I have 6 mallard ducklings who are growing fast and i need help! I have a pond but I also hace a billion predators who preyed on my chickens so will probaly prey on ducks what am I suspppsed to do?
Could you get a pond that can be kept in their enclosure? Like a big plastic fish pond or eempty sand pit?
You can build Fort Knox and keep them safe for ever, or you take your chances. I would keep them confined until they can fly. At that point I would let them into the pond. I would feel better knowing that they can fly home. I would also establish a routine which makes them come home each night so you can lock them up. For my ducks it is feeding time. I have very large ducks and they actually get fed 3 times per day. For mallards it may be fine with just twice per day. Mine get food in the morning when I let them out into the secure duck yards. We have lots of coyotees so they cannot go down to the meadow and pond until 10 am. At 10 we let them out and they rush down hill to have water fun. Around 1pm they come home for a small feeding and head back down once done. In the evening they come home to their duck house waiting in front of it to be let in. The food is inside and they want. I open the door, they rush in, and close it up behind them. We have the same routine everyday. They always come home about 30 minutes before it gets dark. My ducks cannot fly. The property is fence with a field fence, but that will not stop a coyote, they simply jump over it. So far we are ok. I do take a chance here, but I tell you my ducks are happy and strong. I would worry less with a flying duck. Anyway, you as the owner has to make a decision eventually. I would not let them free roam until they are 6 months old. They need to grow up first.
We have every predator imaginable. 3 of our ducks (mallards) can fly and 2 can't (Rouens), but we have huge bald eagles around as well. We have Fort Knox at the moment with an 80 gallon rubbermaid tub in there. We are finishing another much larger run for them that won't be quite so bullet-proof, but it will be covered and electrified. We will buy a larger pool for in there. They will still go into their house in Fort Knox at night as most of our predators are generally nocturnal.
I'd get a bigger brooder till they are a bit older. I use the plastic storage boxes from walmart and let my guys play in a bathtub for 20 minutes or so in the evening while I do laundry and put new shavings in. Boy are they messy! What area do you live? my guys are 2 weeks old tomorrow. I'm in Alabama and hope to put them outside in another 2 weeks.
The original Fort Knox is where the U.S. used to keep its gold that backed up our currency. So it was really, really secure! I nicknamed the ducks' outdoor house Little Fort Knox, because I did everything I knew to do to make it secure from predators.
they have something on flemingoutdoors.com that keeps predators away check it out you might have to look a little though
