Smooth Sailing... so far.
Well... I've acquired most of what I need for the ducks and their future. Most everything is upcycled or donated. I bought 25 pallets for $100 which were chemical free and heat treated (HT stamped). 19 pallets will make up the fenced enclosure, 5 pallets will be for the duck house and 1 pallet will be the pond raft. We did a project 2 years ago tearing down an enclosed brick wall area at the front of our house which we saved the iron gate from. We will use that as the entrance to our duck yard. (Pics 1&2)
Since we wanted a picket fence look, we cut the fence pallets down to a 36" height, reserving a lip behind the pickets to put planter boxes. For the duck house, we cut 2 pallets horizontally with a 8" drop for a roof pitch to run rain off of, one straight across to match the height of the back of the house, reserving the last one for the floor of the house. We're using the scrap from the tops of 2 fence pallets to put at the front to hang doors from eventually. From the other scrap we broke down the pallets to "shaker" sized scraps which we will use as siding on the duck house. We will buy 4x8x1/2 plywood to put on the rook under the galvanized metal and as a subfloor on top of the floor pallet. (Pics 3&4)
Fun fact: Do you know why a floor is recommended for a duck house? Not because of climate or drainage as you'd think, but to keep predators from burrowing under the sides of the house! The things I'm learning through research!!
Our brooding setup is almost complete. The kiddie pool and play yard fit like a hand-in-glove! I lined the pool with pine shavings using flaked not fine to prevent the duckling from inhaling/swallowing small particles. Having only 1 heat lamps for potentially 22 ducklings, I added a desk lamp with a 75 Watt bulb for additional heat. I made sure they are near each other so the ducks can escape the heat when they need to by going to the other side of the pool. I used a wallpaper paste tray creating a mesh top as a catch-all for water. I read ducklings dribble a lot of water as they drink and it will make bedding quite messy if something wasn't used under the watering dish. Now all I need is a dish for their starter food. (Pic 5)
Today the plan is to finish cleaning up the trampoline area, haul everything down to it, and start assembling. (Pic 6) We had old raised garden boxes which we will utilize as posts to support the fence and as corners of the duck house. We bought teak oil to stain the pallets which we will do later this week when the forecast allows it. If things continue to go smoothly, we should have ducklings starting to hatch in the next few days!
Since we wanted a picket fence look, we cut the fence pallets down to a 36" height, reserving a lip behind the pickets to put planter boxes. For the duck house, we cut 2 pallets horizontally with a 8" drop for a roof pitch to run rain off of, one straight across to match the height of the back of the house, reserving the last one for the floor of the house. We're using the scrap from the tops of 2 fence pallets to put at the front to hang doors from eventually. From the other scrap we broke down the pallets to "shaker" sized scraps which we will use as siding on the duck house. We will buy 4x8x1/2 plywood to put on the rook under the galvanized metal and as a subfloor on top of the floor pallet. (Pics 3&4)
Fun fact: Do you know why a floor is recommended for a duck house? Not because of climate or drainage as you'd think, but to keep predators from burrowing under the sides of the house! The things I'm learning through research!!
Our brooding setup is almost complete. The kiddie pool and play yard fit like a hand-in-glove! I lined the pool with pine shavings using flaked not fine to prevent the duckling from inhaling/swallowing small particles. Having only 1 heat lamps for potentially 22 ducklings, I added a desk lamp with a 75 Watt bulb for additional heat. I made sure they are near each other so the ducks can escape the heat when they need to by going to the other side of the pool. I used a wallpaper paste tray creating a mesh top as a catch-all for water. I read ducklings dribble a lot of water as they drink and it will make bedding quite messy if something wasn't used under the watering dish. Now all I need is a dish for their starter food. (Pic 5)
Today the plan is to finish cleaning up the trampoline area, haul everything down to it, and start assembling. (Pic 6) We had old raised garden boxes which we will utilize as posts to support the fence and as corners of the duck house. We bought teak oil to stain the pallets which we will do later this week when the forecast allows it. If things continue to go smoothly, we should have ducklings starting to hatch in the next few days!
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