Flooring for duck pen

[RJKnott]

I have a Muscovy that feels all plant life is an abomination and destroys it. I tried growing Tracts of grass and planting the grown grass in the pen. Gone within an hour. Tried growing some lemon grass plants. Full grown lemon grass. 4+ feet tall… she digs it up by the roots and knocks it over and stomps on it.

Like… I want to ask what plant hurt her. The other ducks will eat grass. But she seeks to destroy any plant

As a result my pen became a dirt/mud pit
Been using straw as a flooring but my pen is about 1000 sq feet so keeping straw relatively fresh is expensive.
I’d like to have some green in there too but my Muscovy Opal won’t allow it

I tried some pea gravel but when it rains the ground is so soft that it basically gets stomped into the mud by the ducks.

Heard people use pine shavings but most of my ducks are rescues and their feet have almost all had bumble foot. So want something soft on the feet and Not likely to get splinters.

Any thoughts to a relatively inexpensive straw alternative?

Here is Opal (all white) destroying the last remnant of lemon grass

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have a Muscovy that feels all plant life is an abomination and destroys it. I tried growing Tracts of grass and planting the grown grass in the pen. Gone within an hour. Tried growing some lemon grass plants. Full grown lemon grass. 4+ feet tall… she digs it up by the roots and knocks it over and stomps on it.

Like… I want to ask what plant hurt her. The other ducks will eat grass. But she seeks to destroy any plant

As a result my pen became a dirt/mud pit
Been using straw as a flooring but my pen is about 1000 sq feet so keeping straw relatively fresh is expensive.
I’d like to have some green in there too but my Muscovy Opal won’t allow it

I tried some pea gravel but when it rains the ground is so soft that it basically gets stomped into the mud by the ducks.

Heard people use pine shavings but most of my ducks are rescues and their feet have almost all had bumble foot. So want something soft on the feet and Not likely to get splinters.

Any thoughts to a relatively inexpensive straw alternative?

Here is Opal (all white) destroying the last remnant of lemon grass
View attachment 3411982

Oh they are mud loving little monsters aren't they?

The main fix here won't be plants, because whatever plant is there, the ducks will create too much water mess for it to drink up. And thus, you will end up with muddy grass soup (which I'm sure she enjoyed very much!)

Two things can help, that I know of:
1. Covering the pen to prevent rain. (Or at least covering part of it to keep some areas dry)
2. I would rake out this area and level the soil again- then you could use a gravel to allow good drainage around their water source. You'll want to cover this with something soft, to protect their feet. Like pine shavings, or another bedding material. The only issue is, this will be a pain to clean up and expensive to keep replacing.
Pine shavings should be pretty soft for their feet, certainly softer than a gravel floor

Some folks use sand, I think, or sand mixed with soil. I'm not sure how well this works with ducks, but I'm sure the others will hop in to share their thoughts!
I'm kind of having the same thinking process, I did a lot of work on my pen last year, but it needs a redo this spring. I'll need to replace the tarpaulins, raise my coop a bit more, and change my ground to allow better drainage.

 

[KrisCVT]

I would scrape the mud, put down a small layer of stone, and cover with 2-3 inches of all-purpose sand. It's the only thing that I can keep somewhat clean/dry/soft for my ducks. I rake it daily- sometimes multiple times a day. I add new bags of sand when needed. When it's winter and the wet sand freezes- I keep a bucket of it mixed with a little sweet PDZ- and then can add a scoop where needed (on top of icy/hard areas, etc) Having a roof helps A TON. But the sand is fantastic, soft on their feet, cheap, and easy to maintain.