I have really enjoyed watching this thread, and I hate to rain on everyone's parade.....
I have had sooooo much trouble with predators--ESP neighbors' dogs and cats and now raccoons (kitty dishes and bird feeders from 9 new houses and 4-6 'new' neighbors after the older folks passed on). Leaving food outside in an unsecured area is a pred magnet! A "makeshift" fence will NOT deter dogs or raccoons--the average loose dog will easily clear a 4' fence to 'play.' Raccoons and weasels/minks can reach through 1/2 -1" spacing and pull at the animals inside(fence or hutch). Foxes, coyotes, dogs, raccoons, and skunks will also go under. The fence will need to be pretty solid and, since you live in a housing development, attractive. It will need to be sheltered (hidden) from the road(s) to avoid drivers taking potshots at them. If you rent, what does the owner say? Will they help with a fence for your dogs/kids/etc? How is your relationship with your neighbor/neighbor's dog--would they call animal control if they got mad or if the muddy ducky coop got stinky? What if they do hatch ducklings, how will you keep them safe (from cats, esp), and how would that affect your pen design? (You might want to hunt down their nest for a little ducky birth control?)
I really do think what you've done is great and hope for the best for all of you!
Hi, thank you for enjoying the thread and I appreciate your comment.
No worries, you haven't rain on any parades.
You are right, as of right now the pen isn't 100% predator proof.
We have had these ducks for 23 days, we are going to need a little time.
Remember, we recuse these ducks, we didn't buy them on a whim as ducklings and is just now building them a shelter/pen.
My idea pen would be fully enclosed with a locked gate, but that will have to wait a while to build.
It's winter time here, and we dont have a lot of money to go out and buy them a fancy run.
We use the materials that was available to us at the time, to at least give them a place outside the ark.
At least they aren't still sitting ducks in a open pond, like before the ark was built.
Next time the ducks come out of the ark, then we can safely modify it again, with added protection to the board gaps.
And for underneath the ark, we have bricks blocking the underside and on the side of the ark there is a open moat.
Any predator that digs will have to go through a freezing cold moat and rock hard bricks if they want my duckies, that badly.
Also we dont have kids, and whenever our dogs go outside, they are on a leash.
Also our dogs are toy breeds, and nearing 13 years of age and obese, they dont jump over stuff like the use to be able too.
Onto the neighbor/loose dog concern;
The conected neighbour right next to us doesnt have any dogs, and loves/approves of the duck ark.
Both the connected neighbor and I own our homes, so no worries there.
The neighbor on the other side of us (not connected), has one dog, he is never let out unsupervised and he actually goes to work with his owner (most of the day they are both gone). Hasn't mention anything about if hes okay with the ducks, but he is about to move away, and he only rents.
The guy who lives on the side of pond, who is diagonally across from us.
Has one small breed dog, who is only let out into its fence backyard.
They also built a pallet boat for the pond, and they only rent their house and trust me the pallet boat is way worse then our duck ark.
Not the prettiest, and It's also dangerous.
We have seen neighborhood kids jump on it at night to throw rocks into the pond. If they fall, the pond is deep enough for someone to drown in.
That same neighbor also mows our lawn and has no issue mowing around the duck ark, so I'm sure he has no issue either with the ducks themselves.
We have another neighbor that has stacks of pallets outside his home, he donated some pallets to us for our ark.
And another neighbor has a trailer in the backyard of his home.
What I'm saying is, we live in a neighborhood were people are allowed to do anything with their home, weather they rent or own.
If someone complains, well most likely they have something in their yard that is consider a eyesore too.
Also, I'm not trying to say a lose dog could never happen, or if someone lost control of their dog, that a possibility too.
But in the weeks they were outside unprotected, all the neighborhood dogs never bothered them.
Onto the stray dog/cat concern.
In over the decade I've lived here I have never seen a stray dog, if I had I would of adopted it lol
The reason no one let's their dogs run free is because of the road behind my house, it is so dangerous, it's a surprise when you dont see roadkill that day.
With stray cats, if I saw any, they would be mine.
Funny enough, a stray cat was hanging near the pond months before the ducks arrived.
I was keeping an eye on it, like the animal lover I am.
Its disapeared right after the ducks arrived, I assumed snice winter was beginning, it found somewhere else more warm.
Besides that, no neibours leave food out because unlike most neighbourhoods, we honestly dont have a stray cat problem.
When the neighbor accros they way began to feed the ducks, that was the only food bowl we noticed outside in the whole time we have lived here.
The car concern;
That's the whole reason the duck ark/pen is in our front yard.
We are the last house on a dead end street, so if some psychopath drove out of their way just to hit our duck ark on the front yard....Then danm, no duck ark or chicken coop anywhere would ever be safe.
Onto the duckling concern;
So far they have laid no eggs, and we think they are to young or to stress.
I read it's possible for ducks to shoot blanks.
I also read certain breeds of ducks are not good brooders. So most likely any eggs they lay, we would take care of it until it hatch.
And I'm sure, BYC will help us with that too. I already know about turning, marking, and candling eggs, as my SO raised chickens growing up.
We do have four inside cats.
But if it came down to it, the cats would be locked out of my room if we had baby ducklings.
Sure the cats might not like being locked out of a room, but if its for the ducklings protection, so be it.
We would most deffinetly keep the duckling inside the main house, until they were old enough to live in the duck ark of course.
And if we ever did get to overwhelmed with too many ducks, I'm sure there is tons of options available.
Thank you so much for voicing your concerns, I really do appreciate it. And thank you for your tips too, we will definitely be giving the duck ark/pen a makeover very soon.
I hope you have a great day!
