Hi,

Was wondering if anyone experienced in the care of call ducks may be able to give me some advice.

Have has chickens for about 6 months & have recently moved house & created a large fenced area &6ft high on 3 sides & 4 ft picket at the front) where the chickens can play in the day when i'm about. When I'm not at home in the day they have a large coop with an attached 8 ft run.

I really would like a pair of duck & have a large dog kennel that I can adapt for them & looking at installing a small pond in the corner of my chicken area. I was hoping to just have them in that area without having to build another big mesh run- dont think it'd look great next to the chicken one.

The things i'm unsure of are-
If I dont build a covered run - as with my chickens- will my ducks be safe in the day's when i'm sometimes not there. Either myself or my parners should be back by 6 pm latest to secure them in their house but in the winter it'll be dark by then. Also if I dont build a covered run will they fly away?

Thanks in anticipation! Cant wait to get them but my number 1 priority is their safety!

A dog kennel should be fine - but as the name implies call ducks do make an awful lot of noise so tend to attract predators like magnets, so I would get a covered run if you are not back before dark to shut them away, they are also not the sharpest things and often will sit out and need to be shooed into their house at night!
They can fly, wether they can be bothered to or have enough run up to take off is a another matter!, so wing clipping is something I routinely do on ducks - except the big meat breeds and the runners so far don't seem to be interested in taking off so I haven't with them, but I did do my calls, muscovys and wood ducks as they can fly!
You can keep chickens and ducks together - I have 5 runners at the mo, but have had alsorts over the years including little call ducks, and they roost in a corner on the floor of the chicken house which is quite large anyway so it can be done but the chicken house needs cleaning twice as often as they trudge mud in and out all day! If you only have a small run - you don't say how big yours is - then you need to keep in mind that ducks turn where ever they live into a paddly gloopy soup in 5 minutes especially in winter!! Mine are on an acre which is all fenced in and a good third of it is soup at the mo after all this rain and snow, and that's just with 5 little ducks!!!!! So really if you're keeping them in a run I would go for something that has a solid base so it doesn't get soupy and just put a paddling pool or some such thing in one corner for them to swim and wash in, and just put a square of turf for them to nibble on every day in the summer - basically easy clean is the way to go with ducks in a small space!!!

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Thanks Alex, that's really helpfull... think i'll have to whittle something to keep them in after all then. I do have a greenhouse thats about 8ft x 6ft.. could they go in there for the winter do you think when we're not due back until after dark?

Sounds like a plan! My friend uses her greenhouse for her guinea pigs in winter - they love it - so I don't see why ducks should be any different!! Just make sure that if it's not on a solid base that rats can't dig in - I lost a call duck to a rat once, it grabbed it in the night and pulled it's head into a hole in the wall and ate the head - was so gross poor little duck!! - rats loooove ducks and will go out of their way to get to them, so keep an eye out for any signs of digging outside it!!

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That's decided then.. Never thought about rats... gosh it's a minefield! Looks like my job for the day is slabbing around the bottom of my greenhouse!

Thanks