Hi all,
I don't own any ducks yet, and I'm probably still about a year out from getting my first flock, but I do have a lot of research done (still plenty to go) and plans in the works to be as prepared as possible for when they do come into my life! That's what this post is about: a plan for ducks and whether that plan will play out well in practice. Thank you in advance for your thoughts and feedback.
The setting:
-Northeastern Colorado
-Own a home on 2 acres of land with a barn that has 3 interior stalls, 3 exterior stalls (attached) and an attached, covered carport, as well as a separate 3 stall loafing shed
-Expecting to start with 5-6 ducks: 1 drake and the rest females
The maximum size of the flock shouldn't exceed 30 birds based on the size of the interior stall I'll house them in alone. I want eggs and meat from my flock, so I'd like to start with silver Appleyard and/or Ancona breeds and incorporate welsh harlequins as a broody breed when the flock and I are more settled. I'll raise geese with the ducks as guardians, so they can roam more freely in our open acre field wherever they are old enough. We used to have neighbors with a flock of ducks and some geese that would roam to our house after we cut the grass XD so I’m not too worried about where they might end up during the day so long as they come back to their stall in the barn at night. I also plan to house rabbits in the duck’s barn stall (in tall hutches), and free-range the ducks and rabbits in the same corral area.
The plan for the ducks:
Have the ducks' main living quarters be an interior 11.5' x 11.5' stall in the barn. The stall already has a horizontal sliding door on the west side leading out to the corral area which is about 1/8th of an acre. I'd like to install another, smaller (duck-sized) door on the north side that I'll have the ability to close in extreme weather, but will remain open for the majority of the year.
This smaller door will lead out to the covered carport attached to the barn which is approximately 12' x 20'. I’ll fence in the 3 open sides of the carport completely with some hardware cloth to protect against predators. Since the little door in the barn will be open most nights, I’ll install two layers of the hardware cloth with some space between so if a duck decides to sleep right next to the inner layer of the fence, a reaching raccoon won’t be able to reach in and impose the horrors I only hope to read about. Some recommendations on the hardware cloth size and space between the layers would be very helpful and much appreciated.
From there, I hope to have several sections of run for the ducks that will form an upside-down U-shape, with one leg leading from the barn/carport area around the loafing shed and back to the corral space. One section will go from the covered carport to the northern fence line of our property, directly to the east of the loafing shed; the second section will go toward the western fence line, directly behind the loafing shed; and the final section will go toward the south, or to the west of the loafing shed with some space between the run’s fence line and the actual shed structure. [Another hope of mine is to turn the loafing shed into a sort of fowl greenhouse where quail are housed and the space towards the west of the shed to be a fenced-in quail corral, but that’s for another post entirely.]
Once the final leg of the duck run hits the corral section to the west of the barn (the section outside the duck’s horizontal sliding door, yup, it all comes back around hehe), this is where the real fun begins and where I’ll need the most help in determining if my plans will make a good environment for the animals – ducks, geese & rabbits alike! I’m starting this section by building several raised beds with the plants listed below. I hope to allow these plants at least a year or two to grow in before acquiring any animals and I’m willing to put fence up around the beds to allow growth to happen longer so they aren’t taken out before having a chance to provide more for said animals in the long run. The main purpose of the plants contained within the corral is to provide nutritious grazing for the animals (help cut down on food bills) and some medicinal purposes (prevention of health issues).
The approximate raised beds’ dimensions and the plants they’ll contain are as follows:
Along the property & corral’s west fence line:
8’ x 8’ terraced, strawberries
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half chamomile, half mint
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half comfrey, half lemon balm
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half plantain, half catnip
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half basil, half dill
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half nasturtium, half marigolds
Along the corral’s south fence line:
8’ x’ 8’ x 4”, raspberries
8’ x’ 8’ x 4”, blackberries
8’ x’ 8’ x 4”, half sunflowers, half coneflowers
As a cover crop this fall:
Mix of red & white clover, dandelion and perennial wildflowers
Aaand that’s about it – haha! Thank you for taking the time to read through my post! Please let me know any thoughts about the hardware cloth sizes and spacing, whether all the plants I want to grow so far will do well with ducks being free to browse, and if there are any further recommendations for growing plants ducks will enjoy browsing or could use as free choice medicinals.
All the best,
Paigero
I don't own any ducks yet, and I'm probably still about a year out from getting my first flock, but I do have a lot of research done (still plenty to go) and plans in the works to be as prepared as possible for when they do come into my life! That's what this post is about: a plan for ducks and whether that plan will play out well in practice. Thank you in advance for your thoughts and feedback.
The setting:
-Northeastern Colorado
-Own a home on 2 acres of land with a barn that has 3 interior stalls, 3 exterior stalls (attached) and an attached, covered carport, as well as a separate 3 stall loafing shed
-Expecting to start with 5-6 ducks: 1 drake and the rest females
The maximum size of the flock shouldn't exceed 30 birds based on the size of the interior stall I'll house them in alone. I want eggs and meat from my flock, so I'd like to start with silver Appleyard and/or Ancona breeds and incorporate welsh harlequins as a broody breed when the flock and I are more settled. I'll raise geese with the ducks as guardians, so they can roam more freely in our open acre field wherever they are old enough. We used to have neighbors with a flock of ducks and some geese that would roam to our house after we cut the grass XD so I’m not too worried about where they might end up during the day so long as they come back to their stall in the barn at night. I also plan to house rabbits in the duck’s barn stall (in tall hutches), and free-range the ducks and rabbits in the same corral area.
The plan for the ducks:
Have the ducks' main living quarters be an interior 11.5' x 11.5' stall in the barn. The stall already has a horizontal sliding door on the west side leading out to the corral area which is about 1/8th of an acre. I'd like to install another, smaller (duck-sized) door on the north side that I'll have the ability to close in extreme weather, but will remain open for the majority of the year.
This smaller door will lead out to the covered carport attached to the barn which is approximately 12' x 20'. I’ll fence in the 3 open sides of the carport completely with some hardware cloth to protect against predators. Since the little door in the barn will be open most nights, I’ll install two layers of the hardware cloth with some space between so if a duck decides to sleep right next to the inner layer of the fence, a reaching raccoon won’t be able to reach in and impose the horrors I only hope to read about. Some recommendations on the hardware cloth size and space between the layers would be very helpful and much appreciated.
From there, I hope to have several sections of run for the ducks that will form an upside-down U-shape, with one leg leading from the barn/carport area around the loafing shed and back to the corral space. One section will go from the covered carport to the northern fence line of our property, directly to the east of the loafing shed; the second section will go toward the western fence line, directly behind the loafing shed; and the final section will go toward the south, or to the west of the loafing shed with some space between the run’s fence line and the actual shed structure. [Another hope of mine is to turn the loafing shed into a sort of fowl greenhouse where quail are housed and the space towards the west of the shed to be a fenced-in quail corral, but that’s for another post entirely.]
Once the final leg of the duck run hits the corral section to the west of the barn (the section outside the duck’s horizontal sliding door, yup, it all comes back around hehe), this is where the real fun begins and where I’ll need the most help in determining if my plans will make a good environment for the animals – ducks, geese & rabbits alike! I’m starting this section by building several raised beds with the plants listed below. I hope to allow these plants at least a year or two to grow in before acquiring any animals and I’m willing to put fence up around the beds to allow growth to happen longer so they aren’t taken out before having a chance to provide more for said animals in the long run. The main purpose of the plants contained within the corral is to provide nutritious grazing for the animals (help cut down on food bills) and some medicinal purposes (prevention of health issues).
The approximate raised beds’ dimensions and the plants they’ll contain are as follows:
Along the property & corral’s west fence line:
8’ x 8’ terraced, strawberries
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half chamomile, half mint
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half comfrey, half lemon balm
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half plantain, half catnip
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half basil, half dill
4’ x 8’ x 8”, half nasturtium, half marigolds
Along the corral’s south fence line:
8’ x’ 8’ x 4”, raspberries
8’ x’ 8’ x 4”, blackberries
8’ x’ 8’ x 4”, half sunflowers, half coneflowers
As a cover crop this fall:
Mix of red & white clover, dandelion and perennial wildflowers
Aaand that’s about it – haha! Thank you for taking the time to read through my post! Please let me know any thoughts about the hardware cloth sizes and spacing, whether all the plants I want to grow so far will do well with ducks being free to browse, and if there are any further recommendations for growing plants ducks will enjoy browsing or could use as free choice medicinals.
All the best,
Paigero
And get the rest of the plans I listed done and the stall set for both duck and rabbit roomies- always more to do! But I do enjoy runner ducks, they're funny buggers 
