Building Duck Cage? Need some help here...

[Miizki]

So I am going to build a 12' long x 7' wide x 6' tall enclosure for about three muscovies. Is this enough room? The enclosure is being built around a tree (dalbergia sissoo, is it safe?) . Also what kind of floor do they need? I wanted to put a small pond, but it might just end up being a kids swimming pool filled with water. Should the rest of the floor be sand or dirt? I have grass there right now but I dont think it will stay there long with the ducks there.

 

[Miizki]

Also can it be made out of metal? I want it to be kinda like an aviary at the zoo. So can it be completely exposed (like all run and no coop) with some nesting boxes and a little house for shelter?

 

[HottentotTeal]

I am building one about the same dimensions: 14 length x 5.5 width x 7 tall

I was told mine would hold 2 pairs, but I am going to just have one for now, since this is my first pair.


I'm not sure if you have the pond yet or not, but I found an excellent oval-shaped pond at Tractor Supply for less than $40. I originally bought a pond liner at Lowes, but it was way too thin and flimsy and plus it was like $60.

The one at Tractor Supply is a rubbermaid one and it's THICK! It also has better dimensions and is shallower, which is a plus for me.

I'll edit my post with a link to my thread so you can see some of the recommendations i got on the flooring and a pic of my two liners. I took pics of both.

I currently dug out my shrubs and mulch and have just a clay bottom right now. I am going to put in a truckload of screened topsoil, which i believe should be sand, silt, and clay. I don't know the exact ratio of each, but it's probably 40/40/20 or even across the board.

If you have grass that is fine, but I saw a few posts that said it would be gone in about half a year with a pair or two ducks.


The zoo in my area has smooth/rounded pebble floors.

I have seen a few people recommend small pea gravel with sand, sand, and of course recommendations against sand and gravel.

It's a little confusing.

Mine is fairly sheltered in the spot i plant to set it up, so I am not going to do the roof i originally planned. It is well-shaded and i want what little sunlight that can penetrate it to get there.

I am going to make a little duck shed/shelter that will have 3 walls of treated plywood with a roof though for nesting, sleeping, or if they just want to go in there.

A majority of people do recommend putting smooth gravel around and under areas that will have water, like a water dish, and pond.

I bought some jade pebbles to put around my pond and then i bought some moon rock gravel.

I plan to post some pics of the gravel in my thread later this weekend, since i need to update all the supplies i bought so far.



Edit:
Here is the link to my thread with a few recommendations:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=326040


Edit 2:

Forgot to add, I had to ditch grass for mine, because sadly I just added the scott's fertilizer to my entire lawn about 3 months ago. Someone posted in another thread that Scott's recommended not transplanting, feeding, or using grass in a pet enclosure or let them graze on it for one year if it was fed with their grass fertilizer. So if your grass area was fertilized, you might want to just remove it. I had a thin strip in my area and just removed it along with a few inches of the dirt to be safe.

 

[Miizki]

Ok thank you!

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Is the tree one that they will be able to roost in it's lower branches? Scovies like roosting so plan on providing some type of roosting area. Also, if you do live in a cold winter climate area, you will have to provide a snug closed in area out of the elements for winter. Scovy are prone to frost bite on their feet and faces.

Just looked up your tree and I guess you don't have to worry about frost bite if you can grow one of those.

The tree is toxic to snail & slug eggs soooo you probably don't have a slug or snail problem.... at least around the tree... though the Scovies would have taken care of that for you if you had.

 

[BlackSilkie1]

How much room do ducks need? Like 10 sq ft per duck of 5, etc.