Hens go broody when you don’t want them to… and won’t go broody when you do. UPDATE BELOW (2026)
So, this story starts with my neighbors wanting to get rid of an old dilapidated boat. She just wanted it out of their yard. It had a good motor and trailer (which my dear darling hubby was happy to take off their hands) and the boat floated the last time they checked, but that was about the extent of the usability of the boat itself.... Until my hubby jokingly said "we can bury it and let the ducks swim in it!" This comment quickly evolved into a how-to discussion and the wheels started turning.
If it floats, then it should hold water, right? If we bury it down to the rim, the ducks could hop right in. But how do we drain to clean it? Boats already have drain holes, so he decided to cut the main drain larger and insert a valve, and add some drainage pipe. Then, knowing how messy ducks can be with making mud and holes, etc, we decided to add river gravel all the way around, to save from so much dirt getting inside the boat.
Well heck, I could go on and on about it, but pictures tell the story better than I can, so here are a few progress pics and the end result. It took my dozen Call ducks a couple days to actually get in, but now they absolutely love it!
Editing to add pics of the trees we used to support the overhead netting.
I couldn't carry the crossbeam, so we put one end on the 4-wheeler, I drove, hubby walked balancing it on his shoulder --- and while taking a picture... lol
The uprights on each end are also trees, he cut "L" shaped notches in each, and the crossbeam, so they fit together. Dug 2-foot deep holes and set the uprights, then hoisted the crossbeam with a man-lift, using the jib and a chain. He secured it by driving stakes through each end, into the uprights, and added some strapping to further secure it.
Adding more pics of the bucket protecting the gate valve.
2026 UPDATE
I should have updated this long ago. Sadly the boat didn't last forever. The floor panel deteriorated being constantly under water, so cleaning became impossible. All the muck and mud got under the breaks in the floor, and I was unable to clean it out.
So a few years ago we came up with another idea. A 300 gallon stock tank. This tank has been working great since installation. I routed the downspouts from my building to dump into the pool, so when I know a big rain is coming, I drain the pool, hose it out, and let the rain refill as much as possible.
Had to remove the fence and drag the boat out. Then re-shape the hole to fit the tank.
Added concrete and a drain in the bottom and utilized the original drainage plan. The concrete is slightly sloped to help with the drainage. More concrete was added after this pic, to bring it up to the level of the bottom of the drain.
So, this story starts with my neighbors wanting to get rid of an old dilapidated boat. She just wanted it out of their yard. It had a good motor and trailer (which my dear darling hubby was happy to take off their hands) and the boat floated the last time they checked, but that was about the extent of the usability of the boat itself.... Until my hubby jokingly said "we can bury it and let the ducks swim in it!" This comment quickly evolved into a how-to discussion and the wheels started turning.
If it floats, then it should hold water, right? If we bury it down to the rim, the ducks could hop right in. But how do we drain to clean it? Boats already have drain holes, so he decided to cut the main drain larger and insert a valve, and add some drainage pipe. Then, knowing how messy ducks can be with making mud and holes, etc, we decided to add river gravel all the way around, to save from so much dirt getting inside the boat.
Well heck, I could go on and on about it, but pictures tell the story better than I can, so here are a few progress pics and the end result. It took my dozen Call ducks a couple days to actually get in, but now they absolutely love it!
Editing to add pics of the trees we used to support the overhead netting.
I couldn't carry the crossbeam, so we put one end on the 4-wheeler, I drove, hubby walked balancing it on his shoulder --- and while taking a picture... lol
The uprights on each end are also trees, he cut "L" shaped notches in each, and the crossbeam, so they fit together. Dug 2-foot deep holes and set the uprights, then hoisted the crossbeam with a man-lift, using the jib and a chain. He secured it by driving stakes through each end, into the uprights, and added some strapping to further secure it.
Adding more pics of the bucket protecting the gate valve.
2026 UPDATE
I should have updated this long ago. Sadly the boat didn't last forever. The floor panel deteriorated being constantly under water, so cleaning became impossible. All the muck and mud got under the breaks in the floor, and I was unable to clean it out.
So a few years ago we came up with another idea. A 300 gallon stock tank. This tank has been working great since installation. I routed the downspouts from my building to dump into the pool, so when I know a big rain is coming, I drain the pool, hose it out, and let the rain refill as much as possible.
Had to remove the fence and drag the boat out. Then re-shape the hole to fit the tank.
Added concrete and a drain in the bottom and utilized the original drainage plan. The concrete is slightly sloped to help with the drainage. More concrete was added after this pic, to bring it up to the level of the bottom of the drain.
