Duck housing.

[LizGio]

Researching housing for ducks. What are some mandatory guidelines you'd suggest. Any ideas, pictures or websites would be great! Thanks.

 

[Jenbirdee]

big enough that you can walk in
ventilation!! at least 1 sq ft ventilation per bird
if a ramp is needed it must be extra wide and extra sturdy and not steep
shaded area
1/2 inch hardware cloth over all openings
hardware cloth skirt attached to bottom going 1 ft deep and then 2 feet out
(edit to add) more than one lock on every door .. different kinds
Paint the floor and 2 feet up walls or use flooring like vinyl
the house itself needs to be up off the ground but not too high just enough for airflow. the hardware cloth skirt prevents ducks from going underneath.

 

[Quatie]

You want 4 sqft per duck at least. More is always better. Ducks don't need roosts or nesting boxes. They will lay where they please. Avoid ramps if you can. Ducks can learn to use them, but they prefer not to.

Lots of ventilation for ducks. Their poop is wetter and they are overall keep the coop wetter, so the more ventilation you have will keep them dry.

I would also recommend against storing any food and water in their coop. It is just a recipe for disaster with ducks.

 

[amanda_rimo]

my duck's coop actually has a nesting box, and she loves to climb up in it and sleep there at night. our coop is also slightly elevated, so the door to the coop is used as the ramp for her to get in and out and she uses the ramp with no problem since we introduced it to her. there is a run attached to the coop, so we use a tarp currently to add some shade to the run and also if it rains to help keep some rain out of the run area. we also always have the coop open if she decides she wants to get out of the rain or sun. we never put her food and water in the coop as it would be a disaster and the coop would be soaked!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Ground floor only, ducks do not like ramps. Also make sure it is easy to herd them in at night. I live in the south (TN), my winters are not that cold. So, my coop is 2/3s 1/2 inch hardware cloth and 1/3 wooden house portion. That way, they can choose in or out. I have nesting tubs in the back of my house portion and food and water on the mesh side. I have hardware cloth buried a foot down to stop rats and predators. In the winter (before the polar vortex), I covered the mesh with heavy plastic.

The little “house” on the right side is a movable tractor to help ducklings assimilate.

 

[User105877]

What types of ducks are we talking?

 

[thehealingdandelion]

What types of ducks are we talking?

I have 3 Indian Runners, 1 White Campbell, and two Rouens

 

[User105877]

I've had Indian runners and Rouen before. Unless you're building a coop for security reasons, they don't really need much. Our stayed in the pond year-round they had the option to go into the goat shed which they would occasionally do to clean up spilled feed. Even when the pond was frozen over they stayed outside 90% of the time