New duck owner with a few questions

[rageandlove3274]

Hi guys, I have 4 ducklings that are about 3 weeks old right now. At the moment, they are in a big plastic container in the house. They are growing way too fast. I want to get them outside into a coop but I read that they shouldn't live outside until they have all their feathers.Can someone please provide me with some information like how long should I keep them inside for, any suggestions on larger housing for them if they still need to be kept inside. At what point can they stay outside all the time and how will I know that they are fine with the temperature at night if i'm not with them?

Another question is what is a good waterer for them while they are still inside the container? They had the chick waterers but that is insufficient for them now.I have tried giving them a deep narrow plastic container that is kind of tall hoping they couldn't climb into it but sometimes they will climb in and trip over the wall and end up stumbling, I'm worried about them hurting themselves.

We take them out of their tub as much as we can and watch over them when they swim or walk around the yard, but when its time to go back into their box, we have an extremely hard time catching them. Any suggestions on gathering them without them running in 4 different directions?

Finally, how do free roam ducks become familiar with the property they live on? I want them to be able to freely walk around during the day but I don't want them wreaking havoc in the neighbors yards or getting into the street.


Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated by both me and my little fluffy friends

 

[Poultry parent]

what's the temp like there? you can get them a 1-2 gallon waterer and that will last a bit longer.
sometimes if you catch 1-2 of the ducklings the others will hear the peeping and follow.
i don't think your ducks will go into the street, when you let them free range just see if they mess with your neighbors yards

 

[rageandlove3274]

This week has been a little weird where its been from the 70s to 80s during the day and anywhere in the 40s to 60s at night. I know that the 40s is too cold for them.
With the bigger waterer,what about them being Able to submerge their beaks?

 

[Rock Home Isle]

At 5 weeks my chicks were fully feathered and ready go outside. The Ducks were also 5 weeks, though not as far along, but night time temps were above 40 degrees and they were in a coop together.

I hand feed all my poultry. They will only eat from your hand if they trust you. I call the flock with a "Bok, Bok, Bok", and they know I have a treat and they come running.

I'm always amazed at how important water is for ducks.

We had multiple water sources for the ducks.

Each container progressively larger as the ducks grew out. The ducks knew where every sprinkler head was located in the yard...they lived for rainstorms and watering days.

They were good ducks.

Our yard is fenced, but we kept ducks while I was growing up. Once ducks know where home is they will always return, even if they range far and wide. When we lived in the country, the ducks would take the ditch for 1/2 a mile up or down stream. But in the evening, they would come home, tell us all about their day, and grab a nice meal before returning to their coop & run for the night.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I just remembered...

Our ducks were great at weeding the garden and gleaning pests off tge plants. Mostly they left the vegetable plants alone...though they were only allowed in the garden for 1/2 hour to 1hour intervals. I didn't want to risk too much...