I'm sick of cleanin duck house daily. What do you do?

[T Hi]

Quote:
ChickenToes, what is this DE that you speak of and where can we find it? I definitely love that idea...

Maralynn28--- I know it is a bit of a drive but some of the feed stores here in Kent and Enumclaw have DE. Ask around at some of your local feed stores! I'm not sure if Del's carries it or not but worth checking!

 

[WadeMD]

It is also used in some filtration setups - so pool stores will likely carry it. Diatomaceous earth is the silica shells of diatoms basically.

 

[nettie]

Instead of DE I use a product called "Sweet PDZ" (also known as "Stall Dry") to freshen up my duck pen. Cleaning duck pens is a big deal since my ducks live in the third bedroom of my town house. Keeping smells at bay is a daily ritual, but it's mostly upkeep, rather than shoveling. (also this is for adult ducks, but at 5 weeks, they are close)

Every 4 weeks or so, I completely change the bedding, (which is horse stall wood pellets, like Equine Pine). After I place a thin layer of wood pellets down, I use a big cup to sprinkle the PDZ over the pellets. If I am running low on pellets, I will spritz the pellets with water, which makes them expand a little, before i put on the PDZ.

Everyday I check the room when I go to visit them and play with them. I have a fan in there to keep the air moving. I set up a cheap air purifier (one that uses a charcoal filter) which helps suck up smells. I check the pen over and replace area's bedding where needed. They tend to hang out in certain spots, so I scoop those areas out more often. If the bedding looks okay, I'll just sprinkle some more PDZ, and/or put down more pellets. Sometimes it helps to fluff up the bedding too. If I see any big poops or a collection of poop, I scoop it out (kind of like cat litter). If I can't get to the poopy area without getting completely covered or without having to shovel everything out, I sprinkle more PDZ to cover the poop. IF poop is dry, it doesn't smell. The PDZ comes in granules or powder, I use the granules (not as much dust, but it's still very dusty). By spot cleaning, I save on bedding and time cleaning. I typically do this when the ducks are not in their pen (like when they go outside or to the tub) since it is dusty, and my mini shovel tends to freak them out royally.

I'll also buy baking soda, the kind meant for the freezer or fridge, open up the sides like you are supposed to on the package, and place them around the room where the ducks can't get to them. The baking soda helps suck up bas smells as well. I out out 2-3 new ones each month, and every 2-3 months I throw away the oldest ones. I'll also use an odor killer air freshener called "Odor Killer" by "Renuizit." It doesn't have a smell, but seems to keep the air fresher.

I plan on writing this down and maybe even documenting it with photos for my website, once out new pen is done.... We're waiting for a reply from yet another contractor as to whether or not he will build our new duck pen. Right now they are living in a series of smaller pens I have connected together (using my McGyver skills, lol)... Their new pen will be much easier to clean/keep clean. I can't wait for that... I even designed a "chimney" that pipes the fresh air coming in from the vents directly in the pen.

Oh wanted to add- My ducks get food and water all the time... I keep their food and water on a metal mesh floor, with pans underneath to catch drippings. I put bedding and PDZ into the pans to help absorb whatever falls in there. I clean the pans out (by dumping into the garbage, and wiping down with peroxide or bleach water) once a week. This helps cut down mess and smells GREATLY. If you can work a metal mesh into your design (even if just for the food and water) so you can put pans underneath, it's worth it! My food and water area are on a second "floor" so I can access the pans easier. The ducks walk up a ramp to get to the food.

 

[mellowknees]

For my ducklings, I use pine shavings from my local feed store. They have a particular type that is very, very finely chopped (it's almost like sawdust rather than wood curls). Because it's so fine, it's really absorbant. I wear heavy rubber gloves and "scoop" through the shavings and pick up anything solid. Then I remove any wet shavings around the waterer. When done, I top off the shavings again. Ducks are messy little boogers! And, yep, I do it every day.

My adult ducks are a different story, though - they currently have an old coop that was on our property when we moved in. It's really poorly designed and nearly impossible to clean out effectively, so they get a thick layer of clean hay on the floor every Sunday. Eventually I want to replace it with a nicer building that has a concrete floor so I could hose it out at least every couple of weeks, but for now, they just have to make do with dry hay. It's not perfect, but it works pretty well, and with a thick enough layer, it stays pretty dry all week unless we have a lot of rain.

I lock my ducks in their house at night after having lost a few of them because they would get frightened by something (raccoons or coyotes probably), and then they would all run into one corner of their yard and trample each other. I lost 4 females that way. After the 4th time, I started locking them up at night and it hasn't happened since.

I think it depends on the number of ducks you have, how easily spooked they are, and what kinds of predators you have in your area as to whether you need to coop them at night or not. I used to have a smaller group of only 4 ducks, and I never had to lock them up - there weren't enough of them to damage each other. Now that I have FIFTEEN it's a concern.

 

[Jody]

Well, I solved the wet problem.. I took my skilsaw and cut a square hole in the side of their house, laid down a pallet and fenced it up and put a roof on it and now their water goes in that instead of inside.. Bonus side to this now is that not only is pen cleaner and drier, but the straw on pallet dries up during the day since it gets more air than that of the inside and water goes through pallet to the ground, and now I no longer have to chase and catch them to put them away at night cause since I've done this, they're already in their pen when it's time to be inside. I began using the heat lamp again the past couple days since it's gotten to be 30s something at night again.

 

[Jody]

Oops.. double posted.. sorry

 

[lorihadams]

Our duck house is on the ground (no floor) and we use shavings, the finer the better, and withhold food and water at night. We only sprinkle the top with fresh shavings once or twice a week and then lift the house up and completely remove everything 2 or 3 times a year. They lay in there too and will burrow down and make a nest in the corner to lay in.

 

[Parrotchick]

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I have read that you need to use "Food Grade" DE, not the suff used for pools. Can anyone recommend a place that ships it for a reasonable price? I have not been able to find it locally.

 

[Maddiesmom]

After reading some of the posts, I am excited. My ducks are about 1 1/2 years old. I have five Pekin/Mallard hybrids. Two males, three females. I have a raised pen that they go into at night (they line up on the ramp at dusk ready to go inside!!) and I let them out first thing in the morning. I have always left food and water inside their pen, but not in their sleeping area. Currently we have the inside of the pen lined with wheat straw and we have to clean it out about twice a week. For those who have replied to this question and are knowledgeable, you are saying we can put them in at night without food and water???? That would save on the constant cleaning and cost for straw and food!! The ducks are huge! I dont' know if it's because they are spoiled rotten (since we give them food and water all night long!) or just the combination of the hybrid. They swim in our pond and forge all day and only get the feed and water at night. Any suggestions? Would it be ok to have them go without food and water at night and just leave their feed out during the day when they forge?
Thanks for any response!

 

[JulieJo1216]

Well I to I'm getting frustrated having to clean this 4' x 3' Duck house raise off the ground, it's inside a enclosed pen. The floor is wood slats. I lay two large garbage bags down then two large rubber shelving mats, so they don't slip and then straw. When I clean which is every other day it's totally poopy and I only have two magpie ducks. I roll it all up dump the straw in a wheel barrel and rinse off the garbage bags and the rubber mats and hang to dry. I have a second set of bags and rubber mats to change out. I rinse the floor out with a hose cause they do get poop on the sides of the inside of the house. I can not picture doing this in the winter! There's has to be a easier way! Any good idea's anybody???