Where to put them?

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CluckCluck2

CluckCluck2

In the Brooder
8 Years
Sep 27, 2011
91
1
39
Morris, Illinois
I have chickens in a coop right now and I was planning on adding on. The chicks are coming next week and I have the brooder ready. When they are old enough to go out I was planning on putting them in with the chickens until I get them used to going out by the creek. Then we will build another coop just for them close to the creek. It's a little ways out there but I'm hoping they will fair well out there. One problem is the creek floods sometimes so we plan on building it up high. I wasn't going to clip wings either. How high can Cayugas and Runner fly? And do you think keeping them close to the house until they get used to going out by the creek? Should I build the new coop closer to the house and they can wander out to the creek when they want to? Thanks!


This is our chicken coop. It houses 11 chickens and there is room to add on under.

This is our back yard the creek is at the edge of the drop off towards the back of the photo.
 
Maybe.

I have 11 ducks who swim daily in a very small flowing stream. It's been almost a year, and I don't think they are going anywhere, although they do forage both up and down stream quite a ways.

When I was a child we had two pet ducks who would follow us on walks to the dike on a much larger creek (over 20' across), but they both died at home years later. Those two were vary friendly though, truly pets. And we lived farther from the water (it was on the other side of a baseball field), if fact, I don't think they ever were down there with out us.

Edit to adress turtles: ducklings are very vulnerable. I doubt the 2' to 4' stream by my place now has turtles big enough to take my piggy pekins.
 
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The breeds you mentioned don't fly. They won't be able to jump more than 6" to a foot and will need steps not a ramp to get into anything built higher up than that. Building their housing so far away from you is a risk of predation as well. They will be literally sitting ducks if not locked up for safety each night.

Creeks, streams and rivers do pose a risk you have to willing to take in turtles injuring them, or taking a foot off. Also be willing to accept that they may go down stream and never return.
 
I had a coop at the edge of the stream, over 120yds from the house and in the winter it was a pita to go out after dark and lock them in (largely due to poor door design). When it started snowing they took to sleeping in the chicken coop (more conveniant, but messy), but some have a hard time with the 6" jump to get inside.

Edit to add, duh, my avitar shows 2 pekins in their little stream!
 
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Thanks all! I will take all this into concideration. The creek does have turtles. The creek is free flowing and is about 15' across. The neighbor way down the way has muscovys and they stay near their home. I see them on the creek allot when we kayak. I will have to provide them stairs so take into account they don't fly and cant jump very high. Perhaps I will keep them closer. I am a water garden builder and work for Aquascape so building them a pond for themselves won't be difficult. Thank you all again!
 

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