new and have some duck care questions..?

[Going Quackers]

thank you all !!! im very excited . i just worry about having to go get them down at the pond - and my father in laws dogs that are down there - since theyd wander too far off i couldnt keep an eye on them. if they pretty much stay around " home base " even when free ranging then i think w a large enough kiddie pool ( i thought about getting fish once and awhile for a treat in it ?) a giant garden and a field to Muck up when it rains they should be pretty happy . we do live in the country so coyotes and foxes racoons and such are always a risk - ill have 15 barred rocks too but they'll all be shut up during the night safe from those . a hawk once got one of my Mother in laws Bantams - do they go for ducks & Large chickens tho ?

also since i plan to keep them in the chicken coop and they dont use nest boxes like the Rocks would lil basin bins or something on the floor work for them ?

and this may sound dumb but - when ya'll are gone all day say idk you go to the zoo that day or something idk - do you still let your duck / chickens out if they are free range or keep them in?

thank you

Mine wander a reasonable amount but yet always come to the main area that is where their feed/water is. I have horses so they go into the field with them, which is fine... actually safest spot. Depends on the size of the hawk, i do have them here BUT since my ducks are all Muscovy they don't seem to even bother... plus were a heavy crow area they chase them off too, that said i admit i don't free range my chickens for two reasons, one being my drakes and two the hawks there standard sized chickens but definitely not weighty like my ducks.

I don't put anything out for my ducks, there are little sheltered spots in their mini barn which some will lay in, heck i have a broody in one right now.. but i don't have proper nest boxes i find they make a little nest shape out of the bedding and lay.

 

[BarredRockGirls]

most days im home & if i am we are outside ..but there are those days where im not going to be lol they are going to be free range but if ima be gone a long time maybe ill look into getting a giant exercise fence i can pop up around them the pool and shade food and water im not as worried about the chickens as the ducks the chickens seem idk more likely to fend off / claw /scratch/ fly and are faster. i feel like the ducks will be defenseless and quite literally SITTING DUCKS lol

 

[Amiga]

i feel like the ducks will be defenseless and quite literally SITTING DUCKS lol

I agree 100%

 

[Going Quackers]

most days im home & if i am we are outside ..but there are those days where im not going to be lol they are going to be free range but if ima be gone a long time maybe ill look into getting a giant exercise fence i can pop up around them the pool and shade food and water im not as worried about the chickens as the ducks the chickens seem idk more likely to fend off / claw /scratch/ fly and are faster. i feel like the ducks will be defenseless and quite literally SITTING DUCKS lol

I think if you penned them it would make YOU feel better when away, i dunno... i have let mine loose when i have not been here... but i admit rarely is nobody home, if i were to be away a really extended period i may lean towards the use of the pen. That said if i were to be away, again somebody has to take over.. too many animals for me to be gone or anyone for too long.

My ducks are full flight, to give an idea.. my girls clear the 5ft fence that surrounds their mini barn BUT not all ducks can fly, muscovy are sorta unusual with that.

 

[BarredRockGirls]

i dont want that to happen! i want them to be happy,healthy and friendly. do you think that would work then ? fencing them when im gone for long periods to keep them safe ?

 

[Going Quackers]

i dont want that to happen! i want them to be happy,healthy and friendly. do you think that would work then ? fencing them when im gone for long periods to keep them safe ?

Absolutely! ducks are routine animals, they get used to what is what. My 'scovies are here for pest control they cannot do that in a pen so they are loose but bad weather days i will leave them penned because i don't want someone chilled and not making it back, otherwise out they go, i leave them full flight and have two drakes just for this reason, but i make no bones about the fact it IS a risk.

Here are some of my girls yesterday, enjoying the melt and water lol

 

[BarredRockGirls]

yes of course if we were to go on an over nighter i can always ask my in laws to just run up my drive way .- they ALWAYS have someone home.. on vacation we take our dog to their house then theyve came and tended to my Flemish . im just saying like if my son has a T-ball game/ pratices or we take a day trip ... or heck running errands and to the feed store sometimes can take 3 hrs or more if i wanna get everything done in one day instead of multiple. know what i mean ?

 

[Amiga]

Having a secure day pen has really made life much easier. I built it solo. Pretty much just used a circular saw, drill and hammer.

 

[BarredRockGirls]

Having a secure day pen has really made life much easier. I built it solo. Pretty much just used a circular saw, drill and hammer.

you go !

i think thats what im going to do ! thank you all so much i cant wait to get them! im thinking ill order them . im afriad of walking into TSC lol 1) because ill prolly walk out w more than 2 and 2) i want a certain sex FEMALE

do pekin and Cayugas get along together? ahhhh i need to stop haha my hubs will never notice ONE more right ? lol

 

[cymbaline]

I pretty much agree with everything Amiga has said so far. I built my own 12 x 16 pen, about 6.5 feet high, so they can fly if/when they want and also for ease of access. It has 1/2" hardware cloth covering it top to bottom and underground & out for about a foot so nothing can dig under. It has a 4 x 4 coop inside it that they get put in at night, just in case. Right now they just have a kiddie pool, but I plan to do an in-ground pond once I get the filtration worked out. The reason they have such a solid home is that before I knew any better, I had something get through the chicken wire of my old pen and take one of my ducks...the pain and guilt of that incident convinced me to make sure it would never happen again. Mine get out to run around the yard when I'm outside gardening and such and can supervise (which is pretty often during nicer weather)...they are great at eating my marigolds, lol. For mallards, this pen is very good-sized, I think. They run, swim, fly, and play all the time, and can dig in the mud and grass to their little hearts' content. I'm still so much of a nervous wreck that they actually stay in my house if I'm going to be gone overnight, lol; I can't convince myself that they'll be okay not being locked up in the coop.