Duck pen

[Mike Fronczak]

As our adventure into ducks continues I will need to build a more permanent home for our 10 ducks.
My thought is something similiar to our chicken area; they have a coop with about a 10x16 yard then we let them run the yard currently. That is all getting changed up a bit because they got into the veggie/strawberries, make a mess in mulch around house, & started going across road. We are going to start using a premier poulty netting yard in our pasture to follow the cattle with the chickens.
My questions are;
will the ducks dig in the mulch/veggie garden like the chickens ?
Will they go back into their coop at night, (I would feed/water them in that area) ?

My plan is to set their "area" over near our pond. I got them to clean it up (lots of duck weed) & I understand they like it. With that in mind the would gate to pen would be opened in am, shut at dusk (assuming they go in to sleep like chickens). I figure I would need to leave them in their area for a week or two so they recognize it as home before letting them out. This method so far has worked controlled predator losses with our chickens. But as I learned with our brooder ducks aren't chickens.

 

[Amiga]

My ducks don't rough things up like I've seen chickens do, but they like to snack on tender greens. And depending on the mulch - and the duck - some like to turn the top inch or two by pushing their bills under the surface and shaking their heads rapidly back and forth. Does a nice job, too.

If the area gets moist, they like to drill holes in the soil.

My ducks are kept really close, so they don't have far to go to get in for the night, but they do know when it's time to come in. They watch the light, and if I am not at the gate in time - a little while, maybe an hour before sunset - they holler. And I give them feed 24/7, not just when they're in their night pen.

Your plan sounds overall pretty good, just remember predators really, really like duck dinner, and ducks are ground-nesters (unless you have Muscovies) and mine actually prefer to nap up against the fence, making them susceptible to anything that might grab through the fence, except that I have them inside at night, and I have coated chicken wire with a very small diameter around the bottom 2 feet of their day pen in addition to the coated 2"x3" fence, and fence across the top of the pen, and coated chain link across the bottom of the pen.

If you leave the gate open all day, I would also scan their pen area before closing them in, in case anything crept inside in the afternoon. I came face to face with a baby possum one night because of this kind of thing.

 

[Mike Fronczak]

They will have a "house" in or attached to the pen area. Winters here get cold so they need it. For fencing I still have some of what I refer to as "Ostrich fencing" the previous owns had Ostrichs, very HD 5' woven wire with cross crossed wires biggest gap is about 1-2".

 

[Going Quackers]

They don't dig like chickens if that is what you mean, those i think i should put off to work digging holes for plants!

BUT they drill, they adore to truffle about i liken to a pig that quacks... mine root through the gardens but the mere size being Muscovy has meant a few flattened plants...

As to the return at dusk, yes and no. Mine usually do but i don't allow them out much after dusk before i herd them in, you'll always have one who just doesn't get with the program, like last night were cold*below freezing* and the one was back outside the pen and had bathed so she was under the cedars i had to herd her back in before i put the rest into the barn for the night. Yes, she had ice on her.. sigh.

I don't free range my chickens, they get outside but not loose.. i have to many wayward cats and i own drakes whom half i trust so i truly have no clue how chickens return to compare too but that is how i runs things with my flock of ducks.