Getting started
4 min guide
Should I Get Ducks? A First Flock Checklist
The honest things to plan before your first ducks come home.
Read the guide →Alford Ducks presents
Duck & Garden School
Answers to the duck questions people actually ask.
Clear starting points for fresh-egg fans, future hatchers, new keepers and Manchester gardeners looking for more natural options.
Browse the library
Start with the question you have today.
From whether duck eggs are safe to eat to how long duck eggs take to hatch, these are friendly, practical starting points from a small welfare-led flock. They are not a replacement for a vet when a bird is unwell or injured.
Daily care
3 min guide
A simple daily duck care routine
A calm morning-to-evening routine that keeps the important things covered.
Read the guide →Housing
4 min guide
How Much Space Do Ducks Need? Housing & Run Basics
What a practical, secure and duck-friendly set-up needs to do.
Read the guide →Feeding
3 min guide
What Do Ducks Eat? A Practical Feeding Guide
The sensible basics for a happy, well-fed flock.
Read the guide →Eggs
4 min guide
Are Duck Eggs Safe to Eat?
UK food-safety basics for enjoying, storing and cooking duck eggs.
Read the guide →Hatching
4 min guide
How to Choose Hatching Eggs Before You Order
A calm checklist before fertile duck eggs arrive at your door.
Read the guide →Ducklings
5 min guide
What Do Ducklings Need in Their First Week?
The early essentials for warm, dry, confident ducklings.
Read the guide →Breeds
3 min guide
Which Duck Breeds Lay the Most Eggs?
A quick way to think about Khaki Campbells, Welsh Harlequins and Aylesburys.
Read the guide →Eggs
3 min guide
Can You Bake With Duck Eggs?
A simple, practical way to use rich duck eggs in cakes, puddings and everyday bakes.
Read the guide →Hatching
4 min guide
Hatching eggs after posting: the first 48 hours
A calm first-day checklist for posted hatching eggs, before you start an incubation.
Read the guide →Seasonal care
3 min guide
Why Aren't My Ducks Laying Eggs?
Why a changing flock can mean a changing egg basket - and when to simply give them time.
Read the guide →Garden advice
3 min guide
Do Ducks Eat Slugs and Snails?
How ducks naturally forage in a garden, and why no garden visit can promise to remove every pest.
Read the guide →Garden advice
4 min guide
Natural Alternatives to Slug Pellets
A practical mix of garden habits that can help you rely less on pellets around vulnerable plants.
Read the guide →Garden advice
4 min guide
How to Protect Hostas From Slugs Naturally
Simple ways to give hostas more protection without pretending a garden can ever be completely slug-free.
Read the guide →Garden advice
4 min guide
Natural Slug Control for Vegetable Gardens
A sensible way to reduce slug pressure around vegetable beds while keeping plant protection and duck welfare in mind.
Read the guide →Garden advice
3 min guide
Duck Manure in the Garden
What a duck visit can leave behind, and why it should not be treated as a precise fertiliser service.
Read the guide →Garden advice
3 min guide
Why Ducks Forage for Garden Insects
Why grass, damp edges and planted areas are interesting to ducks, and how a garden visit gives them valuable enrichment.
Read the guide →Eggs
4 min guide
How to Store Duck Eggs and Check Freshness
A clear UK guide to keeping duck eggs safely until you are ready to cook them.
Read the guide →Eggs
4 min guide
Duck Eggs vs Chicken Eggs: Taste, Size and Baking
The simple differences you will notice when you cook with duck eggs.
Read the guide →Eggs
3 min guide
Why Are Duck Eggs More Expensive?
Why a box of duck eggs can cost more than a standard box of chicken eggs.
Read the guide →Hatching
4 min guide
How Long Do Duck Eggs Take to Hatch?
A realistic incubation timeline for common domestic duck breeds and what to have ready.
Read the guide →Hatching
4 min guide
How to Candle Duck Eggs for Fertility
What candling can tell you, when to do it and why a gentle routine matters.
Read the guide →Hatching
5 min guide
Hatching Duck Eggs: Common Problems and What to Check
A calm troubleshooting guide for poor development, late hatching and other common incubation worries.
Read the guide →Daily care
4 min guide
Do Ducks Need a Pond?
What ducks really need from water, even when a garden does not have a pond.
Read the guide →Getting started
3 min guide
Are Ducks Loud? What New Keepers Should Know
A realistic guide to duck noise, neighbours and choosing a flock carefully.
Read the guide →Daily care
4 min guide
Can Ducks and Chickens Live Together?
How to think about mixed flocks, separate needs and UK biosecurity.
Read the guide →Getting started
4 min guide
Do I Need to Register Ducks in the UK?
A plain-English starting point for UK duck keepers and the official guidance to check.
Read the guide →Ready when you are