Best pen to have and raise ducks???

[sniper338]

The wifey loved having ducks... we moved, got rid of em... and we are building our house right now... the ducks we had were mallards from the feed store and they never got tame... we want some tamer ones we can hand feed and pet...

Any suggestions? I thought pekins, double as a eating bird too?


Our 3 acre lot is all like... beach sand... whats the best way to make a duck pen or coop?

 

[quackingdom]

That's a complicated question. There's no best way, it just depends on your personal preference, the ducks' needs, your budget, and so on.

What type of housing you need depends a lot on the predators in your area. You can only let them free-range if there is little chance of them straying or being eaten by predators. Many people have a coop attached to a run or pen, which has ample space for playing, bathing, and foraging. The coop is virtually predator-proof, and the run or pen has a fence.

If there aren't many predators, and you're not planning to hatch, you could get by without a coop – just a large fenced pen and plenty of shade.

How many ducks do you want? Ducks need 5 square feet of space inside and I think 10 square feet outside, (assuming they will be inside for the night and outside for the day) but bigger is always better, especially for the outside area.

The breed – Pekins are good meat ducks, eat a lot, and also lay a decent amount (125-225 eggs a year). There are plenty of other options for breeds, too. There are some breeds that lay over 300 eggs year, but aren't good for meat, and there are some dual-purpose breeds that work for both purposes (Appleyard, Orpington, Saxony, etc.)

If you could give me a better idea of the predators and your needs, I can give you more tips.

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/55358/duck-houses

Great advise from HannaDuckLover
and here is more pics

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/178796/what-does-your-duck-house-look-like

The more secure the house and run the longer you'll enjoy your ducks.

 

[TLWR]

If you stick to smaller numbers of ducklings and spend a lot of hands on and in person time with them, they will likely be friendly. They are ducks, you are people, they may still not want to be pet and loved on, but they should still be friendly, regardless of breed.

Build your coop/pen where they will have shade or build their coop to also provide shade (mine will hang out under their house or under the chicken house) for the heat of the summer.
You'll want fencing that the neighborhood predators can't go through or over (foxes can get through field fencing). Their housing will need to be secure at night - everything wants to eat ducks at night.

 

[elly21]

Will you be building a deck? Here's what we did with ours.



There is a small coop inside the run. This gives them plenty of room. But we do let them out and forage in the yard while it is light out.