Duck Fence, Part Deux

[DarkWolf]

Ok.. So my thinking has shifted a bit and I'm holding off on a full yard fence due to HVAC issues.

Since the ducks are on order, I have 4 weeks [or so. was open on the delivery date] before they get here.

I've shifted to doing a movable, 32" high 2x4 rail/ rough swan poplar slat fence with 2" wide slats.

QUESTION.. What is the MAX width between slat that would be recommended to keep adults in. I'm thinking 4" wide and they should not be able to squish through.. Besides, I'll be lining the bottom 6" with chicken wire or some type of plastic fencing.

Thoughts?

 

[Amiga]

Hi!

Here are my initial thoughts.

Keeping ducks in is minor compared to keeping predators out.

Ducks will nap leaning against the fence, and predators have been known to reach through the fence and pull the duck out piece by piece. Happened to a friend of mine's duck last year. There was just what she called a small gap under one part of a fence.

I don't think six inches is high enough, and I'd use two feet of small diameter poultry fence around the bottom. If this is just for daytime, and they have a more secure area for nighttime, this might be okay except for another consideration.

That would leave eight inches of just the aspen slats (if they are what I think you're describing). Those things are easily snapped. Something determined could get in that way.

Though it's too big to be movable, my runners are in a 10' x 16' day pen that is coated chain link across the bottom, sandwiched between two 6" wide boards around the edge. Screwed to that base are 36" uprights - triple 2"x4"s every 5' give or take. Across the top are 2"x4"s around the perimeter and a few spanning the pen, for support of the 2"x4" coated wire across the top and around the sides. The perimeter has coated small-diameter poultry fence on the bottom two feet. So far, so good. We haven't lost any to predators.

If you can find a copy of Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, it has some good suggestions about protecting your flock.

While I was building little Fort Knox, the ducks ran around in three-foot high plastic poultry fence with netting across the top to discourage hawks. At night, they were in a double walled plywood house with a porch that is covered on all sides with half inch hardware cloth.

I hope this gives you some ideas that will be helpful.

 

[Lamar Estate]

Quote:
Wow, that sounds impressive. Could you please include some pictures?