[alotment shed]

hi this may be simple to you guys but im lost on this .
i want to keep ducks on the allotment i have a little river running at the end of my allotment . if i buy a trio of alsbery ducks . (sorry dont no how to spell them )
how can i make saw they dont fly off and never come back ? how do you keep them near your area ( allotment ) ? many thanks ollie .

[matilda duck]

Hiya Alotment shed     can you keep ducks on an alotment??

You do also know that Aylesbury ducks are huge???  We liked the idea of them until we saw them in the flesh!!!!

What you've got to be more worried about is that they don't eat all the crops that everyone else is growing on their alotment.
 
I could have read all this wrong and I appologise now if I have. 
Oh and we had to register our ducks with DEFRA as we have a brook at the bottom of our garden ......

You may also have to find out if the ducks can go on the river/brook.  I know we cant put ours on our brook.

Someone will be along who knows more............. to put me right probably on this one :happy:

[alotment shed]

i see . ......
i know i can keep ducks as there is a few people on the allotment with them , but im not shaw if i can use the streem tho . i didnt think that was a problem . i hadnt thought of that tho . all the people on are allotment have made large pens and put pounds in for them . i say all theres 2 people on the allotment with ducks . its defantly somethink i will have to look in to .

[Kate and her Ducks]

The ducks will need the same protection from dogs and foxes that the chickens need which means a fox proof pen and as already mentioned it will stop them eating and trampling their way through others crops which they do with amazing speed!

They do need water to splash about in if you are going to provide them with any quality of life. If you are allowed to put them on the stream you will need to fence off the stream on your plot on the way in and out to prevent them escaping as this is the route they will take rather than flying. This will obviously mean regular maintainence to prevent it daming up and flooding your upstream neighbours, so even if allowed, using a communal stream can be full of problems. If this is not an option you will need to provide them with a pond of some description and the water needs refreshing regularly as ducks really like fresh water.

What do you want the ducks for? As mentioned Aylesbury's are large ducks and not an egg laying breed so are you planning on them for the table?

Think ducks, like all livestock are something that need a great deal of consideration before starting with. There are a number of very good books about, the best of which is Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks and I strongly recommend you get this or something similar like Katie Thears book on ducks before even thinking of buying any. It will pay you back many times over.

[Roll Roll]

 ;)Quite right Kate. We were dead set on getting Call Ducks untill we got Katie Thears book on Ducks. Glad we did, we soon changed our mind's, and went for another breed.

Nothing against Call Ducks though, Just to noisey for where we live.