or birds that will not settle down to breed. Remember, stress is the main course of fatal losses and can cause various illnesses such as coccidia.  If your waterfowl love their environment they will show it to you by their behavior in the water. Keep your camps & aviaries free from mice, rats and snakes.

Important things to keep in mind to breed successful with waterfowl

1.Planning suitable facilities for the various species is of utmost importance – visit as many waterfowl breeders as possible before you start building camps and ponds just for the sake of building. To make contact, please refer to the breeders list in the Waterfowl Bulletin.

2. Certain species must never be kept in the same camps or on the same ponds.

3. It is always wise to build more than one small pond in a large camp or aviary, than to have one big pond for all to use. Waterfowl will live in harmony with each other until they have youngsters, then the fighting will start and the young may not survive.

4.  Sort the species roughly into at least the following categories – by observing them you will learn what to do -

5. Provide enough shade with decorative plants as well as space for sunbathing. Make your layouts attractive to visitors/buyers; don’t build your camps and ponds with everything you can lay your hands on. A neat and smart setup will always ensure that new comers to the hobby will visit you again. Keep your aviaries and ponds clean and plant as much ground covers (weed) as possible to keep the birds healthy and happy and to graze on. Greens are a very important part of their feeding.

6. Provide a variety of nest boxes for each pair to pick and choose and see to that these boxes are in the shade and well prepared with grass or other nestling material and not a gathering place for rats, mice or even snakes. Inspect these nest boxes ones a month to see that everything is to your (and the ducks) satisfactory.

7. You must have enough water resources

8. As your waterfowl are usually pinioned, you have to make sure that the camps are well built and protected from predators, especially during the night, not to mention those unwelcome visitors on two legs.

Breeders of exotic waterfowl have found that these birds can bring a healthy additional income for owners on smallholdings and even on farms. The initial investment in building aviaries and ponds and to buy stock may be high but if properly managed a net return of up to 30% can be obtained per year on the investment.

Wildfowl has fascinated mankind from early history, whether as a food source, or because of the mysteries of their migration, or just for their sheer beauty. They have been studied more than almost any other group of birds and belong to the order Anseriformes (waterfowl) that is the most popular of them all. The beautiful plumages of many of them appeal to both the visitors to waterfowl collections as to the waterfowl breeder. Waterfowl are birds of the wetlands, from the marshes of the Arctic tundra to tropical-rainforest swamps, and they may be found from the open sea to high mountain lakes. Wherever they occur, waterfowl are subject to pressure from man’s influence, whether through over-hunting or through the alteration or destruction of their habitats. This is one of the reasons why all of us should support some of the national and international conservation bodies that seek to save the delicate habitats of these birds.

More than 150 species of waterfowl are listed, of which fanciers keep most of them in captivity. In South Africa fanciers keep more than 100 species of swans, geese and ducks and one of the farms in South Africa has the biggest collection in the world.

Why keeping Waterfowl?

People living on smallholdings or farms (and even on small plots in towns) can easily provide space to keep a variety of these birds for a healthy additional income by selling the youngsters. Prices vary from R200 per pair for the common Call Duck (short beak) up to R30 000 for a pair of Bewick Swans. Not to mention the price for a pair of Harlequin Ducks that could reach R60 000. With these prices there is no way that anyone will keep them as a source of food. Most of the duck (teal-species) are very quiet and neighbours on town plots will not even be aware of their presence next door. Swans and geese on the other hand can be noisy and are well known for their watchdog ability and definitely not suitable for the backyards on town plots. They have thus an additional value on plots and farms in spotting unwelcome intruders by gaggling at the top of their voices. In many cases people value them more than dogs because they are always alert and cannot so easily poisoned.