Before we worried about eggs, breeding pairs, or FSA paperwork, we worried about one thing above everything else: keeping the flock safe.
New Hampshire isn't short on things that would love a duck dinner. So safety wasn't a "nice to have" for us — it was the very first project, before we let ourselves get excited about anything else.
The setup
Our ducks have the run of the yard and multiple pools during the day, but the whole space is protected by an electric fence to keep predators out. At night, everyone goes into a secure coop, locked up tight — no exceptions, every single night, regardless of weather, schedule, or how tired we are.
We've since added a second round of coop hardware upgrades on top of the original setup, because "good enough" isn't really a phrase that applies when you're responsible for fourteen lives that trust you completely.
Why we track it
We keep a running count of days since the last predator sighting near the flock — not because we're paranoid, but because a streak like that is a genuinely useful signal. If that number ever resets, it tells us something changed nearby and it's time to look harder at the perimeter, not just shrug it off.
So far, the fence holds, the coop holds, and the streak keeps climbing.
The takeaway
If you're thinking about starting a small flock of your own, our advice is boring but true: spend your first real budget on safety infrastructure before anything else. The fun stuff — breeding programs, egg sales, heritage breed conservation — only works if everyone makes it through the night first.
Curious what our setup actually looks like? Come visit — we're happy to show you around Fort Duckery in person.
--Matt