Pekin Duck Club!

[farmgirl360]

We

We use plastic storage totes. You just cut a hole in one end for the ducks to come in and out of. Our ducks are all free range as well.
I'll post some pictures of our nest boxes..

thanks I would like to keep my ducks free but just don't know about the neighbors dogs as I had a bad experience with chickens and turkey but I have a door on the fence so I think I will let them lose I will send you pics to later

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

does anybody know how to make a nesting box for ducks because there house is a big dog house that I cant really get them and they get dirty

and does anybody have free range ducks

Here is our setup:

Indoors - our Saxony hen on her clutch in a storage tote nest box

Outdoors - additional storage tote nest boxes. Our Khaki Campbells use them daily when they lay, and some of the other ducks use them as shelter when they don't feel like using the run in shed.

The totes are cheap and easy to clean. We picked ours up for around $7 a piece.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Sure

I'm in Staten Island. Can I see pictures of your land and ducks?!

Sure thing! I'll grab some outdoor shots for you! It's pretty snowy at the moment, but you can at least get the lay of the land!

 

[farmgirl360]

Here is our setup:

Indoors - our Saxony hen on her clutch in a storage tote nest box


Outdoors - additional storage tote nest boxes. Our Khaki Campbells use them daily when they lay, and some of the other ducks use them as shelter when they don't feel like using the run in shed.


The totes are cheap and easy to clean. We picked ours up for around $7 a piece.

thanks great Ideal never thought of that!!

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

thanks I would like to keep my ducks free but just don't know about the neighbors dogs as I had a bad experience with chickens and turkey  but I have a door on the fence so I think I will let them lose I will send you pics  to later

We have a vague (40 year old) perimeter fence around the property to keep out the predators - in a lot of places it is long gone. We had a problem with dogs this past fall, so I bought a couple of aggressive geese that alert us to anything that comes by. They also keep out the skunks, which have been a problem for us in the past as well.
The only problem I have found with free range is that new birds can and will wander off. I chased a pair of geese around a neighbor's pond for a month, and my Muscovy hens led my husband and I on a wild romp all over the neighborhood when I first released them. Most of my birds stick close to home, but every once in a while we get a runner. I think they are a lot happier when they can come and go as they please though, so if I have to chase one or two every once in a while I'm OK with it.

 

[farmgirl360]

We have a vague (40 year old) perimeter fence around the property to keep out the predators - in a lot of places it is long gone. We had a problem with dogs this past fall, so I bought a couple of aggressive geese that alert us to anything that comes by. They also keep out the skunks, which have been a problem for us in the past as well.
The only problem I have found with free range is that new birds can and will wander off. I chased a pair of geese around a neighbor's pond for a month, and my Muscovy hens led my husband and I on a wild romp all over the neighborhood when I first released them. Most of my birds stick close to home, but every once in a while we get a runner. I think they are a lot happier when they can come and go as they please though, so if I have to chase one or two every once in a while I'm OK with it.

I agree I had to chase my turkeys everywhere but the never did get In the neighbors or the hwy which was good and when I was little we had free range pekins and they stayed close to the barn and wander around the yard a little but not bad

 

[farmgirl360]

does anybody know if pekins are known to lay and sit on the eggs

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

does anybody know if pekins are known to lay and sit on the eggs

Very rarely. They usually just lay wherever they please, and seldom go broody. There are exceptions, but most have no interest in spending a month sitting on a nest looking bored waiting for their ducklings to arrive.

 

[PoultryBird12]

Here is our setup:

Indoors - our Saxony hen on her clutch in a storage tote nest box


Outdoors - additional storage tote nest boxes. Our Khaki Campbells use them daily when they lay, and some of the other ducks use them as shelter when they don't feel like using the run in shed.


The totes are cheap and easy to clean. We picked ours up for around $7 a piece.

Hey, those look cool! Where did you get those? I've been needing some nesting boxes for my Pekins!

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Hey, those look cool! Where did you get those? I've been needing some nesting boxes for my Pekins! 

We bought the storage boxes at WalMart. We picked the size that was just a little bigger than our pekin girls. They were really cheap right after the holidays, but are still only about $7 regularly. I use a utility knife to cut the holes in the totes, but my daughter uses a small coping saw to do it. They cut really easily! The ducks love them. My saxony laid her clutch within a few days of me giving her the box (she had been stealing towels and hiding them under a chair), one of my geese keeps trying to squeeze in one, so I'm going to have to buy a bigger tote for her! They prefer them over their run in shed, despite it being warmer and farther away from human activity - which really surprised me!