Hey everyone, brand new here, and we will be brand new to ducks as well the by the 3rd week in April as we ordered 9 ducks yesterday! And I have a few novice questions as far as housing and winter husbandry....We have a large pole shed that is mainly used for tractor/hay storage also has a little "game room" where I plan to keep the ducklings when they first arrive, out back we have our horse pasture, pond within that horse pasture I plan to use as our main "duck pond" and was planning on building a floating duck house for them during the warm weather months, my goal is to have them free ranging as much as possible in the horse pasture/pond there....do I still need to fence that area off in "duck proof" fencing? I plan to build a permanent shelter/pen for them as well but I guess im not sure how necessary that is during the warm weather months (we're in Minnesota)
Second is winter care.... My thoughts were to set up a 12x12 area in our pole shed (it has concrete floor) of course lots of bedding/liner down, heat lamp necessary? After the winter we had this year Im thinking YES and what do you guys do for access to swimming water, do your ducks run about in the snow?
Or build a completely separate shed/enclosure for them outside with access to the outside with a heated pond?
bleh im such a novice duck and poultry person in general I have no idea what im getting myself into....if it helps we ordered 3 Indian Runners and 4 Buff Orpingtons.
Second is winter care.... My thoughts were to set up a 12x12 area in our pole shed (it has concrete floor) of course lots of bedding/liner down, heat lamp necessary? After the winter we had this year Im thinking YES and what do you guys do for access to swimming water, do your ducks run about in the snow?
Or build a completely separate shed/enclosure for them outside with access to the outside with a heated pond?
bleh im such a novice duck and poultry person in general I have no idea what im getting myself into....if it helps we ordered 3 Indian Runners and 4 Buff Orpingtons.