I may get ducks and I was wondering. 1 will they come back at night. 2 how large of a pond for 2. 3 How large of a house for them. 4 will they be smart and avoid predators, and will they be nice to my guineas. What type of feed to raise them. And should I teach them how to swim in a bathtub. Sincerely, Total newbie.
Will they come back? Are you free ranging them?
They can be herded
and must be herded back into a secure coop every night or you WILL lose them all to predators. Any size of pond will do, don't go too big.
For the coop, they should have 4sqft per duck inside, and it must be at least 3 ft high. Lots of ventilation and very secure. Make sure you have extra room because you will probably end up with more ducks.
Predator-wise, certain breeds are better than others. I suggest trying Rouens. They are dual purpose, 8 pound ducks similiar to Mallards, but they lay more eggs and don't fly. They can flap a few feet, but that's it. Mine, even as babies, were always alert and stopped eating whenever something flew by or my dog burst out of the bush.
From what I've heard, usually guineas are mean to ducks, not vise versa.
Ducks instinctively know how to swim. As babies they can swim very well. But do not let them swim unsupervised until they are fully feathered or they can die- they need to be dried off when they are babies because their down does not have oil to repel water. Letting them swim early on will allow them to be more comfortable in water.
