Coop Question

[AmnGus]

We will be hatching some Welsh Harlequins soon, they will be our first poultry experience, and I am currently trying to plan their coop. I have an acre of land and I would like to fence off about a quarter of an acre for them to roam on. I plan on building a duck house with an attached pool deck for them (to cut down on water mess) where i will place their food, water, and pool. i am going to fence this small area in, including the top (not the full quarter acre, just a small portion for a coop). I was planning on this being the place i coop them up at night so they will have access to the outside as well if they so choose, but during the day I was going to fence the rest of the area in with a 3 foot fence so they can forage freely. I live in Alaska and I was wondering if I would have to enclose the whole quarter acre, top and all, for them to be safe from predators during the day. we have eagles, hawks, ravens, foxes, etc. although I haven't seen any foxes in our area. any advice from seasoned duck people?

 

[KingOfTheCoop02]

Those types of wild animals will kill ducks. A three-foot fence poses absolutely no barrier to any of them either. If you want them to be safe then you will have to surround them with half-inch welded wire above and below ground, with netting over the top.

I'm sorry for such a negative sort of post but sadly it's the truth. Security is not cheap. Good luck, and say hi to the ducklings!

PS if you are around your yard all day then that will scare off predators and a small fence would suffice.

 

[DuckGirl77]

I agree - unless you are around while they're out, it's a good idea to cover the fence. If you won't be around, depending on the time of day you'll have them out, you may be able to get away with just some strong netting to keep birds of prey out, but keep in mind that that would not be completely predator-proof.

 

[AmnGus]

Thanks everyone. I suppose I will just try to build the biggest run that I can and then only let them out to forage when we are outside with them.

 

[Ashleymarie529]

Thanks everyone. I suppose I will just try to build the biggest run that I can and then only let them out to forage when we are outside with them.

That seems to me to be the best plan good luck with your babies and POST PICS

 

[TLWR]

The ravens we had in Alaska were as big as the eagles, but I'm not sure I ever saw them go for any free range chickens the neighbors a few streets over had. I saw ravens in the yard much more than eagles as they preferred to hang out at the dumpster up the street instead.

I would put food and water not near the pool or your pool is going to be full of food. I'd also not worry about providing them an area to be out at night, give them a spacious night house and lock them up to keep them safe from night time predators. Then give them a good sized run that you can cover so they have room to roam a bit unless you can be out with them to free range.

I didn't have ducks while we were in Alaska, but I'm not sure I'd have wanted to try since we also had bears as well in the neighborhood.