Is it too late in the year to get ducklings for the first time

[ScoobyRoo]

taras.farm :

Mine go in on their own too! They do like to stay out longer then the chickens....wait til the very last moment...but always are snuggly in by the time I get all the kids to bed and then I run out and count and lockup.
I actually think they are pretty quick learners....
If they aren't going in there's some other issue....too cramped...too smelly...rodents....or a bully making them nervous...

My ducks and geese are penned up with my turkeys. Just before the turkeys seem like they are going to roost, I herd turkeys into the enclosed run and lock them up. Well after dark the geese will start honking letting me know they are ready to go in. So back out I go and let the duckies and geese in. The chickens stay in their own enclosed run. I have had them all together before with no problems.
I have been up at 2:00 in the morning and can see the white geese walking around in the pen. They must not sleep all night,

 

[BigPeep]

So, if the duckies won't go in a pen on their own and you don't want to run around in the dark shooing them in, how do you protect them from predators? I was planning on putting mine in a
"duck moat" at one end of my garden which borders on a detention pond that breeds mosquitoes so they will hopefully intercept the mosquitoes on their way in to my place.

I can put a mobile shelter in there with them. The "moat" will be ten feet wide and two hundred feet long (it's a big garden) with a six foot wire fence on one side and snow fencing on the the other, maybe with deer netting on the top to keep the ducks inside. Deer also won't be able to jump into the garden that way.

If I leave some geese in there with them, will the geese chase off those predators, such as racoons, skunks, possoms, and foxes, who might manage to get through the fencing? Do I need to worry about things like weasels, martins and mink for something the size of a duck as they can squeeze through the fencing?

 

[faykokoWV]

we have a chicken moat around our garden and it works great. I haven't had any predator problems yet, but then again, I have 7 dogs. We used bird netting over the top of the moat. Ours isn't as big as your's will be though. Ours is 5 by 150, we also allow the chickens into the garden during the day (now that the plants are bigger)

My original plan when I thought about ducks was to get three females and put them in the with the chickens in the run, but after all the responses, I don't think its a good idea for me. I hate the thought of going out in the middle of winter trying to turn over a poop filled baby pool in the snow and below freezing weather.

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
I've read that some people just put the pools away for the winter so they don't have to deal with that. You just need to make sure they have water to drink is all.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Quote:
I've read that some people just put the pools away for the winter so they don't have to deal with that. You just need to make sure they have water to drink is all.

I was wondering about that since this will be my first winter with ducks.

 

[faykokoWV]

so if that's the case, I would go ahead and get them. I'm so torn

I think I may just take the plunge and see what happens.

As long as i don't get a drake they should be fine in the run with the chickens.

 

[faykokoWV]

well, I now I think I'm going to wait. The hatchery I'm getting my chickens from only has mallards and rouens available. After reading a little, i think I'd rather have Runners or Campbells so I think I'll wait until later.

yeah, I made a decision!

 

[rainplace]

I love all my ducks, but if I had to do it all over again, I would have found out more about the breeds before jumping into it.
I think you're making the right decision, especially since you're leaning towards Runners

Here's the mandatory runner pic!

 

[BigPeep]

I had heard that that babies are great at eating mosquitoes, but I don't know about the adults. Anyone have any information on that?

I will be bring my geese an ducks closer to the main area for Winter. No sense having to make another path with the Snow blower.

I am sticking to chicken tractors for the chickens in the garden. I'm too afraid of them becoming hawk food, plus there are maruading feral cats around. Are the adults of the heavy breeds immune from hawk and cat attack due to their size?