CLEANING THE DUCK HOUSE?

[BackyardAnita]

My ducks are making a huge mess in the duck house!
We're going to put a fence around and above our backyard pond and they would hang out in the pond during the day and then we would put them back in the duck house at night. Is this a good idea? Or will they make the whole pond really dirty and stinky? My pond has dirt under it so would their poop just compose into the soil?
Also, any suggestions on how to keep my duck house clean?

 

[mnferalkitty]

How many ducks do you have? Ducks will spoil a small pond it will get nasty real quick. lots of bedding in thier house will help then you can just rake it out

 

[Kaitie09]

Also, don't keep their waterer in the house. They will just get it all over the floor.

 

[BackyardAnita]

How many ducks do you have? Ducks will spoil a small pond it will get nasty real quick. lots of bedding in thier house will help then you can just rake it out

I have 4 ducks

 

[blondiebee181]

So you have a natural style pond with a dirt bottom? How big? Any way to drain it? I use a small kiddie pool for my two in the offseason and that thing needs to be dumped every 3-4 days because it gets pretty dirty with poo and smelly. The water is great for your garden though if you can reserve it.
What is your duck house like? I agree with above posts. DO NOT give them access to water in their house, if you put them in at night, they will make it through the night fine even until 8:30am without water. That's how I do with my 2 girls. They go in the duckhouse at about 6pm and don't come back out until 8 or so. What bedding do you use? I use straw deep litter. In Boise it is very dry so this works well. Put a 2 inch layer of straw down and after a couple days give it a good stir and shake a little new straw over the top. Repeat this process for several months. I have only had to clean out the house 2 times a year. This is true for most folks, but it depends on what kind of space you are keeping 4 on. My duck house is about 8 or so sq. feet and agian I only have 2. Hope that helps

 

[lilchick]

I have call ducks. They have a playhouse coop and inground plastic pond. I use grass/alfalfa hay for their bedding which they love. First thing they do is dig thru for flakes of tasty alfalfa leaves and grasses. They love snuggling down in it especially during the cold months. I add a flake weekly or whenever it looks wet and clean out every few months.
Their pond is 115 gallon with a horse trough heater. I use a sub pump to clean it out whenever it gets gross. The calls love fresh water and whenever I clean it they dive and dance across it. Play fighting and even getting in the mood to mate! The sub pump makes my life so much easier....

 

[blondiebee181]

Yeah when I clean my girls' pond they go NUTS

 

[lilchick]

I wanted to add that on days that I must keep my calls locked in their coop I place a 3 gallon waterer down inside a feed pan. That way they can reach the water, dribble some out but it stays in the pan!

I have 9 young muscovies hatched late this past fall and they are now in my cabin coop. I use this same method for them and they rarely dribble it out onto floor...