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my indoor ducks live in a pen that has soft bedding a few inches thick that cleaned very frequently. When not in their pen, like when they are downstairs in my frontroom, they have their own fenced off playpen area that has several rugs and two bed beds, and pillows, etc. their rug is over 2 inches of thick fluffy material. so they are not running around on grass, but they still live on a squishy surface.
Not to mention, how do you clean paving stones if there is no ground? You can spray the poop away, but where does it go if there is no dirt/ground to absorb it? you'd just make it watery and push it to one corner.
I also think we are confused due to slang/language variations. For most of us american folk, when we hear the word garden, we think of soil, mulch, plants, compost, etc.... not paving stones (unless they are there for ornamental purposes). I think in england, garden is a term more loosely used to describe a basic backyard, not necessarily what is in it.
Ducks are not meant to live on hard ground. You can find solutions, but they may be messy... i had a few more suggestions for you once i read that your yard is all paving stones but... there is no need to be jerky or mean to people in the forum who are trying to help. To be frank (and forgive me if it sounds rude) but this is something that could've have been thought of and researched before you ever even got eggs to hatch. That behavior might discourage people from answering you when you have questions. We are trying to prevent you from having serious foot issues, because i know you'll be very upset if you do. i've dealt with those foot issues, and it's not in any way pleasant. my duck first got bumblefoot from being in her pen most of the day, on shavings... she was there nearly all day while i was recovering form surgery and my roommate at the time did not do a good job of cleaning out her shavings and letting her out... she got scratches on her feet and got bumblefoot from the poop. she nearly died. Her and my other duck are like my babies and i was devastated... i know your runners are very precious to you since they were the only ones to hatch. i know you'd hate to see them get bumblefoot.
And the biggest problem with bumblefoot is that they hide it for as long as possible, and it can go systemic very easy at that point. it's very hard to catch before it gets into their bones, just by symptoms. My duck wasn't eating and had to be force fed/forced her medicine. it was the most miserable 4 weeks on her life. and at the same time i was recovering from m major surgery, so it was very very difficult.
You are probably going to have to build an enclosure with a coop with softer bedding. something like wood pellets sprayed with some water so they expand to saw dust (make sure you make it as tall as you, trust me, it'll be easier to clean if you can get in it). you'll probably have to build some sort of floor for your run, and use a material like soil or sand on the bottom. you might have to make some sort of drain holes in the floor and still spray your paving stones to keep them clean from anything running through the holes to elsewhere in the yard. maybe think of it as like a really big shallow planter, and you're growing ducks. just add new soil as needed to the run or maybe use a product like stall dry to keep it from getting gross...
the other solution is to make them indoor pets, build them a coop/run indoors and use a soft bedding (or maybe just build them a little shed outside that has a roof and a floor for you to build a pen into). you can section part of the yard off with the paddling pool they can retreat to daily for fun. Take them on walks with leashes around the neighborhood so they can forage (you might want to do this anyways, foraging is a runner's life... i get flower boxes and grown plants, and take the ducks on walks so they can get in their foraging.) I make harnesses and leashes special for ducks, or i can at least tell you the best kind of alternate animal harness/leash to use.
, i did say at the start that the run would have a floor
