Will ducks destroy the grass?

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Grass + Ducks = Just trampled grass.
Grass + Ducks + Water = Biiig mess!
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Please vote »yes« here if you would like to have Duck and Goose smileys on BYC.

 

[OkieChickenGal]

I'd be letting 6 ducks free range all day on my 1 acre pasture.. Do you think they'll ruin the grass?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

No. I have five in an average to large backyard and my five are fine. They make a few mud holes and muddy spots in the winter but their waste is fabulous fertilizer and the grass grows back greener in those places.

 

[OkieChickenGal]

No. I have five in an average to large backyard and my five are fine. They make a few mud holes and muddy spots in the winter but their waste is fabulous fertilizer and the grass grows back greener in those places.

Relieved to know they won't destroy my grass..

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I'd be letting 6 ducks free range all day on my 1 acre pasture.. Do you think they'll ruin the grass?

I dont think so, but near their water source or any time there are puddles they will be drilling holes.

 

[Duckymark]

We had 12 Cayuga ducks once. We let them free range. They stripped all vegetation off of the hill the coop was on and both sides of the creek for about 500ft. We had 100 chickens and 20 turkeys before the ducks. Thick lush grass everywhere but the covered yard around the coop.

Even the goats didn't destroy the ground like the ducks we had.

 

[Kessel23]

That's weird. My family has a couple ducks and they don't destroy the grass

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.

 

[llombardo]

Is this a trick question?

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

 

[Callender Girl]

My nine Indian runner ducks free range when I am home, and my yard is fine (I have, however, strung 2-foot wire fence along the flower beds, because they were taking the "bed" part too seriously and lying down on all the flowers).

The ducks have two shelters within a fenced run that is probably 8 foot by 12 foot. I guarantee there is not a blade of grass left within that area. It is endless mud punctuated by deep holes, dug by dabbling ducks.

 

[Sue S]

I have 4 ducks that free range from morning til night when I put them back in the pen & I never have any problem with them destroying my grass