tempduckfiend
Hatching
- Jul 7, 2023
- 2
- 2
- 2
Hi interested in owning ducks for a first time and need advice.
First full disclaimer, I have no intention of getting this done immediately. I have more than a month at least before I start these plans upon which I’ll be thinking more on whether I really want ducks, as per the wiki’s advice. I need to get a part time job, then get the materials for the coop, brooder, possibly architect, before acting on this, so around a month of time at least, likely more, if anyones willing to answer questions until then and maybe afterwards please let me know.
So I need advice on a duck coop. Link will be provided. I live in zone 8, I've got some plans for the duck coop involving insulation, ventilation, and shelter from the rain, can anyone provide more tips regarding my hopeful duck coop regarding that? I have some uncles in carpentry but I need to know if it's worth building or if it'll hold up before taking it to them.
I’ll show the overall sketches for my backyard: I want to start with a ‘season 0’ for the first year. The fenced area in the lower right corner where season 1 is written is where I want to put a water tub for around 2-4 ducks before I can speak to landscapers to build a pond.
So I want to put this tub in
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tarter-44-...U03Y8P05DyJcKIlbOFsaAnoaEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
And I want to know whether other duck owners see this as safe or ok for a few (2-4) ducks until I can pool the money together for a pond, and if so, how many ducks you think would be recommended for this. I've heard 10 square feet per appleyard, I don't know how or if that applies to the coop in the winter, or the pond (whenever I get a pond). I know it will need to be cleaned out quite often, eventually I want to upgrade to a pond with a filtration system like the one in this video:
If anyone happens to know enough about landscaping to give some kind of estimate with that minimal amount of information that would be cool too.
So, I’m wondering if the tub will be sufficient for a season 0 where I could learn with a few ducks, then in a year or so I could save up for the pond, then you can see for season 2 and 3 I want to expand the pond, I don’t know how that will be taken into account when building the pond in season 1 or if it’ll accentuate build costs.
Then, the other two pictures are of the duck coop I want to build: I want to build it in a corner off of the house where we currently have a small garden: I’m thinking, we build this duckhouse there and they can be let out into the yard every day, but because we live in Washington state I want to be sure the coop is safe for them in the winter, so between insulation, ventilation, and shelter from the rain, I tried to fit the coop into some kind of A frame shape I found online, with the insulation and ventilation tacked onto that. I don’t even know if it would actually hold up without collapsing so I might need to take it to an architect to see if they can fix anything. I also want that extension to the house listed in season 4 to be done by an architect if we’re already seeing them for the duck coop. If anyone has any advice on anything so far please let me know. It might be difficult to determine, if anyone can find guess how many ducks this could accommodate before or after I get measurements on everything let me know.
Now, this part might be a little more tricky. Instead of getting a duck run to protect against predators in a relatively calm suburban environment (we mostly see deer, but we'd be keeping them out with fencing already), I want to get a dog to protect my ducks. I've heard negative stories about dogs and ducks but I don't know enough, so my question is whether you think it's possible? I'd be getting a Doberman to mostly keep eagles and raccoons away but potentially a bobcat or two. Does anyone have any advice on this, because even with raising the doberman with the ducks as a pup I'm still concerned as to the viability of this. Might get a goose or two to start out before getting a Doberman, but if I raise him with the geese/ducks could it be alright?
Next, can anyone tell me more about silver appleyards? I have a half acre, how many could I keep that might be at a reasonable noise level to not bother my neighbors too much? Is there anything I can hear about them before I decide to get some that might not be available online or in books? Any good stories or something maybe? Anything about ducks in general I should keep track of as a new duck owner?
Lastly, I am considering planting maple and crabapple trees. Does anyone know if the leaves and fruit might be poisonous to ducks? Would I be able to plant them and have the crabapple to serve as a source of nutrition for them? Would this work with a pond nearby with a skimmer?
More measurements on all the plans should be available soon. Currently reading Storey's guide to raising ducks.
First full disclaimer, I have no intention of getting this done immediately. I have more than a month at least before I start these plans upon which I’ll be thinking more on whether I really want ducks, as per the wiki’s advice. I need to get a part time job, then get the materials for the coop, brooder, possibly architect, before acting on this, so around a month of time at least, likely more, if anyones willing to answer questions until then and maybe afterwards please let me know.
So I need advice on a duck coop. Link will be provided. I live in zone 8, I've got some plans for the duck coop involving insulation, ventilation, and shelter from the rain, can anyone provide more tips regarding my hopeful duck coop regarding that? I have some uncles in carpentry but I need to know if it's worth building or if it'll hold up before taking it to them.
I’ll show the overall sketches for my backyard: I want to start with a ‘season 0’ for the first year. The fenced area in the lower right corner where season 1 is written is where I want to put a water tub for around 2-4 ducks before I can speak to landscapers to build a pond.
So I want to put this tub in
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tarter-44-...U03Y8P05DyJcKIlbOFsaAnoaEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
And I want to know whether other duck owners see this as safe or ok for a few (2-4) ducks until I can pool the money together for a pond, and if so, how many ducks you think would be recommended for this. I've heard 10 square feet per appleyard, I don't know how or if that applies to the coop in the winter, or the pond (whenever I get a pond). I know it will need to be cleaned out quite often, eventually I want to upgrade to a pond with a filtration system like the one in this video:
If anyone happens to know enough about landscaping to give some kind of estimate with that minimal amount of information that would be cool too.
So, I’m wondering if the tub will be sufficient for a season 0 where I could learn with a few ducks, then in a year or so I could save up for the pond, then you can see for season 2 and 3 I want to expand the pond, I don’t know how that will be taken into account when building the pond in season 1 or if it’ll accentuate build costs.
Then, the other two pictures are of the duck coop I want to build: I want to build it in a corner off of the house where we currently have a small garden: I’m thinking, we build this duckhouse there and they can be let out into the yard every day, but because we live in Washington state I want to be sure the coop is safe for them in the winter, so between insulation, ventilation, and shelter from the rain, I tried to fit the coop into some kind of A frame shape I found online, with the insulation and ventilation tacked onto that. I don’t even know if it would actually hold up without collapsing so I might need to take it to an architect to see if they can fix anything. I also want that extension to the house listed in season 4 to be done by an architect if we’re already seeing them for the duck coop. If anyone has any advice on anything so far please let me know. It might be difficult to determine, if anyone can find guess how many ducks this could accommodate before or after I get measurements on everything let me know.
Now, this part might be a little more tricky. Instead of getting a duck run to protect against predators in a relatively calm suburban environment (we mostly see deer, but we'd be keeping them out with fencing already), I want to get a dog to protect my ducks. I've heard negative stories about dogs and ducks but I don't know enough, so my question is whether you think it's possible? I'd be getting a Doberman to mostly keep eagles and raccoons away but potentially a bobcat or two. Does anyone have any advice on this, because even with raising the doberman with the ducks as a pup I'm still concerned as to the viability of this. Might get a goose or two to start out before getting a Doberman, but if I raise him with the geese/ducks could it be alright?
Next, can anyone tell me more about silver appleyards? I have a half acre, how many could I keep that might be at a reasonable noise level to not bother my neighbors too much? Is there anything I can hear about them before I decide to get some that might not be available online or in books? Any good stories or something maybe? Anything about ducks in general I should keep track of as a new duck owner?
Lastly, I am considering planting maple and crabapple trees. Does anyone know if the leaves and fruit might be poisonous to ducks? Would I be able to plant them and have the crabapple to serve as a source of nutrition for them? Would this work with a pond nearby with a skimmer?
More measurements on all the plans should be available soon. Currently reading Storey's guide to raising ducks.
