Sixesandsevens
In the Brooder
- Jul 11, 2025
- 8
- 37
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I live in north central Florida, been keeping chickens for years, flock has 17 birds and Im getting another 7 this week! And I recently got 4 female pekin ducks! They’ve been living in their own coop confined to a kind of small run with a couple small swimming pools in it. But this weekend I plan to integrate them into the big coop with the chickens, and then in about a week they will hopefully get free range of our farm!
I have one big concern though, I really want them to free range but about an acre or so away from the coop is a small pond that sometimes attracts lone gators. We often relocate them as we have dogs, cats, and of course our birds. The chickens never wonder that far, but I’m sure the moment the ducks catch scent of that pond they will cling to it like a magnet.
I guess my plan is to just try to make the area near the coop so appealing that maybe they won’t wonder over there. There is plenty of foraging close by and I can make them a bit of a mud pit to go along with their various pools.
I am wondering if anyone here has any experience with this. I’m not really sure how far ducks will wonder, will their pools and mudpit satisfy them enough, will the pond just be to scary and they will avoid it? We once fostered a lone Drake and he wouldn’t go anywhere near the pond. But I imagine that’s because he was a sad lone drake.
Thanks!!
I have one big concern though, I really want them to free range but about an acre or so away from the coop is a small pond that sometimes attracts lone gators. We often relocate them as we have dogs, cats, and of course our birds. The chickens never wonder that far, but I’m sure the moment the ducks catch scent of that pond they will cling to it like a magnet.
I guess my plan is to just try to make the area near the coop so appealing that maybe they won’t wonder over there. There is plenty of foraging close by and I can make them a bit of a mud pit to go along with their various pools.
I am wondering if anyone here has any experience with this. I’m not really sure how far ducks will wonder, will their pools and mudpit satisfy them enough, will the pond just be to scary and they will avoid it? We once fostered a lone Drake and he wouldn’t go anywhere near the pond. But I imagine that’s because he was a sad lone drake.
Thanks!!
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