New to Group, new to Ducks! We have seven Muscovy ducks incubated and raised following disappearance of mumma duck

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lizzythemule

In the Brooder
Dec 18, 2024
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Hi and thank you for accepting me. We have had chickens as pets for several years, always acquired from a garden centre specialising in chicks.
We now also have seven beautiful Muscovy ducks (two drakes and five girls) incubated and hatched by my daughter after their mum weirdly disappeared without a trace. Obviously not a planned flock, but much loved all the same. I have them in our garden at the moment but daughter will be taking one Drake and three girls when able in the new year.
Our garden is a fair size and they have the full run of it - with a wire enclosure which we shut them in for safety if not able to watch them. They then have an Eglu for night time use. So safety first is priority. We are semi rural and back into school playing fields. The flock are only five months at the moment but in good health and seem happy.
As a newbie my question is - does anyone else have guilt for shutting their birds in for safety? I’ve sat out Storm Bert etc wrapped in blankets, so they can be as free roaming as possible. But I also have ME/CFS and the combination of guilt and fretting is affecting my health. Most days they are out by sunrise, released for a couple of hours then shut back in for another couple. Let out for the last few hours before sunset. They are friends with the two chickens and seem happy! Reassurance please (no comments about letting them go free as this is not an option as unsafe). Our vet is in board with assistance. Thank you in advance
 
welcome to BYC! my ducks have about 1/3 of my fence in backyard which has woods behind it and across the street and I understand about sitting out with them, and I pray for them I have not had any predator attacks and it’s been nine years so I’m very thankful for that. My chain-link fence is 6 feet high and I attached chicken wire to that also and at night they are locked up very securely and I also have a dog who is good with them and two geese who scream very loudly if any danger is around.
 
Hello! It's nice to have you here! It sounds like you have answered your questions--it is not safe to let them free-range unsupervised, so you are doing so for their safety. If there is any other way to expand their secure run, that could be a possibility to alleviate some anxiety, but I'm sure they are very happy to be where they are and safe.

If you have 10-15 square feet per bird in your run, I think they should be perfectly happy with that. They will obviously have more room once your daughter takes the four.

I'm sure you are doing a great job with them, it sounds like you care a lot so don't forget to enjoy them! Best wishes to you all!

Thanks for joining and welcome to BackYard Chickens!
 
Hi @lizzythemule :frow

I have had chickens for a few year now. The have a run area where they are locked in when we are away from the house. But we allow them in an extended area, with grass, when we are home.

They cannot fully free range because the predators in our area. And they have to be locked up securely at night. As our night cams show they are stalked almost every night by fox, skunk, possum, etc.

So, we have to protect chickens, and now our ducks, which we just added to our homestead.

Welcome!
 

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