How do you raise happy ducks?

[Stormdog]

Just FYI... I got a broken plastic tote from a neighbor on trash day. I cut an opening about a foot square in one side & turned it upside-down. My 2 ducks huddle in there during severe rain (like we've had this week!), but generally just stand around outside in light or mild drizzle.

My point is that the ducks don't care... Anything they can get under to avoid violent rain is OK with them.

The duck pen is a 10 ft diameter wire mesh circle about 48 inches tall, with a trash-day salvaged wading pool in the center.

My ducks are now 7 weeks old, but they've lived in this enclosure since early April... when temps dropped to about 45 at night, and hit 55 to 60 during the day.

You obviously are attached to the little guys (and sadly I VERY MUCH can relate!), but please don't be an over-indulgent parent! It's not wrong, it's just pointless. When these two guys hatched, we were all excited! We bought them the BEST in a waterbowl (which they played in!), the BEST in brooder lamps (which they moved around until they found a comfortable spot the right distance away from to suit them!), etc.

Waste of money. They were just happy to BE! In retrospect, all they needed was clean water to drink, enough food to eat, and to not get too cold. We let them swim a few minutes a couple times a day when they were 2 weeks old. By 4 weeks, they were ready for outside. We originally had bricks inside and outside of the wading pool for their in and out convenience, but have since removed them as they are unnecessary and seem to get in the duck's way.

In short, you seem to love these little guys and don't want to lose them. The "worst" part is over... Hang in there! It really is much easier than the people who want to sell you "duck stuff" would have you believe. (Just remember... the ducks don't care if it's shiny and new!)

 

[chicka_chicka_boom_boom]

OK, so we DID find a super heavy duty dog house at a yard sale yesterday, and my husband has agreed that we can try to get these babies set up in the yard.

I know the pen has to be secure to guard against predators. Do you have to dig the fencing into the ground to protect against animals that can dig their way in?

I was hoping to make something semi-mobile, but the house is sheet metal over wood and pretty heavy. I don't know how often the pen should be moved, but it will be an effort for two people to move it, let alone any pen we build. If you let them out during the day, how quickly will 4 ducks trash a pen area? They don't dig like chickens do, right? How big should the pen be? I'm thinking that I can put the pool anywhere in the yard, so it will be close to the hose, and just have a smaller pan of water for them to splash and drink from inside their pen.

Of course, there is the issue of our dog (6 month-old german shepherd). She is trained on the invisible fence and likes to patrol the yard. She has not yet had the opportunity to get that close to the ducklings. She's only seen them from over the brooder wall. When they start running through the yard, I don't think she'll be able to ignore them. So maybe we should make a bigger pen that can hold the pool. That will add to the expense and the job of keeping the water fresh. This is getting complicated again.

 

[sweetshoplady]

You have a German Shepherd, a herding dog. Her instinct is to herd not hunt. Teach her to ignore the ducks. Yes she'll be curious at first. But my GSD ignores my chickens and turkeys that free range. And those that are in pens. I even had a mean roo that used to challenge my dogs and they just ignored it, and went about their day.

Put the pond in the enclosure if you're concerned.

 

[mtcougar832]

You'll want to evaluate the dog - I trust 1 (the rott) of my 3 dogs around the fowl. Your dog is young though, so hopefully she is very moldable. I do not trust my GSD around them, I am looking to buy a muzzle before I start to train him that the birds are mine, not his. But I have a high-drive, active 4yo male - each dog is different.

I did not dig my ducks pen down, they have a large kiddie pool (kids' old pool) and a dog house. The pen is probably about 8' by 10' and has 4 ducks. The top half of the dog house comes off and that makes cleaning SO much easier.

Perhaps because I have dogs (kenneled unless I am out there) or because the yard is fully fenced, I have never had another animal (except mine) in my yard, so I'm not as worried about predators, except maybe large birds. If I was worried, I would dig down a foot and bury wire for the ducks (some people lay wire out on the ground for 2 feet instead). I do plan to put a cover (netting or a tarp) over the pen.

Ducks are a riot - I love mine.

 

[chicka_chicka_boom_boom]

Sorry to be ignorant, but is GSD the same as German Shepherd? We are hoping that she will learn that the ducks (and later, chickens) belong to us, and will leave them alone. She has the run of the yard now, so maybe that will discourage many other predators.

How big should the pen be for 4 runner ducks? I do hope to be able to let them out, even if we have to keep the dog on the leash at first.

Now I keep reading that runner ducks are "spazzy." Will they come back home at night, or is it going to be a huge challenge getting them back in the pen if we let them out to roam around? With 2 little ones, I don't need another long event to add to my already extensive evening routine.

Thanks for any pointers... how much room do they need in their pen?

 

[sweetshoplady]

Yes, GSD is German Shepherd Dog. If you've never given her one of those stuffed toys that quack like a real duck, it'll help too. She won't associate that quacking sound with toy. My dogs are more interested in the chicks as they sound like a squeaky toy. My new pup will not be getting squeaky toys. There are many other toys I can get for her.