Ducks
Indoor house space, feed, bedding and the guides behind the numbers — everything for keeping backyard ducks.
Start with the housing calculator
The rules differ between the UK and the US, so each has its own calculator citing its own standard.
Need a vet that sees ducks?
Most vets only treat dogs and cats. Our directory lists clinics whose own websites say they treat ducks, across the UK and the US.
Ducks at a glance
The headline figures, each traced to its source on the page it links to. Starting points for planning, not a substitute for the calculators.
- Indoor space
- 0.5 m² per duck (UK) / 5 sq ft per duck (US)
- UK: RSPCA guidance (1m² per 2–3 ducks, conservative end used). US: eXtension.org Cooperative Extension guidance. A flat per-bird figure, not weight- or breed-banded.
- How much space a duck needs →
- Outdoor / water access
- No official minimum — more is better
- Neither RSPCA nor Extension guidance gives a defensible outdoor land figure for ducks, unlike pigs or goats. Water deep enough to submerge the head matters more than floor area.
- Why there's no outdoor figure →
- Housing
- A converted chicken coop mostly works
- Ducks don't use nest boxes or perches, are messier with water and bedding, and need more frequent cleaning than hens.
- Duck coop vs chicken coop →
- Running cost
- About $100–150/year feed & bedding, plus $100–150/year vet care
- Ducklings run $7–15 each (hatchery), started/adult ducks $20–60 each. A bit pricier per bird than an equivalent chicken.
- What it costs to keep ducks →
- Flock size
- At least three, the same minimum as chickens
- RSPCA guidance. Avoid mixing very different body sizes together — it can lead to bullying.
- Do ducks need a companion? →
Planning to keep ducks? Work through it in order
9 steps, each a couple of minutes — click a step to open it.
01Think hard before you buy+−
The RSPCA asks you to genuinely assess whether you have the time, resources and facilities before acquiring ducks — and recommends talking to a vet first.
Buying your first ducks →02Check you're allowed to+−
Ducks clear the legal bar in more places than most backyard livestock, but water and drainage rules — not noise or land size — are what actually catch keepers out.
Can you legally keep ducks? →03Work out the indoor space+−
Indoor housing for your flock size, against RSPCA guidance (UK) or Cooperative Extension guidance (US).
Duck house size calculator →04Decide on housing+−
A converted chicken coop mostly works, with caveats — ducks don't use nest boxes or perches, and need messier, more frequent cleaning.
Duck coop vs chicken coop →05Plan for water access+−
Not a pond specifically, but water deep enough to submerge the head matters for health — and where it drains to can trigger its own rules.
How much space a duck needs →06Plan for a real flock+−
At least three, per RSPCA guidance — and avoid mixing very different body sizes together.
Do ducks need a companion? →07Check the running cost+−
Purchase price, feed, bedding and water upkeep, in your own currency, using the prices you actually pay.
What it costs to keep ducks →08Work out feed and bedding+−
Feed scales with laying stage rather than weight; bedding shares chickens' starting depth but needs topping up faster.
How much a duck eats per day →09Learn what to watch for+−
Signs of good and poor health, water safety, and an honest note on the gaps in RSPCA's duck-specific guidance.
Duck health and vet care →
Calculators and tools
These cover all nine species — following a link opens them with ducks already selected.
- Plan My Setup
Housing, outdoor land, bedding, feed and running cost together in one place, for a species and headcount.
- Feed Cost Calculator
Estimate daily, weekly and monthly feed cost from a headcount and your local feed price.
- Water Calculator
How much water your animals drink a day and a week, from the published figure for each species.
- Bedding Calculator
How much bedding to start with, based on your floor area and species.
- Cost of Keeping Calculator
Feed, vet allowance and other ongoing costs, by species — a weekly, monthly and yearly running-cost estimate.
- How Much Land Do I Need?
Indoor housing plus outdoor paddock or run space combined — the total footprint, not just the pen size.
- Breeding & Hatching Due-Date Calculator
Enter a mating or egg-set date and get an expected due/hatch date, by species.
- Compare Animals
Which backyard animal needs the most space, land or vet budget — a side-by-side comparison of all nine species.
- Sources & Methodology
Every figure behind every species' housing calculator, traced to its source, what it applies to and when it was last checked.
Ducks guides
- How Much Space Does a Duck Actually Need?
The indoor space ducks need, why outdoor water access matters as much as floor space, and why there's no clean official land figure.
- Can You Legally Keep Ducks in Your Backyard?
Why ducks clear the legal bar in more places than most backyard livestock, and the water/drainage rules that catch keepers out instead.
- Duck Coop vs Chicken Coop: What's Actually Different?
Whether you can really just reuse a chicken coop for ducks, and the specific ways duck-keeping diverges from the bird you already know.
- How Much Does It Cost to Keep Ducks?
A realistic breakdown of what backyard ducks actually cost — purchase price, feed, water setup and the costs first-time keepers most often underestimate.
Common questions about ducks
- How much space do ducks need?
- RSPCA guidance (UK) calls for at least 1m² of floor space for every two to three ducks — we use the conservative end, 0.5m² per duck. Cooperative Extension guidance (US) recommends 5 sq ft per duck. Neither source gives a matching outdoor land figure; more outdoor and water access is simply better.
- Can I keep ducks in my backyard?
- Often yes — ducks clear the legal bar in more places than most backyard livestock. The real wrinkle is water and drainage: a pond or wallow that drains onto a neighbouring property or public waterway can trigger separate environmental rules, worth checking apart from whether the animals themselves are permitted.
- Can I just reuse a chicken coop for ducks?
- Mostly, for the indoor space itself. But ducks don't use nest boxes or perches, are messier with water and bedding, and need more frequent cleaning — repurpose or remove the nest boxes and perches rather than leaving them as unused clutter.
- How much does it cost to keep ducks?
- Ducklings commonly cost $7–15 each from a hatchery ($20–60+ for rare/bantam breeds); started or adult ducks cost $20–60 each. Feed and bedding together commonly run $100–150 a year per duck, plus roughly $100–150 a year in vet care when needed — a bit pricier per bird than an equivalent chicken.
Want to see what keeping ducks is actually like?
Try My Backyard — a simple interactive simulation. Adopt one, feed it, play with it, keep its bedding clean, and see how it gets on.
Play My Backyard →