Need help building a duck house

We accidentally ended up with a couple of ducks who are nearly three weeks old. Right now we are keeping the ducklings in a cage at night and letting them run around (supervised) the garden during the day. We'd like to go out of town soon, so I want to have them in a situation where a sitter can take care of them easily. I think this means building them a house!

We've just moved to an area where I don't know what the natural predators might be--I think it's only domestic dogs and cats, but there are also snakes around. I'm looking for a simple and cheap duckhouse that we can build--any suggestion of where I can find some plans online?

Going Quackers has a design she likes - simple and it works...

Predators will come out of nowhere, it will seem. So something secure is vital. I find that half inch metal hardware cloth is quite valuable. Chicken wire does not really protect them. I have used coated chain link across the bottom of the pen to prevent things from digging under and up. And I have fence across the top to keep things like foxes from jumping in.

Please do not underestimate predators. They have all night to figure out how to either get in, or get the ducks out - sometimes in pieces.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/874357/ducky-houses#post_13276515

Also I think there is a section of BYC with coop plans. You would not need roosts or nest boxes, and ducks do not do well with steep ramps.

I'm not underestimating predators. I had chickens growing up that were killed by coyotes. I live in a different country now and I don't know what the predators here are, so I am not certain what I need to protect the ducks against. I think rats, snakes and scorpions (and neighboring pet dogs/cats) are going to be the biggest problem. I'm planning on building a secure home for them.

Thanks Amiga!

Yeah, that minimalist coop is good for a few ducks, what breed are they? Biggest thing with most ducks is they don't fly so are where the term "sitting duck" kinda came from, my standard chickens(some of them) can clear a 4ft fence like it was nothing, my Buff orpington ducks and pekin couldn't get a foot off the ground if they needed too.



The main reason i like this one is size is good 4x4 and venting excellent, plus for ducks being just slightly elevated makes it nicer especially for heavyweight breeds. Main thing to make sure is the caregiver understands the importance of water must be with food and they cannot remain outside unattended at a mere 3wks of age.



As for preds,that is the downside to being new to an area, you have no clue and once again till you have something preds want you may not know what is actually out there till you add their menu choices.

Half inch metal hardware cloth (wire mesh) is very useful. For scorpions, wow, don't know. But some sort of screening for the house, and a way to easily inspect the bedding, I would think.

I wonder if there is some substance they dislike, that would be harmless for the ducks?

Thanks! I don't know what breed the ducks are, I am in Cambodia and they are ducks that were meant to be eaten as pong tea koan, which is duck embryo steamed in the egg. These little guys hatched before they had a chance to be steamed, and we bought them off the egg seller. I have been told that they will be very small when they grow up, smaller than an American chicken. I have also been told that they will be able to fly if we don't clip their wings.

This minimalist coop looks manageable--are the plans online? It's hard to find books like this out here.

Also, how worried should I be about the neighbor's dog? He's around chickens a lot and doesn't seem to care at all, but these chickens can run a lot faster than my ducklings. The scorpions I have seen are small, and I bet once the ducks are full size they will want to eat them!

lina500 said:

Thanks! I don't know what breed the ducks are, I am in Cambodia and they are ducks that were meant to be eaten as pong tea koan, which is duck embryo steamed in the egg. These little guys hatched before they had a chance to be steamed, and we bought them off the egg seller. I have been told that they will be very small when they grow up, smaller than an American chicken. I have also been told that they will be able to fly if we don't clip their wings.

This minimalist coop looks manageable--are the plans online? It's hard to find books like this out here.

Also, how worried should I be about the neighbor's dog? He's around chickens a lot and doesn't seem to care at all, but these chickens can run a lot faster than my ducklings. The scorpions I have seen are small, and I bet once the ducks are full size they will want to eat them!

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Dogs are a big predator issue with water fowl, I'd make a good pred proof pen and house for your ducklings. can you post pics of your ducklings we may be able to help you with breed.

With our pen we just upgraded it due to predator issues. We poured a concrete foundation because its easy for dogs and other predators to dig in, and the hardware cloth doesn't stay secured well, or at least it didn't for us (not sure how my hubby attached in though). Either way I feel like claws can get in through hardware cloth, not that they can pull out but I still wouldn't want them cutting up my ducks feet!

Here they are (aren't they cute?) I am not sure what breed they are. I found this study about ducks in Cambodia but it doesn't actually say what breeds they have here, just that "local breeds" are popular.

lina500 said:

Here they are (aren't they cute?) I am not sure what breed they are. I found this study about ducks in Cambodia but it doesn't actually say what breeds they have here, just that "local breeds" are popular.

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They actually look like Khaki Campbell brown one and either Cayuga or East indie look up those 3 breeds and see what you think. They sure are adorable so glad you rescued them from being eaten.