runner ducks

[jade0206]

Hi,

Looking for advise on runner ducks before i buy them. I have chickens and turkeys. I have a pond and could leave them out all day. But need to put them away at night because of foxes,raccoons.

Could i house with the chickens or should i build there own house and how big for six?
Are they easy to get in at night?
Last questions would hawks try to attach them?
Thanks

 

[Amiga]

Ponds are not as safe as one might think for ducks. There are snapping turtles, hawks, and raccoons that hang around ponds.

Some keep their ducks and chooks together, some separate. If there are drakes, most keep them separate, if I recall correctly, as a drake mating a chicken can kill her.

If they are shown that the shelter is a good place to be, and if you consistently herd them in, they will probably be fine coming in at night. But several people have had troubles getting their ducks in. I bribed mine with peas to train them - now they generally come in without a fuss. Sometimes I need to get behind them and walk them in.

 

[Mrs.H]

In addition: it might be up to chickens wether or not the ducks can be housed together with them. So def have a back up plan for a duck house if you go that route.

My chickens put them selves to bed at night. My ducks wait for me to go outside, they do go in on their own but not until I go out there. They hope one day I'll forget and they will be able to sleep in their pool all night. My 2 new ducks I'm still training to go in, they don't seem to catching on to the bedtime routine at all lol!

 

[jade0206]

thanks for all the info.