Do ducks need a "house"?

[wbruder17]

I have a very large enclosure and coop for my chickens. I also have 2 Red Golden pheasants, but they stay outside in the run all of the time. I am wondering if ducks will simply nest in the straw to sleep (there are several covered areas) or if they need to be put away inside the coop at night. The entire setup is predator proof (buried chicken wire 3 feet deep and fully enclosed with chicken wire) so they would be totally safe if left outside.

I have not gotten the ducks yet, id like to be prepared....

Also, we have a fully fenced in yard and a stream that is not included in the fenced in part. Can I let the ducks free range during the day and will they come back if I do? I only let everyone out when I am home to keep and eye on things, but I'm wondering if they will fly off.

I'm looking into 2 bantam East Indies females. Any info would be appreciated! Thanks.

Here is a photo of the front half of my run. The coop is to the back right and holds my 20 chickens comfortably, tho they really only sleep in it. There is another large (16ftx12ft) aviary connected by a tunnel behhind this original structure. The creek is down the hill behind both structures.

 

[chickensioux]

If predators like weasels can enter, the ducks need a safe house at night. Especially small ducks like EI's. All areas, including the floor, must be covered in 1/2 inch mesh to be completely predator proof.

 

[beckschicks]

we have 2 ducks and 3 geese we did have 3 ducks but we had a fox problem which has been taken care of. Our ducks and geese free range during the day and I have no issues getting them to go up at night. I feed them at night and usually the geese are very annoyed if they are not fed on time.