Duck coop

[Ducks on the pond]

Hey everyone new here hopefully I can get some answers I’m looking to add 3 females to my flock of 4 ducks.3 male 1 female was curious if my coop was big enough or if I have to make some adjustments thank you for your input

 

[Alaskan]

How big is that coop?

 

[Ducks on the pond]

It is either 6x12 or 8x12 I would have to remeasure

 

[Alaskan]

Then I would think that would be enough space IF they get along.

The problem is if the males do not decide to happily pair up with the females.

If they do not happily pair up.... you might need twice as much space to keep things happy.

 

[Alaskan]

The more I think about having 4 pairs in there........

Unlikely to work.... 2 males with 2 or 4 females would be more likely to work.

Just with 4 males, you need everyone to be able to run away from everyone else.... a bit tricky without a huge area.

 

[Ducks on the pond]

Thank you I was thinking about adding 3 more females to make it 3 males and 4 females that should make everyone happy

 

[Alaskan]

It will still take a bit of jostling before they settle down.

@shawluvsbirds do have duck integration experience?

 

[Ducks on the pond]

I do not but I have looked into it I already have a medium outdoor dog cage and a mesh pop up play pen I use for when they’re chicks so they can always interact

 

[Alaskan]

Just when spring comes, especiallywhen they are young and not yet paired up.... I tend to need way more space, until everyone decides how the pairing is going to work out.

So a good amount of space for 6 ducks, when it is 1 male and 5 females, is totally different than for 6 ducks, 3 males and 3 females.

I do worry that your space, for 4 males, and 4 or 5 females, is not large enough... but the same number of ducks with 1 male the rest female would be fine.

 

[TomCahalan]

Your coop is plenty big; it could probably hold a dozen ducks, but that's not your real problem.

Wild mallards pair up. Domestic ducks do not. Each drake wants every female to himself. They want big harems. They do not want to share. You should keep only one drake. If you add the three females and eat two of the drakes then you'll have a 4:1 ratio, which is good.