To duck or not to duck? That is my question.

[janiedoe]

We have a large (about an acre & 1/2) pond stocked with bass, catfish, and perch. My husband has talked about enclosing the bottom of the pier (see upper left of pic) and making a duck coop. It would be about 6' x 10'.
We have whistling ducks that nest in the area beyond the bridge in the back center of the pic. We never bother them except for an occasional pic. But I wonder if they would spread disease to domestic ducks?
The baby ducks would have to be raised in a chicken run until old enough to go to their own place. (We have three coops, two medium sized walk ins and one small raised coop all with secure runs. We also have an acre fenced for a chicken yard as well. )
My concerns are:
1.would the ducks be safe in a duck house next to the pond? We have water moccasins, blue herons, and logger head turtles here, as well as the occasional bald eagle and red tailed hawk.
2. Would they go into their house at night or would they stay on the pond where I couldn't get to them and put them in.
3. I've read that male ducks can drown females during mating season and this concerns me. I've also read that they fight violently during the mating season.
4. We have small grandchildren so I want family friendly ducks.

I'm interested in what you all think about this and also what type of ducks would be best in this situation if any.

 

[BallsEleven]

Beautiful piece of property you have there!

If you keep ducks one of the first things you will need to come to terms with is that you will lose a few in that situation. You have a couple of predators in the area that will snack on ducklings that will be produced. Also, unless you train them well in the beginning, there is a good chance they will hardly go into the coop. The rest of the area is paradise for them and there are a lot of hiding spots for them to sleep in at night.

If I were in your shoes, I would go with Muscovy. Large bird with some decent claws and flying ability that can fight back a bit against hawks and snakes. I believe their first option for sleeping at night is up in trees which will keep them safer. Their foraging ability will be pretty good too. They also tend to be pretty docile. A state park in my area has quite a few of them and while you can't get close enough to pet, they do enjoy being fed by campers. Your grand kids will get a kick feeding them. You could easily condition them as ducklings to associate a bell or whistle with being fed, then keep it out on the dock and call them with it once they are living out on the water.

Please keep us updated on what you decide to do! I'm very jealous of your set up!

 

[janiedoe]

Thank you! We searched far and wide to find the perfect property. Sold our place in town and downsized all to live in "Eden"! Lol...I'm just too old to wear a fig leaf!
(P.s. looks are deceiving...it's hotter than hades here & things are wilting.)

Muscovy and mallard are on our list.

Thank you for the advice. Especially the idea for conditioning them to respond to a bell! I hadn't thought of that at all. I will not be buying before next spring because I think most of the hatcheries that sell sexed ducks are out of them right now. I want to buy from ideal, privett, or cackle because they are closest to us.
I will definitely keep you updated.

 

[BallsEleven]

I know what you mean. I'm in SWLA and we had our first little shower last night in a couple of weeks. Had a small break in humidity at the end of last week but it is back to normal now.

Mallards are a good choice as well. I never really think of Mallards since I always associate them with migrating but they do stick around in some areas. My in-laws live in a neighborhood with a pond in the middle and the mallards are there year-round since people feed them all the time.

It would probably help to set up an automatic feeder, like they do for catfish.

 

[janiedoe]

I know what you mean. I'm in SWLA and we had our first little shower last night in a couple of weeks. Had a small break in humidity at the end of last week but it is back to normal now.

Mallards are a good choice as well. I never really think of Mallards since I always associate them with migrating but they do stick around in some areas. My in-laws live in a neighborhood with a pond in the middle and the mallards are there year-round since people feed them all the time.

It would probably help to set up an automatic feeder, like they do for catfish.

We aren't too terribly far from you. We live in East Texas. Humidity is horrid!
Good idea with the feeder too.