Indian Runner ducks

I can only say re cats that mine have not shown any interest in my ducks. I have a friend with free range runners and none of her 3 cats bother.
I would suggest putting some sort of membrane under the gravel around the pond or it will disappear into the soil - it may get gradually pushed into the pond, I don't know.
A chicken feeder is not good for ducks as they put their beaks into feed and scoop it up. Some sort of trough it better with nothing over it. I use a heavy dish and this seems to work fine for me.
Unless you are really lucky they will not take themselves to bed. They would live out given the chance. You and they will get used to herding them to bed. It was a steep learing curve and we had to use all sorts of strategies like putting things at the side of their ramp so they could not easily veer off. The trick with herding them is not to crowd them and allow them time but not too much. Runners will probably be more obliging than mine whcih are Khaki Campbells.
Whatever, enjoy them they are great comedians and I would not be without them.

Thanks for replies. I don't know what sort of duck herder I will make but looks like I'll soon find out!!

heya, we just use a large bowl for their food too, i am amazed at how much they eat. So much more than the chickens daily. Our ducks use the kids swimming pool on the patio and they are so much cleaner when they don't have loads of mud stuck to their feet and bellies
We have a local, very big cat who has taken an interest in them, our boys are only 5 weeks old so are totally inncocent when the cat comes calling and just totally ignores it.lol It will stealth towards them then we have to go and scare it away, im quite sure it will try to rip some heads off if she catches them.
What does everyone do about drinkers for ducks? as we bought the same drinker we use for the chickens but all they do is continually tip it over.
Ours arnt too bad at going back in, we just use a long pole and round them up and they usually go back in without too much fuss. Saying that though, if they see a space to escape they leg it

Re the gravel round the pond, I would personally not put a membrane under it as ducks are VERY messy and drainage would be essential to stop bad smells/muck building up.
Ducks will make your pond very messy in a short space of time unless your pond is large or can be cleaned regularly. (or has a stream running through it!  )

I agree re the membrane and would recommend the type that allows water to drain through. I use a childrens sandpit that I got from Freecycle and it is great. The water is easily changed and the container thoroughly washed out. Also you can move it around to allow poached areas to recover.

I use a small bucket of water for my ducks and change it daily. Within 10 minutes it looks dirty anyway!!