Will ducks destroy the grass?

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Is this a trick question?

I had grass one day, it rained and then I had mud. All in 12 hours.

I can second that!
I once had two large peppermint plants...

But i love my Duckies (5 Indian Runners) for their unique character and the comical things they do.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I am wondering if it matters what kind of grass that you have. I live in the south and have Bermuda grass. It is really tough and grows by underground runners. My ducks actually prefer crab grass to the Bermuda. I am wondering if you have a nice, fine Fescue lawn if they would cause more damage.

 

[SkyeT]

If you look at my avatar, you can see what kind of grass we have.

We have 5 Muscovy, 1 Pekin, 1 Rouen and 1 Runner. Our house is located on .24 acre plot, with the house and front yard taking up half of that. So... that being said, my ducks do not have a run, do not have a coop (though we are getting them something for winter), and have one large dog bathing pool for their bathing enjoyment on the porch. We have never had any issues with the grass, except where they eat crumble and we sit to enjoy their company. That is trampled often, so the grass is emergent but not set. They do tend to find the runner roots of the grass and end up eating those long tendrils that trip me up. I am thankful for that.

All of our ducks snip the grass, and I only truly have to mow half the backyard. It's kind of nice, to be honest. We've had them since July, in above 100 degree heat, and our yard is still very nice. There is, however, a depression in the ground that became a mud hole when we got the deluge of rain earlier in September. Oh well, no biggie. They love the mud. The grass is trying to grow back. We'll see.

What we've learned is that if they have plenty of crumble, seeds and such, plenty of water stations, but not a lot of water holes, they case our yard, but won't destroy it. We also have a couple of places where grass won't grow that is covered in a thick live oak leaf litter that they LOVE to root around in. There are also two mulch stations... yes, you read that right. We turned two unused garden plots in the back into mulched areas for them. They root around in those as well.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I am wondering if it matters what kind of grass that you have. I live in the south and have Bermuda grass. It is really tough and grows by underground runners. My ducks actually prefer crab grass to the Bermuda. I am wondering if you have a nice, fine Fescue lawn if they would cause more damage.

I don't know what kind of grasses i have, it is a natural unmanaged pasture. They key is that i have soft red loam on which the water doesn't drain well, so whenever it rains there are puddles and muddy spots which are an invitation for my ducks to dig. After the last rains (remnants of Florence) i ended up loosing my clogs in ankle deep mud…
My Duckies don't really eat the grass, just the seeds and the roots. Next year i will rent them out by the hour as natural tillers!

 

[llombardo]

I decided a long time ago not to take their mud away--they are their happiest in the mud.the pool water isn't draining well because the groubd us colder, so I let them play in one huge puddle for about an hour. The noises they make is pure excitement.

How can I get mad at this...

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

Ducks eat grass.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Your family might have Muscovy ducks, they are not very destructive and usually just lazy. Mine sit around for several hours a day. They only take baths a few times a week and they do not know how to drill like a mallard derived duck. When Muscovies do get up they usually wander around in the grass and grab bugs, fruit, and pull seeds off of things.
The grass will be nonexistent wherever you have water with MD ducks. They also run around a lot more and sift through the grass with their beaks to get bugs. The grass is not destroyed from my MD ducks though it is just a little short in the area around the chicken coop. I have lots of poultry that will free range in this area, 70 chickens, 3 turkeys, 9 MD ducks, and 10 Muscovies. So I can't really blame all the destruction on the MD ducks, but I know they are responsible for all the mud by the water and all the little holes all over the yard. Oh, I also have a large kiddie pool out for them, there is no grass 2 feet out from the kiddie pool and there are a ton of drilling holes everywhere.

I have never really had problems with any poultry destroying grass, I don't know if that is because I have 75 acres that they free range on or if it is because my definition of destroyed is different from everyone elses. To me, short grass around the coop, a few small and shallow holes in the ground, and a small amount of mud is not destroyed grass. It might be because of space too though, out of the 75 acres the ducks, chickens, and turkeys only use around 10. That is still a lot of space though and they are to scared to go any further. I am sure if you had them in a small fenced in yard they would kill every plant in there.

My muscovies drill in their run when there is water or it rained, but other than I guess I haven't seen them doing so in the yard. The laziness might explain why my ducks only waddle to my back patio and meander there a bit and then back to their run.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Clearly different people have different experiences. I have 4 ducks - 2 Indian Runners (Mallard variety) & 2 Khaki Campbells - and I also have 4 chickens, all 8 free range all day everyday and my grass, although short, is fine. My garden area isn't tiny but it isn't what I'd call massive either however it is room enough for the birds we have.
A few weeks back we dismantled and removed my grandsons old climbing frame and a sand pit which has left us with two large bare patches but my birds pooping on it has produced some regrowth already.
We have two purposely made dirt patches one is about 18 foot long and 12 foot wide, the other very small 5 foot long 2.5 foot wide which they drill holes in when it rains and when I tip out their pools for cleaning but I turn the dirt over about 4 times a week to bring the worms up to the surface any way so the drill holes disappear. I have drill holes around their pools and water stations but I purposely chose areas I'm not bothered about but there are no drill holes in our main grass areas.
Both my ducks and my chickens eat the grass but they don't rip it out, they snip it off, which leaves the roots intact and it continues to grow.
I decided I'd let them eat whatever they want as long as its not harmful to them and they have eaten all the flowers and the shrubs they've eaten up to as far up as they can reach but they haven't damaged the actual plants so they will flower again.
This is the area where the climbing frame use to be

 

[OkieChickenGal]

My family has a Pekin, and a Indian runner, and the grass is fine.
I'd be letting 7 buff ducks free range my 1 acre pasture.. I just can't let them on it if they destroy the grass

 

[Aquachick]

My 16 ducks share a pasture with my 4 goats and the grass is fine. They have numerous water tubs and l move them often. They do get very excited when l dump their tubs and will do their little dabbing move. I do have Muscovy though so maybe that is why l don't have an issue with my grass.