Breed recommendations and living quarters.........

[emjay]

I am hoping to get some ducks by next spring. We are working on getting the chickens first, for my daughters sake. Been promising her chickens for years, well about 5 (she's only 7).
I was considering putting ducks in with the chickens, but, I think it might be best to have them in their own hut.
What is the size limitations on a duck hut, if you are only going to get about 6??
we have a small marsh on the property and want to give them access to that for bug purposes and swimming and then lock em' up at night to keep them safe from coons etc.
what are some breed recommendations as far as fun birds, hardy and entertaining.
I like the Call ducks, the magpies and the harlequins , these so far have caught my eye.
thanks.

 

[Squirtchy2009]

For the ducks, they will need some form of paddaling pool or pond to have a dip in when the please, so make sure your run has either a pond or at least some water.

As for the space, for 6 calls i would recomend as big as possiable although they are not big they like the space, and you never know you migth even get duckling

 

[kawonu]

If your just locking them up at night then for calls you won't need much space. They don't need water at night so you don't have to have a pool or waterer in with them. I lock ours up at night in 4 of the 10x10 dog kennels linked together. We have right at 50 calls right now and 3 geese in there with them. They end up all gathering together in one of the kennels. During the day they have access to the yard and pasture.

 

[Duck Keeper]

Bigger is always better, but the MINIMUM square footage for regular sized ducks (not large breeds) is four feet (squared) per bird.

I could imagine it would be much less for calls and slightly less for smaller ducks, more for larger ducks, but try to give them as much room as possible; they spread their water and watery poop EVERYWHERE!

Try brooding the ducklings and chicks separately as well, chickies don't like being wet and nasty.

 

[emjay]

thanks for the info.

what are the suggestions for the interior design of a duck hut,
any dos and don'ts, neccessities. etc?

 

[Duck Keeper]

WATERPROOF IT!!

Make sure there's really good ventilation, easy to clean (dirt floor would have been nice I guess), and even one nest box with a golf ball inside will entice (but not guarantee) them to lay in it.

Make it totally predator proof if possible, or you'll be left with heads and feathers one day. NOT a good thing to wake up to.

 

[Wifezilla]

Here is the inside of mine...

Secure pen with deep litter and a large dog igloo.

 

[Duck Keeper]

Every time I see your setup Wifezilla, it makes me happy you have ducks.

Oh and by the way, I stole one of your duck names and used it for one of my Appleyard x F&W runner drakelets.

Bungie is very large.

EDIT: Pic

 

[Wifezilla]

Wow! What a handsome fellow!

 

[Duck Keeper]

I hope his lacing stays when he's fully molted into his adult plumage! He's really scruffy right now, this was taken right before he started molting.

EDIT:
Did you know he has small downy feathers on both his legs?!
His daddy has them too, so I know he can pass them down to any future offspring.

I hope someday to breed this trait into some other breeds or something.

But it needs work. Since they aren't 'true' feathers, just down.