They were raised in NC and when they were three weeks old they came out from under the brooder lamp and moved outdoors into a pen and coop. After the first few days I gave up chasing them to lock them into the coop at night and just let them sleep under the coop - which appeared to be their preference. They had a kiddie pool to play in every day. They were 7 weeks old when they moved to the old swimming pool in SC. I put the floating house in the water that day and when I went back a week later they were living in it. I suppose they sense it is the safest place for them. They also have a little coop available to them at the side of the pool but do not use it. They free range and have a flock block they can nibble on. The first block lasted a month. I set another one out this week. They feed on filamentous algae that grows in the pool. There are tadpoles, dragonflies and their larvae, water striders and all manner of bugs in the grass and the woods that surround the pool. There are plenty of edible plants there. I put some feeder fish in the pool, too. The ducks appear to be doing well. I check on them weekly when I stop by to mow the acreage. It appears that the four of them, identical early on, are actually two drakes and two ducks. We'll see if they pair off for mating next Spring and if they stay put. There are sizable ponds within a mile or two of the swimming pool and they may decide to move to one of them. There should be adequate nesting sites there in the surrounding woods - but I may set aside an area for them, as well - fenced on three sides with the open side open only to the water - so that predators can not enter unless they swim in. So far the arrangement is working and the ducks appear healthy and content - kind of naturalized instead of "kept" or dependent on me.
