[MrDibble]

Hi

We are looking for a new home for our two White Campbell ducks (AKA Daphne Duck & Gwen Campbell). We've had them for the past 5 years since they were around 4 weeks old. We're looking for a new home for them because we're planning to move house and sadly can't take them with us. They really are cute and great time wasters... although I suspect I'm preaching to the converted! If you can't help us personally maybe you could point us in the right direction?

[Part time dabbler]

Where abouts are you?

I have chickens and have wondered about getting some ducks but to be honest I am totally clueless about looking after them. I take it they need a pond area, I have a spring fed pond that I am still clearing out (several trees came down into the pond a couple of years ago) and room to allow them out into the garden (2.5 acreas). However do they have a pen like chickens (ours is 14ft by 8ft for four chickens) and what sort of coup do they have?

[MrDibble]

Hi... sorry should've said initially. We're on the Berkshire/Surrey borders, so nowhere near Cornwall I'm afraid

Ours are in a fully enclosed pen which is probably 20ft x 8ft, half paved half mud (was grass), with an adjacent duck house as a retreat when Mr Fox comes around. We do let them free range around the garden but only while we're out there. A spring fed pond sounds ideal - we have a bath which was a Homebase cement mixing tray, but they manage to mess it after a few days. Ducks poo a LOT!

Mr D.

[Part time dabbler]

I work in central London and drive up and down every week so that would not have been a problem.

I feel I don't know enough about ducks to know whether it would work for us, I can put a pen together next door to the hens easily enough, would have to think about finding a duck house though,  but if I let them free range during the day do they know where their "home" is and come back to the pen.

We have fields around so when the chickens free range we do keep an eye on them but they keep well within our boundaries, however the spring fed pond is down by the boundary so if they head there they could head off into the younder and if they don't know to return that would be an issue.

Sorry for picking your brains but I would not like to offer them a home if I cannot look after them ok.

[MrDibble]

Not a problem! Not sure about the answer to your question though, as we only have a town garden (20ft x 100ft) which is fenced all sides. We always put them back in the pen when we leave the garden as there is a lot of fox activity round here, sometimes in the day.

Maybe someone else will know better, but I suspect they will gravitate to the pond and won't have too much reason to go to the pen / house at all if there are enough bugs / snails / whatever (we've seen ours eat a small frog) around the pond or in the fields to sustain them. Ours do go back to the pen, but only really because that's where their food & water is located.

[Bionic]

My ducks love the pond and it's close to their house so that works for us, but with ducks I find that you can usually lure them home with some food. Don't fill them up during the day though or there won't be any incentive to get them into their home.