Raising two ducklings in a fairly urban setting. Questions and observations.

[Velmas]

I am in a similar position to you. We have 3 chickens and we are in the middle of a small town on 1/3 acre. As far as smell goes, usually only on hot humid days we can smell them, but even at that it's not overpowering or disturbing to anyone. There is nothing in our bylaws that says we can or cant have them, so I keep them in the run 6×10 duringnthe day and let then roam when I get home from work. I clean thier coop about once a week and have a compost pile at the back of the yard ( that poop accumulates way faster than I thought). I would think you will be fine so long as the neighborhood doesn't mind.

Glad to hear that you haven't had much trouble. I have an actual compost bin they we don't use very much so hopefully that helps us. All of this is very reassuring.

 

[Ratchnick]

Hawks are a big problem. You may get by for years but eventually they will catch on and you will loose birds.

 

[johntfs]

A couple of thoughts:

Dogs and ducks can co-exist, but you'll need to be careful. Dogs descend from wolves, so they have predator instincts. Ducks are prey animals and they'll have prey animal instincts. A dog can trigger a duck's prey instincts, which in turn can trigger the dog's predator instincts, which can cause the dog to attack the duck. The dog isn't being evil, it's just being what it is - a domesticated subspecies related wolves. Training is helpful but animals are going to be animals. It's probably best if the dogs and ducks only interact while closely supervised by humans able to intervene if need be.

Hopefully you've already done this, but you need to check your local municipal codes to make sure that keeping ducks/poultry/etc. is legal given your suburban location. If it isn't, you'll probably have your animals seized by the city and probably eat a fine for breaking the code. I live Jackson, in Tennessee, which has a lot of farmland and rural area around it. Ducks are allowed, but only if no one else lives within a 1000 feet of them. Plenty of folks live within 1000 feet of me, so, no ducks for me.

 

[Velmas]

Hawks are a big problem. You may get by for years but eventually they will catch on and you will loose birds.

Honestly a hawk would just be such a random force of nature that i wouldn't even really be upset about it. When i lived out in the sticks as a kid my grandparents had chickens and bunnies and i have seen one get taken by a hawk. Where i currently am, i think the chances are slim for a hawk abduction but there really will be only so much i can do. Praying for my babies!

 

[Velmas]

A couple of thoughts:

Dogs and ducks can co-exist, but you'll need to be careful. Dogs descend from wolves, so they have predator instincts. Ducks are prey animals and they'll have prey animal instincts. A dog can trigger a duck's prey instincts, which in turn can trigger the dog's predator instincts, which can cause the dog to attack the duck. The dog isn't being evil, it's just being what it is - a domesticated subspecies related wolves. Training is helpful but animals are going to be animals. It's probably best if the dogs and ducks only interact while closely supervised by humans able to intervene if need be.

Hopefully you've already done this, but you need to check your local municipal codes to make sure that keeping ducks/poultry/etc. is legal given your suburban location. If it isn't, you'll probably have your animals seized by the city and probably eat a fine for breaking the code. I live Jackson, in Tennessee, which has a lot of farmland and rural area around it. Ducks are allowed, but only if no one else lives within a 1000 feet of them. Plenty of folks live within 1000 feet of me, so, no ducks for me.

I have had dogs with really high prey drives and i know the exact response youre talking about. With the dogs we have at the moment i dont think ill have to worry about too much. The birds and the dogs will never be allowed together unless there are people home. I'm just hoping the dogs can protect them while theyre young from the neighborhood cats which are probably far more likely to kill them than anything else they will encounter.

 

[Velmas]

Alright..Well best wishes..

Thank you. It's nice to have friendly people on an active community like this. A lot of what has been said is very reassuring and good to remember.

 

[4 Georgia Hens]

My two adult duck free range our acre with the chickens. They live in a converted dog house and are loving life! Yours will be fine!

 

[Velmas]

My two adult duck free range our acre with the chickens. They live in a converted dog house and are loving life! Yours will be fine!

Good to hear. I'm looking forward to having some bird friends!

 

[EdgewaterDucks]

Hi Velmas. I'm in almost exactly the same situation. I have single family house in a city sized lot in an urban-ish neighborhood. The yard is fenced in and I built the ducks a long narrow pond next to the garage. I started with six ducks and intended to round them up in a pen under my deck in the evenings to protect them from predators. Well, the first night I did, they raised huge ruckus for a long time. The second night, the same thing. I lost patience and said to them "FINE! Go ahead and stay in the yard all the time, but don't come quacking to me if one of you becomes a raccoon's dinner!" That was 3 years ago, and there's been no real problems. All still alive (and added 4 more last spring) and free range in the yard all the time. There was a hawk incident once, but Bridget survived intact. I check in with my neighbors regularly to ensure there's no ill will with regard to quacking, feathers, or any smell (I hose everything down a LOT). They've been cool. The duckies still use the pen under the deck when they get cold, and I also put a re-purposed dog house there, which two of the ducks have selected as their laying location of choice. So you shouldn't think a doghouse is a bad idea.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Honestly a hawk would just be such a random force of nature that i wouldn't even really be upset about it. When i lived out in the sticks as a kid my grandparents had chickens and bunnies and i have seen one get taken by a hawk. Where i currently am, i think the chances are slim for a hawk abduction but there really will be only so much i can do. Praying for my babies!

Don't be so sure. I had a falcon get my favorite duck and I didn't even know we had falcons! Owls are around too and they'd just love a nice duck dinner. Do you not have raccoons and possums?

As far as a pen I think 1/2 sheet of plywood on top of a pallet would be a good size for 2 ducks. They need a safe secure night pen that has lots of ventilation and hardware cloth covering every bit that a predator could breech. If you hinge the roof so it can be raised for cleaning it will make your life a lot easier too.