New duck owner with some questions

[zenniferose]

So, I got 12 ducks and two geese and all was good. Then someone gave me 15 more ducks. They were all juveniles, and it worked out fine, we have 32 acres, they started out with a kiddie pool, then we put a tarp in a truck bed for a pool, and when we were sure they would come back we started bringing them down to our irrigation pond, all seems to be working out well, but I have a couple questions.

1.) What size shelter do ducks need if they are only in it overnight?

We lock them up in super reinforced old "club" house at night, it's about 3x6 and about 6 feet high. We put little shelves in it and the ducks line up and wait in front of the boxes they want to sleep in and I "tuck them in at night" in pairs It's really adorable, I did it at first to try to get them to use the boxes and ramps and they just seem to expect it now. When they are in the field they sleep in a tiny pile. But things I found online say 3ft per duck. How much space do they actually need? And where/when will they lay eggs? In the house over night or somewhere else?

2.) Why wont they go in the pond?

They will go up two ramps and down another to flap around in the inch of rain water that is in the drained truck bed. They go up to the kiddie pool in hopes it will be filled. We take them down to the pond, they stand on the ramp, the stand on the shore, they drink the water, but they wont go in. Once they got startled into the water and they promptly swam out.

3.) Why is one so loud?

We have one female duck that quacks step she takes. She isn't the biggest or the smallest. There is about twenty other females and they will quack once in a while, but not as loud and not every step I am thinking of trading/selling her, but I was wondering if that is a heard thing, and if I give her away if another one will fill the annoying quack gap.

 

[Amiga]

So, I got 12 ducks and two geese and all was good. Then someone gave me 15 more ducks. They were all juveniles, and it worked out fine, we have 32 acres, they started out with a kiddie pool, then we put a tarp in a truck bed for a pool, and when we were sure they would come back we started bringing them down to our irrigation pond, all seems to be working out well, but I have a couple questions.

1.) What size shelter do ducks need if they are only in it overnight? Yes, 3 sf per duck is a good size. You can start getting strange and destructive behaviors with much less than that. Mine make their own nest areas and lay there, occasionally just laying on the straw bedding, usually by 9 a.m. they are done, but I let them out earlier than that into a pen or fenced garden.

We lock them up in super reinforced old "club" house at night, it's about 3x6 and about 6 feet high. We put little shelves in it and the ducks line up and wait in front of the boxes they want to sleep in and I "tuck them in at night" in pairs It's really adorable, I did it at first to try to get them to use the boxes and ramps and they just seem to expect it now. When they are in the field they sleep in a tiny pile. But things I found online say 3ft per duck. How much space do they actually need? And where/when will they lay eggs? In the house over night or somewhere else?

2.) Why wont they go in the pond? There is no unanimous opinion about that. I feel it is because open water can be scary. Indeed, with all the snapping turtles and other predators drawn to water, a pond can be dangerous.

They will go up two ramps and down another to flap around in the inch of rain water that is in the drained truck bed. They go up to the kiddie pool in hopes it will be filled. We take them down to the pond, they stand on the ramp, the stand on the shore, they drink the water, but they wont go in. Once they got startled into the water and they promptly swam out.

3.) Why is one so loud? Our flock generally has one spokesduck. They take turns. Right now it is Funfie, but Zehn was the first. Please don't give her away just because she is trying to keep the flock safe.

We have one female duck that quacks step she takes. She isn't the biggest or the smallest. There is about twenty other females and they will quack once in a while, but not as loud and not every step I am thinking of trading/selling her, but I was wondering if that is a heard thing, and if I give her away if another one will fill the annoying quack gap.

 

[zenniferose]

Thanks a lot, my concern with the one duck is that when I got them for the most part they were all pretty tame, but she seemed skittish, I had four ducks before and now I am wondering if her behavior made the other ducks lest trusting, and the new ducks, all that quacking breaks the calm and puts them on edge. The 15 ducks were raise by preschoolers they would just curl up in your lap, but now when she quacks they seem startled and tend to go with the other ducks.

 

[LilyAshley11]

1. A duck need about 1 x1 yd
2. You need show they the water
3. The females are more noisy than males