Grass in duck run?

[SwedishDude99]

Hi everyone! I have two ducks, a blue swedish and a black swedish. My mom has decided she no longer wants the ducks to have access to the entire yard. Their poo attracts too many flies, and we also have non duck friendly dogs. My mom likes the ducks, so she doesn't want them getting eaten. So we were planning on fencing off a 15 by 20 foot area for them to roam in all day. We also want it to look nice in there, so we wanted to lay sod down so it was nice and green, and so it wouldn't hurt their feet, as we have bark in the area now. So would the grass stay nice looking being that its 15 by 20 feet and only two ducks, or would they still completely wreck it? All answers are helpful! Thanks!

 

[Incukahlan]

Having Ducks myself I have learned the hard way that although they are great pets, they are so messy and destructive! Lol. We used to keep ours(3 at that time) in an area that size during the day and then put them in their duck house come night time. The yard was not destroyed. They absolutely love foraging in the grass, and by having grass they will have something to keep them occupied. Sometimes the dig and muck around depending on how much moisture the area gets, but I think you should be good. Of course, you can never fully underestimate the destructiveness of ducks, lol. In my experience though I never had a problem with them being in grass. Unless there were puddles or water by the dirt area. Then it was muddy messy ducks and holes everywhere. We always kept there pond closer towards one end of the area that way the whole place didn't get soaked of course. And they got locked up at night. Using a combination of those things is why I still have grass. : ) Hope this helps.

 

[SwedishDude99]

That DEFINATELY helps. Their pool will also be located in a corner, so it should then be dry. I will also be locking them up at night. And I have a smaller run that is currently in the area have that will remain there. It has their food/water in it, and the ground out there is sand, so water won't get out of their. So it sounds like I have pretty much the same situation as you, so ill try it out then. Thanks! I hope it works out well.

 

[Incukahlan]

I'm sure it will work out great! Especially with the sandy area around the pool. Bonus! I wish I would have had sand when I had this set up. Lol. It's amazing what just a few ducks can do with a little bit of water. Never fails to amaze me. Good luck with it all. You should post some pics when it's done!

 

[SwedishDude99]

Ok thankyou!! Don't worry, I'll post pics for sure.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Still have not done it yet, but my mom wants to know if it would be possible to put fake grass in there. She would want to hook up a sprinkler system over there, and thinks it would be a lot of work. I don't think that fake grass is a good Idea at all. I can just picture them eating the fake grass and ending up with too much in their stomachs, and also, that wouldn't technically count as them being to forage either I don't think. Plus the rain would eventually ruin it. Overall, I think it's a terrible idea but she wanted to know for sure so I figured I'd run it by you guys to see what you thought. Thanks a lot!

 

[Going Quackers]

I would be highly concerned, they would ingest the fake grass and become ill. Also it would provide no foraging as the real grass attracts and has bugs living in it.

It would also effect their ability to dig with their bills a very loved and natural method for ducks to forage and gain grit and insects.

 

[Incukahlan]

I agree, fake grass is pointless for birds. Does nothing positive for them.