Moving ducks out of the house

[MrsTater2]

Hello all!

We got 2 ducks this last season and they've been in my house on the sun porch, currently in an extra large dog kennel my 120lbs chocolate lab used to go in. They are getting awful big though and the mess is starting to get to be more than I can keep up with. Plus there's the wonderful smell which I am fortunate enough to smell all day since my office is also on the sun porch! They're currently housed in a very large dog kennel my 120lbs lab used to use, and I use doggie pads with a layer of pine shavings on top. They go through about 4 gallons of water a day which is a hot mess.

They would be about 2 months old right now, have a lot of feathers, but a lot of down still too. I'm ready for them to be out of my house, but they are too young to be outside wandering around. But can I keep them in a kennel in the shed down at our dock where they will ultimately be kept? We own a resort and marina and we hope to keep them on the dock as our lake pets.

My question is when can I move them, how do we acclimate them to being outside (should I move them now and let them acclimate before allowing them to become more free-range?), and does anyone have any other suggestions for their upkeep that might be easier? With our business dynamic changing this year I am worried I just don't have the time to keep up with them and I really don't want to have to find them a new home if someone has ideas that could make it easier.

Thanks!

 

[chickens really]

Move them out today..They are totally ready as are you for them to begin the life of a Duck...
Hopefully you have a pen ready and a secure place for them?..

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

What type of ducks do you have? Do you have an outdoor pen as @chickens really stated? Pet ducks also need an enclosure to keep out of the wind and cold if needed - would that be your shed or do you have something else in mind?
Where are you located? At 2 months, the ducklings are definitely ready to be out and enjoying the outdoors.

 

[MrsTater2]

Move them out today..They are totally ready as are you for them to begin the life of a Duck...
Hopefully you have a pen ready and a secure place for them?..

We haven’t got the house for them yet but we picked out one. It’ll be just a dog igloo type house and it’ll be elevated to try and discourage predators (but low enough they can get in). We don’t have a pen for them planned since they’d live in the dock by the lake. Should we keep them up by the chickens in their own space and they can just fly to the lake to swim?

 

[Ducks_4_me]

What kind d of ducks do you have?

 

[MrsTater2]

What kind d of ducks do you have?

Honestly we don’t know. They were marked “yellow” at the store we got them and now they’re a pale yellow almost white color. We think we have a mail and femalenso we named them Donald and Daisy. I haven’t been able to find breed pictures that look quite like they do so I just figured it was because they were still too young.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Do you have pics? Domestic ducks are generally too heavy to fly anywhere unless you have muscovies or actual mallards. The dog house sounds like a plan. Make sure they can be locked in at night.

 

[MrsTater2]

Heres the best I could get of them. The one time they aren’t frantically running around.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are going to make someone a nice dinner, Pekins cannot fly and living with out secure housing will shorten their lives a lot. They need secure housing and a secure pen.

 

[MrsTater2]

Could I house them with the chickens then?