Apologies in advance for the ignorance of this post. I live smack dab in the middle of suburbia, TX. No farmland around and only residential homes; however, I do live on a unique property and have made the most out of my area.
I have 4 chickens with a coop and eggbox discreetly built into my deck. They free range all day everyday; I have automatic feeders, automatic doors- I could leave for a week and they're fine (outside of collecting eggs). Have only lost one (a 10 mo old Dominique) to a hawk in the winter when the leaves were gone. Do have the occasional bobcat/coyote/racoon I'll pick up on my cameras.
I have bees and sell honey- nothing has ever messed with my hives (across the creek on an island and accessible via a bridge I have).
I grow mushrooms on my tiered backyard and sell excess (on a small scale).
I'm almost all shaded land- and again, I'm in the middle of a city/HOA/etc.
I'm interested in ducks due to the fact I have a slow running creek behind my house (with a deep section right behind me); and have read a decent amount on them. But like anything, I don't want my biases to come into play. i.e.- "I want ducks, so let me find that one store of someone in my situation who did it successfully and ignore the other 300 who didn't."
Pics of my small chicken coop:
Last pic shows the cutout where they can free range wherever they want. They stay out of my gardens and deck- fence keeps them from garden 99% of time and dog has trained them to stay off deck.
Here is a current pic of my 3 tiered backyard setup I have that overlooks a creek. I have some new retaining walls going in currently to replace my old timbers; which stimulated my mind to add some ducks to the bottom tier of my property. Chickens hang under the deck and forage the top 2 tiers pretty regularly. Top 2 tiers are also where my mushroom log cultivation happens (all moved for construction currently happening).
Here is a pic of what it looks like back there 9 months out of the year (note fireplace from other pic for positioning) The tiers are hard to see due to foliage (which is also why I have almost zero hawk dives) and the bottom tier is now leveled and will have pavers on it (though tons of foliage elsewhere):
And where I'm considering putting a duck coop:
Level area where pavers will be:
Always flowing creek. It is essentially a trickle flow at all times (so very slow) though it will absolutely rush with rainfal. The area pictured is ~4' deep.
Sorry for all the pics but wanted to get a full picture of everything.
I have a full time job and also enjoy traveling with my family several times a year. So everything I do is pretty low-tech. Bees I only have to check on once every couple weeks; chickens can go 5-10 days (depending on weather) with my food/water setup and I'll clean their coop every week or two, Mushrooms are pretty "innoculate and forget" outside of cultivating when they bloom, etc. But if ducks can't be taught to put themselves up at night w/ an automatic door and/or can't free range with an automated feeder and require daily care; they're likely out of the running on my place.
If it's possible, what would I need to build. Ideally I would only go coop w/o a "run" area and just allow them to range freely. I could rig up an automatic feeder to feed 1x/day. Unsure if I'd need a waterer? Potentially for when it's raining and the creek is inaccessible? Also- during a downpour- the water level never gets within 2-3 feet of the top of the bags there- so no potential for a washout.
I have 4 chickens with a coop and eggbox discreetly built into my deck. They free range all day everyday; I have automatic feeders, automatic doors- I could leave for a week and they're fine (outside of collecting eggs). Have only lost one (a 10 mo old Dominique) to a hawk in the winter when the leaves were gone. Do have the occasional bobcat/coyote/racoon I'll pick up on my cameras.
I have bees and sell honey- nothing has ever messed with my hives (across the creek on an island and accessible via a bridge I have).
I grow mushrooms on my tiered backyard and sell excess (on a small scale).
I'm almost all shaded land- and again, I'm in the middle of a city/HOA/etc.
I'm interested in ducks due to the fact I have a slow running creek behind my house (with a deep section right behind me); and have read a decent amount on them. But like anything, I don't want my biases to come into play. i.e.- "I want ducks, so let me find that one store of someone in my situation who did it successfully and ignore the other 300 who didn't."
Pics of my small chicken coop:
Last pic shows the cutout where they can free range wherever they want. They stay out of my gardens and deck- fence keeps them from garden 99% of time and dog has trained them to stay off deck.
Here is a current pic of my 3 tiered backyard setup I have that overlooks a creek. I have some new retaining walls going in currently to replace my old timbers; which stimulated my mind to add some ducks to the bottom tier of my property. Chickens hang under the deck and forage the top 2 tiers pretty regularly. Top 2 tiers are also where my mushroom log cultivation happens (all moved for construction currently happening).
Here is a pic of what it looks like back there 9 months out of the year (note fireplace from other pic for positioning) The tiers are hard to see due to foliage (which is also why I have almost zero hawk dives) and the bottom tier is now leveled and will have pavers on it (though tons of foliage elsewhere):
And where I'm considering putting a duck coop:
Sorry for all the pics but wanted to get a full picture of everything.
I have a full time job and also enjoy traveling with my family several times a year. So everything I do is pretty low-tech. Bees I only have to check on once every couple weeks; chickens can go 5-10 days (depending on weather) with my food/water setup and I'll clean their coop every week or two, Mushrooms are pretty "innoculate and forget" outside of cultivating when they bloom, etc. But if ducks can't be taught to put themselves up at night w/ an automatic door and/or can't free range with an automated feeder and require daily care; they're likely out of the running on my place.
If it's possible, what would I need to build. Ideally I would only go coop w/o a "run" area and just allow them to range freely. I could rig up an automatic feeder to feed 1x/day. Unsure if I'd need a waterer? Potentially for when it's raining and the creek is inaccessible? Also- during a downpour- the water level never gets within 2-3 feet of the top of the bags there- so no potential for a washout.
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