I have a few chickens and I am considering building a separate place for some ducks. I'm thinking I'd like to have just 2 or 3. I'm going to the library tomorrow and pick up some books but I'm excited so I'm looking for information tonight. Any information would be wonderful. What kind of housing do they need? How many sq ft should their home be per duck? Do they need a coop and nesting box? I understand they need a water source so were thinking of building a small pond like some have in their garden that they keep fish in. Is there a breed list on this website somewhere? What are the nicest breeds of ducks? Thanks y'all!
Welcome to Duckdom! What kind of housing do they need? Secure from predators, not too hot or cold (and that will depend on the ducks, largely). They need good ventilation. I like a nice deep layer of bedding. I use pine shavings. When they were in their outdoor house, I used about a foot and a half of shavings. In the walkout basement pen (I have a few runners who are just not cold hardy), I have about 4 inches of bedding. How many sq ft should their home be per duck? The larger the breed, the more square footage they need in their shelter. I cannot recall the numbers right now, but they are in Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, which is a book I recommend, along with The Ultimate Pet Duck Guidebook. From Storey's Guide medium to large sized ducks for night only, at least 2.5 to 4 sf per bird if any chance of keeping them in continuously during severe weather, minimum 6 to 8 sf. for the duck yard, minimum 10 to 25 sf per duck, shade area, slope with good drainage, no stagnant waterholes Do they need a coop and nesting box? Coop yes, nesting box not necessarily. My runners make their own nest spots. I understand they need a water source so were thinking of building a small pond like some have in their garden that they keep fish in. They don't need anything that complicated, but it is a neat thing that some people do. Ducks produce quite a bit of nutrient (a.k.a. poop), so you need to be able to clean the swim place whether that is a kiddie pool or in-ground pond. Some use watering troughs. I use concrete mixing pans.
I'd look for storey's guide to ducks, i found it helpful it gives breed breakdowns, housing, feed and so forth, you can get it by e-book too. As for the basics, similar to chickens, pred proof, good vented housing, mind you skip the ramps most ducks just aren't super agile. Nest boxes? i haven't found the need for them, ducks here tend to just poof around the bedding and lay, or in the case of my scovies, have nests/clutches lol Ducks must have water with food, so that is a key difference, as well something to bathe in and wash the nares. It can be very simple, plastic kiddy pools, or elaborate landscaped pools. I run kinda inbetween i have a kiddy pool and two 50GAL livestock troughs, I also love these rubber livestock bowls, not only for water drinking but small ducks can squeeze into them for a bath lol As for specific breeds, think it depends on your purpose, i own 3 breeds, the main one is Muscovy but my purpose here is for pest control and the breed is well documented for this purpose, i also have some buff orpington ducks nice duck, chatty and then finally some calls they are strictly pets, LOUD females and require good predator measures due to their size. There is tons of info on this forum on duck breeds, i'd even read through the reviews but starting with what you want is key much like with chickens.
