Exotic/Ornamental Duck ?'s

[Riffecreek]

I'm thinking of getting into the wild world of ducks starting this spring! I'll be building a pen soon in hopes of getting some birds this fall so I have a few questions.

The Breeds I'm looking at right now are Mandarin, Cinnamon Teal, Marble Teal, Bahama Pintail, Fulvous Tree Duck, or Red Heads.

My first question is there any of these breeds a "beginner" duck person should not try to raise? The next question is, Would there be any conflicts or cross breeding possible if I housed all of these breeds in the same pen??

The pen I've got planned out will be 25' wide and 100' long with 1 small (6' by 12') pond and one larger (12' by 12') pond. Would this pen be big enough for 2 pairs each of all 6 breeds with some room to grow a little??

Thanks for your time! I'm sure I'll have more questions as I go along!

 

[KansasKid]

25'x100'=2500sqft
12 pair x at 100sqft a pair=1200sqft needed, so o ya plenty of room.

I have seen some cinnamon teal crosses. http://www.gbwf.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7306&highlight=
might just be one of those thing you would have to keep your eye on, to make sure everyone is where there supposed to be.

I'm a beginner at the whole ornamentals and so far i have mandarins, ringed teal, and bahama pintails and all have done fairly well.
For some good information on raising them and caring for them, you could look on the Migratory/ornamental thread, theres a lot of info to read but is worth it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=345303&p=5 BBB

 

[jsvand5]

I am still a newb, so the only advice I would give is to maybe just go with one large pond. Two pond just means twice as many to drain and clean but if you are up for the extra work two ponds would probably look nice.