Wanting some Call ducks...

[ninjapoodles]

We have an area next to our house and abutting our koi pond that I think would be ideal for just a few ducks, and I love the calls. I'm wondering how I would need to prepare the area. It's the off-side of the house, and there are no doors over there, but there are huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the area from one room, so we'd be able to see the ducks' living area.

What could I do to prepare an area so that it would be easy to keep relatively clean and presentable? I've got about 50 feet by 12 feet to play with, plus the pond. They could leave this area for free-ranging by day.

 

[sweetshoplady]

That sounds nice! I love my calls. They're so cute.

 

[Anny]

be warned that call ducks are very very loud. But they darn cute.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

As a rule call ducks are loud, but mine are all pretty quiet - not sure why

my swedish are louder than the calls are.

I had one female who was VERY loud - a hawk took her, maybe the others learned from her lesson

.

I have 11 of them right now (and 4 hatching out as we speak) and the 11 are sweeties, not a big mouth in the bunch of them (yet).

Yes, they do quack and get going - but it never lasts long and it is not as loud as the bigger ducks are. Usually the bigger swedish are the ones to start the quack-fest - the calls just join in after the fact.

12x50 sounds like a nice big area for them.

I would put in a little dog house sized house for them to lay in - and to hide from super bad weather, although mine stay out unless it is sleet and ice. Make sure the Koi aren't big enough to eat the calls

I'm not sure how big your fish are, but I hear those Koi will eat anything that moves.

meri

 

[ninjapoodles]

Mojo Chick'n :

Make sure the Koi aren't big enough to eat the calls

I'm not sure how big your fish are, but I hear those Koi will eat anything that moves.

meri

Whoa! Really? My biggest fish are maybe a foot long, but there are only a couple that big. And here I was thinking that the ducks might eat a few baby koi (which would be OK)!​

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
Whoa! Really? My biggest fish are maybe a foot long, but there are only a couple that big. And here I was thinking that the ducks might eat a few baby koi (which would be OK)!

I don't have personal experience in this, so check into it from other sources, but yeah, I've heard from other folks who've had Koi that they eat just about anything. They might not be a threat to an adult duck, but a baby duck might be a tasty treat for them.

I know that turtles (snappers) will take baby ducks and eat them, too.

meri