Free ranging Indian Runner Ducks - am I just providing fox's dinner?

[blanchedevereaux]

Hi,

Looking for some advice really. We have a lovely small paddock with a river at the bottom. Our broody chook is currently sitting on 4 IRD eggs and when they hatch and get bigger I'd love them just to wander about the field with free access to the river when they need it rather than pen them in with a paddling pool. Seems a shame for them to look out over the river and I give them a little plastic pool!

I know they can't fly so would I just be providing the fox an easy meal? Will I be making it too hard for me to get them into their coop at night? Our chooks are penned in due to chicken-killer of a jack russell that lives next door. We keep geese in the field and the fox hasn't got them. We are rural so fox isn't very confident but I have seen the odd one.

Anyone else free range them?

We have a low level electric fence, with one entrance onto pond, which has an island and water only entrance to duck housing, it works very well, all water fowl self put away. could you create something like this.

you can free-range and have enclosures .
free range refers to the amount of space they need and how many hours outside they must have.

make a run like the chicken run.

can you increase the size of the chicken run to include the ducks? and put their house and water in it?

Thanks for responses.

I have got plenty of room in the chicken run to add the ducks but it just seems a shame when I have a nice field and river and all I have in it is a couple of geese!

Quote we have an island we could use but I would need to get on a boat everytime I want to look in the house so that is too much work, and it floods in winter so I'd have to move the house.

What about putting the house on stilts a la Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall?