I opted for a chain link dog run. I added hardware cloth around the entire perimeter and put a wire roof on it. I watched Craigslist and found a used run quite cheap. The hardware cloth was more expensive than the run itself.
Hi -- new to this thread, but directed here as the place to have my soggy weather and deep litter issues answered!
I'm in the Seattle area, so our climate is temperate but very rainy most of the year. I have 6 ducks in our suburban backyard bordering a mountains to sound greenbelt. My coop and...
Off to find the state thread -- thanks for the tip.
I've heard some people say that the wood chips can lead to bumble foot in ducks, so it seemed like straw was less problematic, but honestly, at the moment, the straw is just horrible.
I'm in the Seattle area, so our climate is temperate but very rainy most of the year. I have 6 ducks in our suburban backyard bordering a mountains to sound greenbelt. My coop and run are built on a terrace on the hillside in our wooded backyard.
I want to do the deep litter method using...
Also in PNW, and trying to understand what deep litter looks like in our climate.
My 6 girls, now almost 3 months, are in a 10 x 10 dog kennel run with a tarp over half to keep rain off. I've been using straw in the run, but wood shavings in their shelter which they pretty much only use at...
It's magic. Kind of like the magic that allows ducks to eat flies, slugs, and meal worms, and produce delicious, healthy eggs.
Seriously though, one of the best online honey bee educators is Girl Nextdoor Honey. She can probably asnwer your questions about how those clever bees pull off their...
Dirty water will not hurt honey production. The bees have their process down pat, and they've been dealing with stinky duck water and the like since the beginning of time.
Does your concrete slab also have a downspout from the house? Not sure what I'm seeing in photo exactly. I sympathize with rain water management issues.
Your construction looks great!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Interesting about the gravel. I only used one bag I had sitting around, so good to know it's not an optimal choice.
I'm new to ducks, and my 6 Swedish Blue girls are about 7 weeks old. I live in suburbs of Seattle, and our yard is on the edge of the Mountains to Sound Greenbelt, very steep hill, and light shade from trees.
My girls are in a 10 x 10 x 6 chain link dog kennel, with a skirting of hardware...
I'll throw out another place to look for cheap or free supplies: if your neighborhood has a "Buy Nothing" group (ours is on Facebook), you will often find people are delighted to clear out some space in a garage when you ask for some roofing materials or random wood. It's on you to be prompt...
I think it depends on how many chickens you're planning on. I have a similar set up with 10 x 10 x 6 dog kennel for my 6 ducks, with a house inside. I'm thinking I need to switch to their enclosed house being on the outside of the run area to maximize space for them. True confession -- I got...
I have one who is noticeably smaller than the other 5 -- Saltine (Tina for short). She's always in the thick of things, the others always surround her in their fluff-snuggle piles, and she's certainly not lethargic or failing, just smaller. It's hard to tell the others apart at this stage...
I have 6 Swedish Blue ducklings, about a month old. So far, they pretty much act as a single unit, doing everything together -- kind of like a hive mind between all of them. Is it likely that they will develop a pecking order?
In my experience with chickens, we always saw a pecking order--...
I'm new to ducks and this thread. I have 6 Swedish Blue ducklings who are 3 weeks old today. Their names are Graham, Rye, Ritz, Triscuit, Matzo, and Saltine (Tina for short). Yes, they are the Quackers. Very cute, very messy, and growing fast.
I have 6 Blue Swedish ducklings in a Great Dane kennel -- about 24x36. What I'm noticing is that they mess it up enough to need complete change of bedding material within 2 days as the are getting bigger and pooping more. I'm looking forward to moving them out to their outdoor pen and run...
Since we had another nice day, I moved their whole brooder out to the deck for 10 minutes and let them get used to a different setting, fresh air, sky, breeze. Next warm day, maybe I'll let them roam the deck without trying to put them into the water. They seem to hate to be apart from each...