Duck island ideas?

[packrat84]

Hey y'all, our baby ducks are growing up fast and they will be coming out to check out the farm soon and I am looking for ideas on shelter for them. We have two large ponds on the farm and I want to build a floating island with a coop or shelter. I have a few ideas in my head and I've been scouring the internet for pictures but just can't seem to get the answers I'm looking for. For one I'm trying to figure out the best way to float the island, what cost effective animal safe options are available for this type of thing. It has to be something that won't degrade in the water for we do have fish in the ponds. Also I'm. Trying to find the best way to bring the island out to the middle of the pond and be to retrieve it so we can collect the eggs. I was thinking of just anchoring it and then using a small raft to retrieve the eggs, but that sounds like a lot of extra headaches that I don't really want to mess with. Any ideas would be great, and pictures if you have them! Thanks ya'll

 

[Ratchnick]

I would use a pallet as the foundation and use plastic juice or milk bottles as floats. Then get something super heavy for an anchor, like an old engine block or make one with a few bags of concrete. Place the anchor about where you want the island and basicly set up a clothes line system with rope or cable so you can retrieve the island.

I will warn you that i have seen several people attempt islands and they usualy have a problem. Either the ducks are terrified of it and sometimes they wont even go in the lake anymore, or they will stay on the island and not go to their duck house at night. Raccoons will swim. Or the ducks swim off elsewhere on the pond and dont come in.

 

[packrat84]

I would use a pallet as the foundation and use plastic juice or milk bottles as floats. Then get something super heavy for an anchor, like an old engine block or make one with a few bags of concrete. Place the anchor about where you want the island and basicly set up a clothes line system with rope or cable so you can retrieve the island.

I will warn you that i have seen several people attempt islands and they usualy have a problem. Either the ducks are terrified of it and sometimes they wont even go in the lake anymore, or they will stay on the island and not go to their duck house at night. Raccoons will swim. Or the ducks swim off elsewhere on the pond and dont come in.

Thanks for the advice. We were planning on putting the shelter on the floating portion. In terms of raccoons we haven't had much of a problem. I usually handle the predictor problems with a 22