Jumping In w/Both Feet: 12 Muscovy Ducklings and No Clue :D

[BothFeetFirst]

I am, if nothing else, full of wild optimism. I have never owned any sort of fowl by myself before, I'm 25 wks pregnant with #2, and I just purchased 12 1-2wk old Muscovy ducklings - 1/2 for myself, and 1/2 to raise for my coworker who's husband has the tick-borne, alpha-gal (red meat) allergy. I have full intention of eating most of mine, saving a breeding trio or quad set for over-winter.

Now the part I haven't fully figured out and am struggling to find information on:

I have the ducklings brooding in a mobile chicken tractor/coop that is 4' x 6' at the base, double story. Total square-footage of the grazing area is 24sq'. These guys will not be able to free-range - although I do have 2 acres, my property sits in a "subdivision" and we have no fencing between properties, so stray dogs are a constant nuisance and I don't want the birds pooping err'where they please anyways. I have some time to build another tractor to split the group up, but finding what square footage will be needed for simply growing-out muscovies to their butchering weight, being moved 1-2xday to fresh pasture, is proving difficult. My thought was to build a 4'x12' tractor - Is 48sq' enough for 7-8 ducks on pasture?

 

[Isaac 0]

Around 15 to 20 sqft per duck during the day and around 5-10 sqft per duck at night, bigger the better, going smaller will only give you more problems. Fighting, Disease, Waste Build up much more.

 

[Isaac 0]

 

[BothFeetFirst]

Around 15 to 20 sqft per duck during the day and around 5-10 sqft per duck at night, bigger the better, going smaller will only give you more problems. Fighting, Disease, Waste Build up much more.

Thanks for the welcome!

I understand those numbers are typically associated with a coop setup, but do they hold true for ducks in tractors? The reason I ask is that with meat chickens, one could house 2-3 (or more) times as many birds in a tractor because it gets moved daily. Along with the fact that these guys are going to be butchered in August/September and won't have even reached their full-grown size, I'm stubbornly leaning towards less space, LOL.

 

[Isaac 0]

Thanks for the welcome!

I understand those numbers are typically associated with a coop setup, but do they hold true for ducks in tractors? The reason I ask is that with meat chickens, one could house 2-3 (or more) times as many birds in a tractor because it gets moved daily. Along with the fact that these guys are going to be butchered in August/September and won't have even reached their full-grown size, I'm stubbornly leaning towards less space, LOL.

Read this-

https://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-much-space-should-i-have-for-my.html

 

[BothFeetFirst]

Thank you! Reading it now.

 

[BothFeetFirst]

So based on that article, I think I'm going to build an 8'x4' tractor and split the group between it and my current one. If it gets cramped, I'll build a third, not a big deal.

 

[BothFeetFirst]

 

[BothFeetFirst]

It's been a couple weeks and they are absolutely thriving in their mobile coop for now. Can't wait to get the second one going!

In the meantime, I've been feeding them fermented (non-medicated) feed, adding oats for protein, and niacin. They also have been able to forage every day for the past week and a half and are chunking out quite nicely. I'm trying to figure out how much fermented feed to give 12 ducklings. I know people say to free-feed dry food, for the first few months, but what does that translate to for fermented feed?

 

[Isaac 0]

If they aren't cooped up all day you don't need to limit their feed intake.