keep ducks active

[danniidyer94]

what can i get my ducks to keep them active so they dont get bored
also what can i feed them and how big will a run need to be for two call ducks

thanks

 

[Amiga]

I like to get a pile of organic matter, like old straw, going in the runners' day pen. After a while it holds worms that they can dig for. Planting oat and wheat seeds here and there in the pen is fun, after a few days they begin to sprout and provide greens.

A kiddie pool is a big entertainment center, and tossing lettuce leaves into the water livens things up.

I have made the day pen as large as I could fit in my yard, so it is 10'x16', with an attached 4'x8' house and same sized porch. There is a fenced garden area adjacent to that, and then there is the backyard tea garden. There is also a forest garden of 1800 square feet where we go once a day or as often as my schedule allows.

 

[70%cocoa]

My three duck pens are now all deep litter (which I stir around each day to get oxygen into it). As Amiga says, worms have burrowed into the bottom layers and the ducks love digging for them. I am now a big fan of deep litter for ducks.

I am also going to try Amiga's idea of planting seeds in the litter - top idea!!

Hanging up bunches of greens in the pen is good entertainment as well. Also growing pots of grasses (or even weeds liek dandelions) and rotating them through the pen (put some mesh over the top of the pot so the plants grow through - the ducks can eat the green bit without trashing the roots).

For two Call ducks I'd say that the run should be 20 sq feet as an absolute minimum. But - the bigger the better (and the less you will find that boredom is an issue). With a bigger run you can have a bigger water source - that's probably the best ducky entertainment there is. I use stock troughs in my pens - they are about 4 feet by 1.5 feet and hold about 15 gallons. The sides are low (about 20cm high...um...that's about 8 inches.....) my ducks can get in and out easily (they are big ducks) but Calls might need a step in and out (a brick in the pond and on the outside). Calls would be fine with a low sided tub.

 

[danniidyer94]

thank for the ideas and i think i may try some of them also going to build a bigger run for them.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Ducks are non-stop party animals. I don't think they ever get bored.

Water is their favorite toy. Swimming and hunting for food. Playing in the mud. Very frequent mating. Ducks keep busy.

My guys have a brush shelter that was built for the wild quail before I had ducks. The ducks seem to really like that. They also spend a lot of time pottering around the orchard, searching in the grass for anything interesting.

They don't seem to use toys or playground equipment; not like my dogs who play in tunnels and on platforms and use a race course. My ducks have some cement mixing tubs of water that they play in frequently. Those are small enough for me to empty and clean frequently, because ducks like mud as much as they like water.

If they are confined to a run, they would use small some shady secure places to get out of the sun and feel secure while they nap.