moving muscovy ducks to new living quarters - do they need to be confined for a week like chickens t

I have a male and female muscovy both 5 months old that I have been raising in a 4' x 8' box in the garage. They need to be moved to a shed that has a fenced in run. I had 25 muscovy ducks before that I had kept in the shed and they spent the day in the run and I shooed them into the shed each night. My concern is how these ducks that have been restricted to a small area will handle the move. I am going to set up a 4' x 8' area in the shed with 4" x 4" lumber and fill it with leaves and pine chips and also move the water/food setup that they are used to into the shed until they adjust then move it out to the run. Should I confine them inside the shed for a week so they consider it "home" or is that necessary?

If there is a run to keep them safe, I don't know that keeping them locked in the shed will make much difference, unless I don't understand the question.

Muscovies can fly, though . . . . is there a top on the run?

there is no top on the run. Several of the females I used to have did fly over the fence or up to the roof of the shed but most of the time they came back to be with the rest of the group before I shut the shed up each night. I would clip the wings of these two before moving them so that the flying issue will be removed.

My concern is not so much safety but more that these two young ones have been confined all their lives in a small area and once they get to the shed and the run, will I be able to herd them into the shed and how distressed will they be. They can see the outside from their box in the garage and the top 2 feet of the box as well as the top is made of chicken wire so they have been able see more than just the wood box but their new surrounding in the shed and run will be so much bigger.

Perhaps I am worrying too much. These two ducks are tamer than the others were because they had to deal with me getting into their box to clean and change the water several times a day.

If it were me I think I would make time to spend with them in their new place, offering treats and hanging out and making it a bit of a party.

If it is a safe place, with fresh water and food and maybe something to do, like forage, then I think they would be okay with it.

thank you very much for your responses...I think I will follow your advice and spend some time with them until they adjust.

We recently went through something very similar. And we noticed that at first all of our new "kids" were pretty nervous with so much space and only recently have been venturing very far away from the house. After a week or so, they all began to investigate the area we have fenced for them, but in groups of three or four. I try to go out and walk around as much as possible with them and give them lots of dried meal worms as reward for being the big brave Muscovies that they are.

I am feeling much more confident that the moving of the ducks to their new home will go smoothly. Thanks