Duck house suggestions please!

[Birchwood]

I am taking the plunge and expanding passed chickens. We have 3 coops for the chickens housing about 50 total.
Now I'm thinking a couple ducks wouldnt hurt, right?
Anyways, I would love any suggestions for their house. I am in the planning stages so anything is possible.
I say I want about 3-4 so plan on one big enough for 6-8.(Ive learned you always end up wanting more,)
I plan to let them free range with the chickens. They are able to come and go as they please from dawn til dusk.
We have woods and a small stream that I have made into a waterfall going into a old claw foot tub.
But the house is what is getting me. They dont roost at night right?
Will they spend most of the time inside when it turns to the winter months?
Food and water inside?

Thanks in advance....

 

[Amiga]

Hi, Birchwood,

Welcome!

Ducks need precious little for housing, but what they need is important.

They need to be safe from predators, so openings need to be covered in half inch hardware cloth or similar material, or the house needs to be in a predator-proof enclosure.

They mess up water rapidly, so they need frequent water changes. They don't perch (Muscovies are an exception).

They need to be able to wash their heads at least, to prevent eye and respiratory problems. They love to swim and play in water. Many people use kiddie pools or concrete mixing tubs that are easy to empty and refill frequently. Their water area may need to be covered with a few inches of pea gravel to keep it from becoming a mud hole.

Some people have their ducks in elevated houses with wire mesh bottoms to make cleaning easier. Many use shavings, straw, or similar material and are happy with that. Ducks are hardy, but need to be able to get out of the elements into a dry sheltered area.

Some people lock their ducks in the house at night, others leave it up to the duck, but again, they must be in a safe enclosure especially at night.

Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks recommends at least 3 sf per duck for the house alone. I have a 4' x 8' , 4' high double-walled plywood "box" with a door for me and a door for them into a secure pen area. The roof is sloped and I am currently covering the openings between the top of the wall and the roof with hardware cloth. Ouch.

I hope this is a good start - I am sure I am missing something.

 

[Rick68]

Birchwood, Thanks for the post! I've got pretty much the same senario going on myself...Our family is new to the bird thing. We started this year with an adult hen, and a rooster (thats when I joined BYC), and this forum has been a GREAT HELP (thanks to all!).

My story is I have a 4yr old daughter who just LOVES the chickens...So fast foward to when she went with me to the feed store....Well lets just say we now have 4 more chicks (hopefully hens), and 2 DUCKS!!!!....So Daddy has to figue out soon what to do with the Ducks...

We also have great water source on the property (pond and river), but what to do with the Ducks????

My thought was to feed them and let them take care of themselves...is this mean??? They were intended to survive in the wild anyway...Would they fly south for the winter?

Anyway...Good luck and thanks again for the post, I'm sure we will get lots of info from our supporting members....Please... ;o)

 

[Birchwood]

Rick68- do you know what kind of ducks you got? I'm so jealous, I dont even have mine yet. I want to incubate them....but I need eggs first.
Some breeds dont fly, so lets hope you got those!!
My husband laughed at me when I said I was going to use the tub, but it works great!!
Good Luck

 

[Rick68]

Not sure on the breed of ducks..? They are yellow now.

 

[evergrowing]

We also have great water source on the property (pond and river), but what to do with the Ducks????

My thought was to feed them and let them take care of themselves...is this mean??? They were intended to survive in the wild anyway...Would they fly south for the winter?

Wild ducks can take care of themselves, but domesticated ducks can't. In the wild a duck can fly away, most of the ducks we raise can't fly and therefore protect themselves from preditors. It sounds like a great idea to just let the ducks go, but they really need more protection then that. A lot of yellow ducklings from the feed store are Pekin. They don't fly, and are a great all purpose duck from what I understand. Good luck!​

 

[chasing ducks]

Try getting Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, I am fairly new to ducks myself and this book has helped alot, it covers feeding, housing, everything. If you have babies you should make sure that they are not eating medicated chick food. The medication hasn't been tested on ducks and ducks eat alot more than chickens, so overdosing could be an issue. I bought Dumor chick starter, brewer's yeast and chick grit. I give them a little grit in a seperate bowl, then sprinkle the brewer's yeast on their food. As for their house mine is a 4'x8' box that is 3' tall on the back and 4' tall on the front. I plan on using the deep method so I put tile on the floor of the duck house. There is a 4'x5' wire box that attaches to the house that is predator proof and there is a door on the front of the box that when opened allows them to go out into a large fenced in yard with a kiddie pool. The fence is 3 ft. as domesticated ducks can't fly. This way they have plenty of room to be in or out at night and be safe and during hte day they can really run.

My thought was to feed them and let them take care of themselves...is this mean??? They were intended to survive in the wild anyway...Would they fly south for the winter?

Rick68, I am not sure I would leave them to their own defenses a ton because they are domesticated ducks (it sounds like you have Pekins) and like any domesticated animal has lost alot of their survival instinct. If their raised in the home with people then they will learn to not fear people and if they don't have a safe place to be in they would be easy prey for a predator. Plus they tend to have delicate legs so you need to be careful of where their walking around, etc. Best of luck with your Pekins, my 3 year old and 20 month old went out with Grammie and each came home with a cute yellow ducky from Tractor Supply on Saturday, before I was prepared for baby duckies too lol.​