Can I let my ducks free range??

[chicken farmer]

Im getting a few ducklings soon and when they get a little older I want to let them free range there whole lifes for ever and they wouldnt have a pen but they would have a small coop and a kiddie pool or two and I have woods and a huge green grassy yard all in the front and sides of my house and all the woods are behind my house.I live out in the country and I wandering if they would be fine to just walk around the yard and woods and kiddie pools and what ever they want do you think this is a good idea???I need ideas and feedback...thanks!!!

 

[ssgreer1]

I am no expert. I have only had ducks a few months now. We built a duck house with a fence around it but we let them out every morning and they free range all day. They are adorable and seem happy. We have a creek that they love to splash in. It is impossible to keep their drinking or playing water clean so it is awesome for them to be able to be free. We had issues with our dogs at first so beware of that if you have dogs. We finally got everybody used to everybody.

 

[shicks0211]

my guess is that they would not last very long in the area that you speak of. Their predators are nocturnal ..other than dogs and cats. with just a couple kiddie pools they wouldn't be able to get away from a predator..ducks aren't very quick on land and their predators also come from the air..hawks and eagles prey on them. If you were to say you had a large pond or lake that they could run to to get away from the racoons, opossums or dogs i'd say maybe..but they could be good if you put them in a pen at night. My ducks don't mind..at sun up they go out..they're out all day..and dusk they follow me up to their pen and that's where they sleep..safe from predators. That's just my opinion..maybe someone will chime in that has other ideas.

 

[chicken farmer]

my guess is that they would not last very long in the area that you speak of. Their predators are nocturnal ..other than dogs and cats. with just a couple kiddie pools they wouldn't be able to get away from a predator..ducks aren't very quick on land and their predators also come from the air..hawks and eagles prey on them. If you were to say you had a large pond or lake that they could run to to get away from the racoons, opossums or dogs i'd say maybe..but they could be good if you put them in a pen at night. My ducks don't mind..at sun up they go out..they're out all day..and dusk they follow me up to their pen and that's where they sleep..safe from predators. That's just my opinion..maybe someone will chime in that has other ideas.

Ok the pen does sound better thanks

 

[ducklover87]

You don't necessarily need a pen if you have a coop which you said they would have. As long as its big enough for them they would be fine with just that at night. But being someone who also lives out in the woods (I have Amish people as neighbors if that helps) I'd recommend that it be as secure as possible. Mine only have a coop for now. Eventually I plan to make breeding pens but only so my ducklings stay pure. Just be careful and check on them often. There are animals that will prey on them during the day. Hawks, eagles, even rabid animals, dogs, cats just to name a few. Its always a possibility esp with free ranging. If you have dogs or even one that will help to deter predators away but its not always a guarantee. I've been doing it successfully for over a year and over half that year they free ranged 24/7 needless to say I lost a duck to a predator. Not sure what kind as I couldn't bare to look at the body. Thankfully the bf took care of that and we had a proper burial. That may be weird to some but I've done it with all my animals that have died. Thankfully its mostly been fish lol. Anyway after the death of one of my beloved ducks I build a pen and had them in it that night. I don't miss a night without putting them in their coop. Hope this will help.

Edited: to fix all the words autocorrect messed up on lol

 

[Going Quackers]

I do both, i have 1/3 of acre fenced around their barn, i let them out in the morning do chores then open the gate, in this penned area is their pools, all their feed etc i leave this gate open, so they can come back throughout the day.

They free range till the sun starts to go down, then i round them up to go in the pen and leave them there till dark then i come back out and lock them in the barn.

The reason i do this? last year lost some to the neighbours dog, he's chained up now but i like the security of the pen, in winter months unless it's decent i don't let them out, to dangerous, they get chilled hunker down in cedars and may not ever come back.

Always, keep in mind you don't know what you have for predators till you get something they want!

 

[annette910]

i have some ducks we live in the woods and got the whole back yard fenced in and got a house for them and a fence around it i have 3 grown ducks and they wonder the whole yard they fly but dont go any where we let them run all night and day they go where they want to to perch we had baby ducks that hatched 6 of them did we had to build somthing off the grownd till they get big enough to run we did have baby ducks that we bought and when i turn them lose somthing got them lesson learned

 

[Paganrose]

We have free ranged all our birds during the day light- but our ducks were never happy with kiddie pools. They often invaded the kids deeper pool- finding ways to get under the cover. When that wasn't available they wandered a half mile down to the neighbor's pond. They didn't stay close to home where predators were discouraged by the dog, geese, and human activities. They are the only animals we had predator issues with. We no longer have ducks, and don't plan on getting more until we can put in a real pond.

 

[Scott Miller]

My wife is a principal at a elementary school and had a teacher order duck eggs and hatch them in one of her classes. We took two that were born April 30th and kept them on our deck in a dog crate that keep them safe . We recently moved them in the cage under the deck and let them free range on our private land that has a creek that passes 100 yards from were they free range. They have never entered the creek previously. Friday night they ventered into the creek before we could secure them in the cage. My wife observed them at 11pm thru 1am and they seamed to be happy. The next morning they had disappeared. We have walked along the creek that runs 300 yards in our cummuniy which is private and found no feathers. We have looked for them and miss them ,does anyone have any ideas what we might try to relocate them?

 

[pattyhen]

I would put food and water out by where you saw them last. Any type of preditor could have gotten them. They may have swam further down the creek. Good luck I hope they return but it doesn't sound to good.


Patty
p.s. you might want to check with your neighbors to see if they saw the ducks.