Ducks near my river....

[tmehl]

I have been apart of raising chickens for years but this year will be our first year with ducks. Our Ducklings should be here within a week or so but I have a question about wether or not they will stay near our property. You see we have a river that is on our property its calm most of the time, and we are hoping that these ducks will swim there but also stay close to home. Is this possible or should we expect them to take off down stream? Any information or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jdywntr]

What breed are you getting?

Ducklings, like chickens, need safe housing and, like chickens, can be trained to put themselves to bed at night. Once they are older, they will know where home is and should return there. On days that the river is rough or running higher than usual I'd probably not allow them out to it.

 

[tmehl]

We are getting 10 random ducklings. Decided I didn't care which breeds because this was our first try at Ducks. I am very excited for their arrival and next have to come up with a design for a coop. Any ideas?

 

[jonhpdx]

Whatever your design ends up being, it will need to take into account the amount of water that ducks will throw and poop on the floor on a daily basis. Consider drainage and minimizing daily maintenance as two of your top concerns.