Duck Breed Focus - Silver Appleyard

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Amd sorry, i wasnt trying to say yours were necessarily bad quality or mixes before, just trying to think of possible explanations for the color if they werent supposed to have blue. But now i think it's been established they can and it's just different lines?
 
Hi, All!

We are long time readers but only recent members of BYC, as we have decided to take the plunge with 6 SAs this spring. We're expecting our young ducks toward the end of May, and so building the duck house and run is moving to the front of the line. Based on a lot of reading here and elsewhere, we have come up with some basic specs, but we'd love any additional input.

Duck house will be ~12'x6'. We'd like it to be off the ground with a ramp into the run, but we've heard maybe it should be on the ground. Thoughts?

We plan to insulate the duck house, as we live in Maine. We also plan to run electricity to it for lights and water heater.

Should the nesting boxes be inside the house itself or will they use ones that are placed in a bump out? 2'x2' nesting boxes?

How big should the attached run be? Covered, partially covered or uncovered? We will be using the ducks in the garden, the orchard and other places around the property for much of the summer, but they will likely be confined to the run from Nov to mid-April.

We are planning for a duck bath in the run that will be emptied daily. We have a hazy vision of tying this grey water into our adjacent compost and gardens. We also have a very small pond on the property, which may be accessible for limited times if they are so inclined.

What are we missing?

Thanks in advance!
 
I had only 1 silver appleyard (and a drake that was mixed-breed) and they live with my chickens. my house is up off the ground and there's a ramp. absolutely no problems. they had a few days of confusion figuring how to use it after 6 months in the 'baby house' I had on the ground, but they got it sorted and it was easy-peasy. Mine is a bit over a foot wide, so that helps!

personally I do not feed & water inside, just because I don't want the birds making a mess and getting the bedding wet.

I live in Maine, too.

I did not insulate the bird house. it is well-vented around the top with hardware cloth to make sure it doesn't get too damp. Ducks are VERY hardy and have body fat and special down to keep them warm. I worry a bit more about the chickens staying warm enough, but I never worried about the ducks. They didn't love being outside in the first blizzard we had, but they had no problem handling it. Chickens are supposed to be fine to -20, as long as they don't have drafts. Ducks don't have combs & wattles to get frostbitten, so as long as they have dry bedding and don't have to worry about their feet getting frostbitten they'll be great even in cold weather. just make sure you have ventilation (but that it's predator proof!!) so the air will dry out. birds 'lungs' need clean fresh air, not all damp with the ammonia from their droppings built up in it.

as far as the run it depends where you live. my birds are right beside a busy road, so I have no covered part and am only using snow fence to make their pen. If I had them at the house I grew up in with 40 acres of former wood lots.... definitely i'd want something more secure (most likely with electric fence) and the chickens would LIKE a roof. the ducks don't seem to mind a little rain & snow. I also didn't light the coop, but I do have a clear roof and big front window and they're right by a streetlight, so there is some light in there at night (though not enough for egg laying). A light is a great idea in Maine, but if it's for laying have it come on early in the morning, and then turn off so when they see it get dusk they can go to bed for the night...instead of having a light on inside and then all of a sudden BAM it gets dark.

If you're in a more predator prone area, definitely a run with good fencing of hardware cloth (chicken wire MIGHT do the trick for daytimes, but raccoons can pull it open and weasels would slip through the larger holes). as babies they'd be at risk from hawks, but full-grown appleyards should be too big to be carried off by birds. If you can put them under trees then you reduce hawk/owl flight approaches.

Some of this will depend on your preferences. ducks can be extremely messy. the water will splash everywhere. if you want to let them bathe all the time, you may want to put the bath up on a platform with hardware cloth or rocks beneath & around it to allow drainage and keep the rest of the yard more dry. a roofed area would also help reduce the wetness during our infamous MUD SEASON. So with 6 if they're really going to be penned up for months you might want to go with a larger space if you can afford it so they won't be in muddy slimy mess all the time.

lots of people recommend sand for a run. I just use the forest floor, but i'm moving my pen around so the poo doesn't build up as much...

Good luck! enjoy them! you will have such a good time. and any advice is just for you to consider and sort out what you really want for YOUR situation, of course!

I'm planning to get one of those grey restaurant service dish-bussing bins for my drake to splash in once it's a bit warmer. I think it will be easier to clean than a big tub and will let him stay clean. We'll see how it goes. There's a swampy pond out back but as long as migrating waterfowl are stopping in i'm not letting him in there because of the risk of Avian Influenza...

and my birds 'nest box' is inside the house because I was worried about easier freezing on a box that extended out the side. if you insulate really well or collect often, that probably is not much of a problem and it would be easier access...
 
Last edited:
hooktontravel said:
I had only 1 silver appleyard (and a drake that was mixed-breed) and they live with my chickens. my house is up off the ground and there's a ramp. absolutely no problems. they had a few days of confusion figuring how to use it after 6 months in the 'baby house' I had on the ground, but they got it sorted and it was easy-peasy. Mine is a bit over a foot wide, so that helps!

personally I do not feed & water inside, just because I don't want the birds making a mess and getting the bedding wet.

I live in Maine, too.

I did not insulate the bird house. it is well-vented around the top with hardware cloth to make sure it doesn't get too damp. Ducks are VERY hardy and have body fat and special down to keep them warm. I worry a bit more about the chickens staying warm enough, but I never worried about the ducks. They didn't love being outside in the first blizzard we had, but they had no problem handling it. Chickens are supposed to be fine to -20, as long as they don't have drafts. Ducks don't have combs & wattles to get frostbitten, so as long as they have dry bedding and don't have to worry about their feet getting frostbitten they'll be great even in cold weather. just make sure you have ventilation (but that it's predator proof!!) so the air will dry out. birds 'lungs' need clean fresh air, not all damp with the ammonia from their droppings built up in it.

as far as the run it depends where you live. my birds are right beside a busy road, so I have no covered part and am only using snow fence to make their pen. If I had them at the house I grew up in with 40 acres of former wood lots.... definitely i'd want something more secure (most likely with electric fence) and the chickens would LIKE a roof. the ducks don't seem to mind a little rain & snow. I also didn't light the coop, but I do have a clear roof and big front window and they're right by a streetlight, so there is some light in there at night (though not enough for egg laying). A light is a great idea in Maine, but if it's for laying have it come on early in the morning, and then turn off so when they see it get dusk they can go to bed for the night...instead of having a light on inside and then all of a sudden BAM it gets dark.

If you're in a more predator prone area, definitely a run with good fencing of hardware cloth (chicken wire MIGHT do the trick for daytimes, but raccoons can pull it open and weasels would slip through the larger holes). as babies they'd be at risk from hawks, but full-grown appleyards should be too big to be carried off by birds. If you can put them under trees then you reduce hawk/owl flight approaches.

Some of this will depend on your preferences. ducks can be extremely messy. the water will splash everywhere. if you want to let them bathe all the time, you may want to put the bath up on a platform with hardware cloth or rocks beneath & around it to allow drainage and keep the rest of the yard more dry. a roofed area would also help reduce the wetness during our infamous MUD SEASON. So with 6 if they're really going to be penned up for months you might want to go with a larger space if you can afford it so they won't be in muddy slimy mess all the time.

lots of people recommend sand for a run. I just use the forest floor, but i'm moving my pen around so the poo doesn't build up as much...

Good luck! enjoy them! you will have such a good time. and any advice is just for you to consider and sort out what you really want for YOUR situation, of course!

I'm planning to get one of those grey restaurant service dish-bussing bins for my drake to splash in once it's a bit warmer. I think it will be easier to clean than a big tub and will let him stay clean. We'll see how it goes. There's a swampy pond out back but as long as migrating waterfowl are stopping in i'm not letting him in there because of the risk of Avian Influenza...

and my birds 'nest box' is inside the house because I was worried about easier freezing on a box that extended out the side. if you insulate really well or collect often, that probably is not much of a problem and it would be easier access...
Click to expand...
Thanks so much! This is very helpful. Any thoughts on duck house size? In another discussion I'm having the consensus seems to be that 4'x8' would be adequate if they also have a fenced outdoor run. I know SAs get big, but maybe my original ~12'x6' is overkill?
 
3bird said:
Thanks so much! This is very helpful. Any thoughts on duck house size? In another discussion I'm having the consensus seems to be that 4'x8' would be adequate if they also have a fenced outdoor run. I know SAs get big, but maybe my original ~12'x6' is overkill?
Click to expand...
Are you anticipating 'poultry math' that might involve getting more later? Definitely if they have outdoor space to run around and are only sleeping inside they don't need as much space. With the chickens I based the house size on the idea that having 5 sq ft per bird means in winter they can be inside and really scrape through the bedding to help aerate it and let it compost-in-place. If the birds are entirely inside, then 10 sq. ft. per bird is better. I aimed at 6 for mine and planned on them going out in nearly all weather.... Ducks do splat down the bedding & poo with their big flappy feet, rather than digging it up like chickens! :)

If you have house plus covered/enclosed/predator safe run, PLUS free ranging whenever you're around to watch I think you could go with far less space in the house.

Have a look at this thread for suggestions, maybe? https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/304679/square-footage-per-duck

Mine is 6x6, for currently 3 chickens and one drake. I was expecting 6 birds total, but we've had a few deaths over here, and one chicken who refuses to integrate and likes to live alone in the garage... the silly drake likes to sit on the 2x4 roost that's in front of the window so he can look out and be the watch-duck. I'm not sure when a barnyard duck learned how to perch, but it's hilarious. (Granted it's the 4 inch side fo the 2x4, but still!)
 
hooktontravel said:
Are you anticipating 'poultry math' that might involve getting more later? Definitely if they have outdoor space to run around and are only sleeping inside they don't need as much space. With the chickens I based the house size on the idea that having 5 sq ft per bird means in winter they can be inside and really scrape through the bedding to help aerate it and let it compost-in-place. If the birds are entirely inside, then 10 sq. ft. per bird is better. I aimed at 6 for mine and planned on them going out in nearly all weather.... Ducks do splat down the bedding & poo with their big flappy feet, rather than digging it up like chickens! :)

If you have house plus covered/enclosed/predator safe run, PLUS free ranging whenever you're around to watch I think you could go with far less space in the house.

Have a look at this thread for suggestions, maybe? https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/304679/square-footage-per-duck

Mine is 6x6, for currently 3 chickens and one drake. I was expecting 6 birds total, but we've had a few deaths over here, and one chicken who refuses to integrate and likes to live alone in the garage... the silly drake likes to sit on the 2x4 roost that's in front of the window so he can look out and be the watch-duck. I'm not sure when a barnyard duck learned how to perch, but it's hilarious. (Granted it's the 4 inch side fo the 2x4, but still!)
Click to expand...
That helps. Thank you. I'll check out that thread. Ideally we'd like to keep the flock around six, given that we have other livestock ambitions. :)
 
3bird said:
That helps. Thank you. I'll check out that thread. Ideally we'd like to keep the flock around six, given that we have other livestock ambitions. :)
Click to expand...
That's why I built mine the size I did. I can tell myself 'There is not enough room to have more birds in there. Therefore you cannot buy these adorable chicks, or get a turkey, or a whole flock of ducks. So stop looking!' ... I don't have time to build another at this point! :D

good luck! I love the Appleyard temperament - they are so chill and friendly. and they do love bugs, so they should do well in the orchard!
 

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