Cube mk2 and WIR

[pistachio]

I'm thinking about getting some ducks but am wondering - would they swim away down the river at the end of the garden? Could 2 of them live in a small eglu? What kind of housing and facilities do they need?

[Lesley]

Two ducks will live easily in an Eglu - just remove the roosting bars and cover the floor with straw (not hay)

 

I would imaging that if you keep them in the run for a few days and feed them there then they will know that they are fed by you and will swim around but come back to feed and sleep.

 

not sure that you wouldn't have all the wild ducks coming to feed though

[char1]

Hi,

 

We have 10 Aylesburys who discovered the river at the bottom of the garden when they were about 3 months old. one day they all disappeared from the garden and I was very worried they would not return as the had swum out of our land and it must have been quite some distance after that as they were nowhere to be seen or called over the neighbouring fields. However just before sunset they all returned for their routine feed and lock up in their house. And this happens nearly every day now.

 

I would suggest making sure they have a bedtime routine for a few weeks rather than days.

 

Consider where the river leads to and if there are any dangers or the thoughts of who owns the land around the river once it goes past your property. And noone is feeding them better than you elsewhere or will steal them.

 

Also we started out with 14 ducks, and sometimes the odd one doesnt come back each night, and we assume a fox gets them.

 

Therefore I wouldn't be concerned about them not swimming back once they have a strong routine, but there are other factors to consider. We have enjoyed keeping ducks this year and would certainly recommend them!

 

housing wise we have 10 in a wooden house with run attached, this is useful so if we are not going to be in around night fall they stay in here during the day so they are not prey to foxes. They make a mess of the house very quickly and it all needs to be moved to fresh grass every few days as if they have spent a lot of time in it its gets muddy. this isn't much of an issue for us as they can free range in the garden and river most days. They must have constant access to clean water for drinking but do not necessarily need it for swimming everyday. im sure an eglu would be fine, just expect to clean the bedding out regularly and move it around, which seems easy enough.

 

What age will your ducks be ? We bought ours as ducklings and it was certainly a lot of work having 15, as we had to keep them under a heat lamp in the house either constantly or when a bit older just over night, and then when they were off it but not fully feathered we had them in the porch as we still felt it was too cold for them outside at night (this was in april) and then we used to put them in a fenced of area in the garden during the day. I personally wouldn't put ducklings in the eglu at this time of year, until fully feathered. Also if you're getting adults it may take longer to get them into a routine of being in your garden and bedtime before you give them a chance to swim in the river. o if you keep one in the run and the let one out around your garden it would be less likely to swim away

 

I hope that helps

[chickenanne]

I agree that they are likely to swim away and come back. I would be very wary though; once they are off your property they cease to be yours, so you need to check with neighbouring landowners that they don't have a duck-shoot etc.

[pistachio]

thanks everyone - this is all very helpful. I'm still at the thinking and planning stage. I would want them at any age that best suited our situation. We are on the edge of a town where the river runs behind the houses. I can't think that people are going to be shooting in this area. I don't let my chickens free range unsupervised because of foxes in the area. Are ducks better able to get away? Presumably people let ducks free range on their own if they are swimming off - are they better able to escape foxes or is this just a threat duckowners have to live with?

[chickenanne]

I'd've hopught they would be better at getting away from the fox as they are better flyers than chickens. But, there must still be a risk.