I've ordered ducks along with my chicks, which are arriving next month. I was cruising along just thinking I'd let them free range and swim in my creek and puddles (we get a lot of those...) But I'm now worried that I haven't thought enough about this.
We'll be getting only three ducks, and we have 3.5 acres. We have a drainage creek running through our property, which is usually calm and quiet. We have had wild ducks nesting on the creek in the past, but I haven't seen them the last two years. We also have a heron that visits almost daily. Usually it's about 4 to 6 feet across, and about the same deep with a slow current. After nasty storms it can be much deeper, but it never really gets too fast. the edges are always still water and swampy.
My concern, though, is that as a drainage ditch, the banks are really high (I'm lousy with measurements, but when I stand next to the creek my head is below the top and I'm 5'7". It's not straight down, I'm a clutz and I can walk up and down. We have lilacs and pines growing near the top so there is protection.
Once the ducks are big enough to let out on there own for the day, would they be safe on the creek? If I don't have to build a pond, I don't want to. Cleaning them sounds like a major issue!
We'll be getting only three ducks, and we have 3.5 acres. We have a drainage creek running through our property, which is usually calm and quiet. We have had wild ducks nesting on the creek in the past, but I haven't seen them the last two years. We also have a heron that visits almost daily. Usually it's about 4 to 6 feet across, and about the same deep with a slow current. After nasty storms it can be much deeper, but it never really gets too fast. the edges are always still water and swampy.
My concern, though, is that as a drainage ditch, the banks are really high (I'm lousy with measurements, but when I stand next to the creek my head is below the top and I'm 5'7". It's not straight down, I'm a clutz and I can walk up and down. We have lilacs and pines growing near the top so there is protection.
Once the ducks are big enough to let out on there own for the day, would they be safe on the creek? If I don't have to build a pond, I don't want to. Cleaning them sounds like a major issue!
