DUCK HOUSE

[Going Quackers]

Where in Canada are you? I'm in n. BC. Is your house insulated? Do you have a pond for them? How do you keep them in winter? I've been contemplating whether to keep water open for them, but I can imagine the heating bills would be astronomical.

A livestock tank heater shouldn't cost a lot.. i have one for the horses and i know there are floating types... it runs for months end in winter i see no adverse effects on my hydro bill, they are thermostatically controlled.

 

[furbabymum]

A livestock tank heater shouldn't cost a lot.. i have one for the horses and i know there are floating types... it runs for months end in winter i see no adverse effects on my hydro bill, they are thermostatically controlled.

Yup I have had lots of floating ones and they work great. They have cages around them to prevent burns as well though I think I'd do my own cage as an extra precaution for waterfowl.

Someone mentioned a tire in the water as being a green way to keep the water warm.

 

[RavenWood]

Where in Canada are you? I'm in n. BC. Is your house insulated? Do you have a pond for them? How do you keep them in winter? I've been contemplating whether to keep water open for them, but I can imagine the heating bills would be astronomical.

Sorry - this was directed to Going Quackers, but I see she/he answered already! LOL Trying to get the hang of this ... so used to facebook now!

 

[MilosHomestead]

Love your duck/chicken house! Can you post pics of what you've set up on the inside?
I have 10 ducklings, 8 chicks and 6 quail that are all going to need housing soon and am trying to collect ideas on what to build for them.
Thanks

 

[Betsy57]

I just got my first four ducks "accidently" ? I went to a neighbor's to get some straw and came home with four ducks! I've been wanting some for a while; just no place to put them. My chicken coop is set up where I can have one end of it separated and it has its own yard that I fence off. So for now, the ducks are there. They're timid and I haven't been able to hold them yet. I want to train them to go up and down the ramp so they can enjoy the fresh grass (don't think they ever have had fresh grass). The next morning, all three of the gals laid an egg! That's better ratio than I get from my chickens! The duck section is the far right end of the coop (far right two doors). I really don't want them there but I don't want to build another area right now and have that expense along with fencing and all.

 

[Betsy57]

Built this new duck house today. Not yet finished. Will put hardware cloth on it to keep it secure. The front, to the right of the picture, swings open. I'll secure them in this at night since I have a big problem with critters at night. And during the day, they'll roam in the secure yard.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Built this new duck house today. Not yet finished. Will put hardware cloth on it to keep it secure. The front, to the right of the picture, swings open. I'll secure them in this at night since I have a big problem with critters at night. And during the day, they'll roam in the secure yard.

very nice..

 

[cheepcheep3]

Our ex-pig pen we converted to a duck/guinea pen. put sod down and completely covered it with hawk netting and chicken wire

 

[TatorTots]

Just Launched our little duck house the other day.. Moby Duck is still too young to be out there, but I couldnt resist launching it once it was finished!

 

[Britesea]

We got enough money back in our tax refund that I can finally get some ducks (YAY). I've been poring over everything I can find about making a secure shelter for them. We live in a rural area near a river and probably have every potential predator there is in the area (someone shot a bear that attacked the dogs in their yard less than 15 miles from us this weekend!) but I think the main ones we will need to worry about are foxes, skunks, dogs, weasels, hawks, eagles and owls. We also have pretty cold winters- it's not uncommon to see nights in the single digits for at least a month or so, and several feet of snow. I'm planning to get 10 Khaki Campbells. I thought a shelter about 4x5x4', with a hinged shed roof so we can access the inside easily, and about 8' square yard for when I can't let them out. I can't decide whether to let them free range or use a tractor during the day. For the yard, I was thinking of using 5' welded wire fencing, and sinking a foot of it underground to discourage digging predators, and more welded wire on top to protect from flying ones. We have a dog who I think can be trained to accept the ducks as part of the family, but she isn't outside at night- prefers to sleep by our bed- so she won't be out there to give an alarm or chase predators away.
If I use plywood for the sides and roof of the shelter, how thick should I go? Would 1/4" be good enough or should I go with 5/8 or even more? Will welded wire hold up ok or should I go with non-climb? or hardware cloth?