Duck Nest Box

[chickensandmore]

I have seen all kinds of nest box ideas for chickens, but none for ducks..I will be putting mine out into their house before much longer and the nest boxes are the only thing that I haven't finished..They are Pekins and I have 12, so they can't jump like chickens, so what do they need? please post a Pic if you have one..

TIA

Don in Spiro

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I'm responding so I won't lose this thread. I too am wondering how to accomodate my laying ducks. Do they really need a box or will they just lay their eggs in a corner on the floor? Will they all lay in the same nest? And is it true that they lay in the early AM, the pre-dawn hours? Mine are confined in their house overnight for predator protection, and are let out first thing in the morning. I'd like to know they were done with their laying for the day before I also let them out of their pen.

 

[ozark hen]

sorry, mine free-range so I don't know if they would use a box. I do know they like to make their nests so put some straw in where you want them to lay. Mine used to stay in an enclosed pen(until they decided they didn't want back in there)and I would find eggs when I opened the pen in the a.m. to allow them to free-range or sometimes just laying in the yard. We plan on herding them back to their pen at night as soon as the weather changes. At least in their pen they do have a tarp over part of it even though the bad weather doesn't seem to bother them at all.

 

[cluckers&quackers]

Mine use nest boxes.

I put wooden boxes on the floor along the walls, that way the majority of the house would still be open for them to move around. Mine lay in the boxes, occassionally I do find one on the floor but usually they are all in a box. Sometimes more than one duck lays in the same box instead of using a separate one. Mine all appear to lay their eggs sometime after I let them in at night.

 

[Chickndaddy]

I just leaned a piece of plywood against the wall of the house they could sleep in. Generally all the girls layed under it in a big pile of straw. And they did it before I got up so I would agree with the pre-dawn laying assessment.

 

[feathersgalore]

Mine have a house (like a dog house) and they use that to lay. It's nice because if they get broody, she has a good place to sit.

 

[DuckyBoys]

I am going to use large plastic bins for mine with a whole cut out of one end (and the lid on of course!) I've been thinking long and hard about this and after having to spend almost $400 on nesting boxes for my mandarins and wood ducks, I'm really going to be Ms. Cheapskate when it comes to the geese and domestic ducks. Just fill it with straw I think, should be good to go!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I use plastic barrels, quartered for my Muscovies.

I got the idea from this website:

http://www.muscovyduckcentral.com/nestboxes.html

However, mine are not that close together....

 

[ozark hen]

here is what we use for our hens, they would work for the muscovies, too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=42379