Duck house… on water?

[CalliBee]

Hi again,

So about 8 weeks ago I ordered 2 Anaconas in the mail and received 6! As much as I would love to keep them all, I can’t. So I my mom’s boss from work(who I’ve met before) offered to take 4 them.
She has 3 acres of land, a pond, and some chickens (but never had ducks before). And it sounded great!
Well it’s getting close to time to send them to their new home and I asked my mom if her boss was ready to take them as she was in the process of building a duck house and she said yes! Great I’m excited! But then I received pic of the duck house they built and I’m a little unsure…
It seems small for 4 grown ducks, and it’s floating on top of the water. No run, no fence around the property, nothing. I’m worried about predators, but the person who is getting them seems to think that the water will protect them Bc they can just swim away. I have no idea how they’re going to teach them to nest inside the duck house at night if there isn’t a way to keep them secure (even if they could all fit in there)
My question is, has anyone else put their coop on the pond before? Is it just as safe as a regular coop? Safer?
I’m not feeling too good about sending my babies there, feels like I’m sending them to their death.

Pictured below is the duck house they built:

 

[Miss Lydia]

They will be sitting ducks. More than likely they won’t even use it and sleep on land by the edge of the water which will make it even worse for being picked off. Many predators will swim for duck dinner.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You don’t have to feel obligated to give your ducks up to this person. Be honest and tell them all the horror stories you’ve heard about on BYC and you just would rather they go where they will have security. Go to the predator and pest forum. Reading there is enough to change your mind.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/predators-and-pests.13/

 

[Miss Lydia]

Coyotes fox mink weasel dogs will all swim plus owls hunt at night too. If me be I’d keep looking for a new home where they will be locked up at night for their safety.

 

[Isadora]

Pictured below is the duck house they built:

"Built" ?
Lol, no one built that. That's a half-hearted attempt at best.
And yeah, not adequate for four ducks as far as space or predator proof.

 

[fatty and friends]

not predator proof at all, i wouldn’t send them there if i were you

 

[CalliBee]

Just an update for anyone who’s interested-
They built a coop for the ducks that they sleep in every night and they free range during the day. They immediately knew what to do, first night they went straight to the coop and have done so ever since.

I was worried that once they got out into the large pond they wouldn’t be able to gather them where they needed to go but they have instinctively taken to the coop! My hearts happy, they have really grown to love the ducks and seem to be taking great care of them.

Of course they have the floating duck house still out there and haven’t even used it once (told them those )

Thanks for everyone’s help and giving me the courage to express my concerns to them

 

[CalliBee]

So I wanted to update everyone!

I had a talk with the lady who was going to take the ducklings and at first she didn’t seem very receptive of the idea of copping them. Come to find out, she was looking forward to having ducks live on her pond almost as a decoration and kind of had the mentality of if they live, they live and if not, oh well! I explained to her these aren’t wild ducks (I think she thought that was what we were doing, letting them go into the wild but on her land so we knew where at).
I explained that they are a lot like the chickens they have, they will need a coop and run.
The husband got to see them and said “wow do you think the duck house will be big enough for them?” And I explained that they’re only 8 weeks old and have lots of growing to do. His response was “well I worked really hard on this”
I left the conversation feeling unheard and upset.
This morning I received a message about how her husband has began the process of building them a more stable home ON LAND, and that they will be looking into providing more security for the ducklings.
I’m so happy! I really felt like no one listened to me and they made me feel overly dramatic. It seems like the husband is the one who has the tender heart for their flock and once he saw how small they still were and learned that ducks can’t just “swim away” from predators he realized how serious this actually was.

Thanks for everyone who gave me some advice! I’ll update everyone on when they go to their new home(if it’s satisfactory or not lol)

 

[Quatie]

I don't deal with them where I live, but I have read enough horror stories about snapping turtles too. Land predators are not the only thing to worry about. And yours can't fly away, which is the main way wild ducks escape predators.

Those ducks are going to need a minimum of 16sq ft. They will need to be an enclosed run at first as well. They will need to learn to trust the new owner if they are ever going to be able to get them to use a coop and not just stay on the pond all night.

If you don't want to give them away, there is nothing wrong with that. Just realize, once you do, they are no longer your animals to protect. So if you are worried, there is nothing wrong about being picky with who they go to. There is no way for you to keep all of them?

 

[Quatie]

Unfortunately no I can’t keep all of them. I don’t have the space. I already have a pretty big flock

Ancona are a pretty desirable duck these days. You may have luck finding someone else in your area who would be willing to take them. I would personally keep my ducks a little overcrowded temporarily to prevent them from going somewhere I didn't agree with. You can always just float the idea on BYC in your area thread or a rehoming thread. It would at least give you options and leverage to get them to do better or else you will give them to someone else.