Sorry i've spent all summer neglected to update everyone on my duckies victor and ming mei... as some of you know, they are two of the most spoiled rotten indoor house pet ducks that have ever existed. When I lived in AL last winter, they had a nicely sized pen in my extra room, took baths in the tub, and ran around inside in diapers....
Since then I've moved back to my home state IL, and had to move in with my father while searching for a new duck friendly apartment (which is NOT easy!). MY dad, being a very clean picky person, does not allow the ducks inside, so they were banished to the garage for the summer.
Don't worry, we made the best of it! we spent all summer building new things for them... David and his duckies vinny and ollie got a new bigger pen that collapses small so he can transport it easier... And my ducks got a new outdoor duck hut/run made out of the old recycled pieces of their old pen from back in AL. I used almost every piece from the old pen, not including the bottom (it was cracked and broken).
I also made them a new en for in the garage. I made it originally thinking if it looked like a bird cage, i'd have an easier time finding a new apartment for us to live in... Hence the bars, instead of poultry netting... it looks less barnyard like this way... I also made it smaller in area, but built them a second story with a ramp to increase their square footage. Like a ducky two flat with a second story....
Here are pics of the new duck hut/run outside....
Their part of the backyard... fenced off to keep them from wandering away.
Their pool, that took them a whole month to get used to... spoiled things like the tub better-
Ming stands on the end of the pool and eats her treats because she doesn't want to get wet... the pool is "soooo beneath her"
the new duck hut (created from recycled pieces of their old pen, the hut is the old nestbox to their inside pen from AL)
We made it a door and a roof to keep water and critters out of it-
sometimes the pool goes in there, sometimes they get a bucket. it's lines with pea gravel so it doesn't get muddy
hopping out of the door, to go wander in the yard-
Digging in the rocks, their favorite game-
If you have a pet duck, you're bound to get pooped on every now and then-
The new pen fits under an old loft bed i had from college... I use the top as storage...
The top doors, gives me access to their food and water center, and also to them... they like me to pick them up from the second floor... The white bucktets under the doors are placed under a metal mesh, to allow excess food and water to spill into the buckets for easier cleaning...
The first floor under the food center, the nest box... It's dark and they like to lay their eggs down there. I made doors for this part too, easy access to collect their eggs.
the upstairs food center from the inside, you can see the metal mesh better here.
Eating dinner.
The ramp and steps to the second floor... They surprisingly got used to them and learned how to use them qucikly... they love the upstairs!
Victor on the step...
Ming Mei on the second floor...
Victor using the ramp t go up for treats...
Ming mei coming out of the nestbox, the door is under the ramp....
Duckies getting treats from one of my friends through the upstairs door...
Their toys hang from various spots throughout the pen. I try to change them every week so they don't get bored.
I clean the pen by using a powerful hand spray bottle every day. I just spray away the poop stuck to things onto the bedding. The bedding between the food and water gets changed weekly, with new pellets or shavings going on top every other day... The bottom first floor gets shoveled out monthly. The nest box gets cleaned out every 6-8 weeks since they don't poop by where they lay their eggs.
Over all, they have 28 square feet of area, with 8 of that being a coop.
The saddest part of this whole pen adventure is, they won't be using the new ducky two flat in our new home. We're renting a condo owned by a friend of mine, and it's downtown. It's a small studio condo, with one big room, a bathroom, kitchen, and a couple of closets. The ducks will be living in the huge walk in closet that is being fitted with a new duck pen to take up as much space as possible (And acoustic tiles to muffle their quacks). They will have approx. 25 sq ft in their new pen, including a second floor, and a whole condo to run around in diapers. not to mention a bath tub again. lol. I haven't decided whether or not to try to reuse parts of this new pen, sell the pen, or maybe just keep it for when we move out of the condo...
Since then I've moved back to my home state IL, and had to move in with my father while searching for a new duck friendly apartment (which is NOT easy!). MY dad, being a very clean picky person, does not allow the ducks inside, so they were banished to the garage for the summer.
Don't worry, we made the best of it! we spent all summer building new things for them... David and his duckies vinny and ollie got a new bigger pen that collapses small so he can transport it easier... And my ducks got a new outdoor duck hut/run made out of the old recycled pieces of their old pen from back in AL. I used almost every piece from the old pen, not including the bottom (it was cracked and broken).
I also made them a new en for in the garage. I made it originally thinking if it looked like a bird cage, i'd have an easier time finding a new apartment for us to live in... Hence the bars, instead of poultry netting... it looks less barnyard like this way... I also made it smaller in area, but built them a second story with a ramp to increase their square footage. Like a ducky two flat with a second story....
Here are pics of the new duck hut/run outside....
Their part of the backyard... fenced off to keep them from wandering away.
Their pool, that took them a whole month to get used to... spoiled things like the tub better-
Ming stands on the end of the pool and eats her treats because she doesn't want to get wet... the pool is "soooo beneath her"
the new duck hut (created from recycled pieces of their old pen, the hut is the old nestbox to their inside pen from AL)
We made it a door and a roof to keep water and critters out of it-
sometimes the pool goes in there, sometimes they get a bucket. it's lines with pea gravel so it doesn't get muddy
hopping out of the door, to go wander in the yard-
Digging in the rocks, their favorite game-
If you have a pet duck, you're bound to get pooped on every now and then-
The new pen fits under an old loft bed i had from college... I use the top as storage...
The top doors, gives me access to their food and water center, and also to them... they like me to pick them up from the second floor... The white bucktets under the doors are placed under a metal mesh, to allow excess food and water to spill into the buckets for easier cleaning...
The first floor under the food center, the nest box... It's dark and they like to lay their eggs down there. I made doors for this part too, easy access to collect their eggs.
the upstairs food center from the inside, you can see the metal mesh better here.
Eating dinner.
The ramp and steps to the second floor... They surprisingly got used to them and learned how to use them qucikly... they love the upstairs!
Victor on the step...
Ming Mei on the second floor...
Victor using the ramp t go up for treats...
Ming mei coming out of the nestbox, the door is under the ramp....
Duckies getting treats from one of my friends through the upstairs door...
Their toys hang from various spots throughout the pen. I try to change them every week so they don't get bored.
I clean the pen by using a powerful hand spray bottle every day. I just spray away the poop stuck to things onto the bedding. The bedding between the food and water gets changed weekly, with new pellets or shavings going on top every other day... The bottom first floor gets shoveled out monthly. The nest box gets cleaned out every 6-8 weeks since they don't poop by where they lay their eggs.
Over all, they have 28 square feet of area, with 8 of that being a coop.
The saddest part of this whole pen adventure is, they won't be using the new ducky two flat in our new home. We're renting a condo owned by a friend of mine, and it's downtown. It's a small studio condo, with one big room, a bathroom, kitchen, and a couple of closets. The ducks will be living in the huge walk in closet that is being fitted with a new duck pen to take up as much space as possible (And acoustic tiles to muffle their quacks). They will have approx. 25 sq ft in their new pen, including a second floor, and a whole condo to run around in diapers. not to mention a bath tub again. lol. I haven't decided whether or not to try to reuse parts of this new pen, sell the pen, or maybe just keep it for when we move out of the condo...
