Duck Palace is complete!

[Eluria]

Well, it's probably more of a duck cottage lol...we don't live on a ton of property so it isn't as big as some of the coops I have seen on here, but our mallard girl seems to be happy in it, and hopefully so will the babies when we get them and they are big enough to be outside I am so lucky to have an awesome husband who is willing to humor my animal obsessions. The coop isn't in its permanent place near the fence yet--this is just where we were working on it.






My pretty girl was showing off her new blue wing feathers, too!

 

[Thechickmama]

oh that is a amazing duck coop and duck, i just finshed our duck house last week, it is smaller but can hold 2 ducks for about 12 hours, its made out of pallets and is about a 3 by 6 and fits the two girls nicely for the night. Do you have a pond? I love your duck she is so pretty!!

 

[Eluria]

No pond, so we are going to get a little kiddie swimming pool for her. Thanks, I think she is pretty too--and I think she also thinks she is pretty LOL!

Does anyone have advice on a ramp? The mallard won't use one I don't think, so we haven't worried about setting one up, but I am wondering how steep of a pitch the ducks can handle? The house is currently 24 inches off the ground because we figured we can get a rake under there to clean out droppings, but I could always cut it down to 18" or 15" if they can't handle that. Basically I need to know how long to make the ramp, what to cover it with (I am thinking astroturf or grip-tape), and whether it needs sides on it...and how to attach it to the house?

 

[AllisonB]

Wonderful! Try adding a mirror - really! I'm sure she thinks she is pretty so why not let her enjoy her beauty! Kiddie pool should be great!

 

[tdd2]

Ducks aren't too keen on ramps, especially steep ones.

We specifically set our pen and duck barn up so the ramps were short and shallow angled, wide enough to avoid falling off, and we used perforated rubber mats from Lowes, cut to size, as a foot friendly traction surface.

Personally, I'd add sides to a ramp that high - a 2' fall could easily break a duckies leg

A quick guesstimate with a tape measure, and I'd suggest (for 24" high), a ramp length of 6'....

Or you could split the length of a single ramp with a landing (like a by-level house), make the ramps lower angled and apposing each other......

Enter--->---->----> |landing|
| |
Pen<----<----<----<| |

(Hope that worked - on my phone!)

I'd also make sure it was relatively wide - perhaps 16" or more in your situation, and covered with something both grippy and soft (to keep bumblefoot potential down).

Your idea of astro turf / fake grass carpet could work, but could also get slippery when wet...

I prefer outdoor rubber mat material - easy to clean and duckie foot friendly. Outdoor carpets could work, but I'd be concerned that their claws could catch the carpet fiber loops, adding another potential issue.

Hope my humble opinions help, one way or the other

Dan

 

[tdd2]

My pretty girl was showing off her new blue wing feathers, too!
[/quote]

BEAUTIFUL girl, by the way!!

 

[farm316]

I would be careful her feet may start to have sores because due to hard surface… instead of dirt which is soft

 

[lithiachick]

What a pretty sick she will be. I'm concerned that that chicken wire is not going to keep the predators from getting her. When you do place it near the fence, even a raccoon might be able to gain access.

 

[veronicasmom]

Very nice.
I, too, am concerned about only wire flooring. Might be an issue after a while. Bumblefoot is not an easy thing to deal with. And, the person mentioning that chicken wire is not very safe is correct, hardware cloth is a much safer alternative. Predators are very good at getting what they want if they see the opportunity. And you obviously love your little girl.

I don't know how steep our ramp is, but ours use it easily. Some jump on from the side, and some run all the way up. Ours is wide, no sides. And hubby put PT strips across every few feet to make it less slippery for humans, but that won't be an issue for you. Anything gets a little slippery, but using a horse stall mat might work, one side is generally textured and you can throw sand on it when it gets icy in the winter. Or even lift it and the ice will crack off. There are different types of stall mats, so look around. Some are thinner and easier to work with than others.

 

[Eluria]

Ducks aren't too keen on ramps, especially steep ones.

We specifically set our pen and duck barn up so the ramps were short and shallow angled, wide enough to avoid falling off, and we used perforated rubber mats from Lowes, cut to size, as a foot friendly traction surface.

Personally, I'd add sides to a ramp that high - a 2' fall could easily break a duckies leg

A quick guesstimate with a tape measure, and I'd suggest (for 24" high), a ramp length of 6'....

Or you could split the length of a single ramp with a landing (like a by-level house), make the ramps lower angled and apposing each other......

Enter--->---->----> |landing|
| |
Pen<----<----<----<| |

(Hope that worked - on my phone!)

I'd also make sure it was relatively wide - perhaps 16" or more in your situation, and covered with something both grippy and soft (to keep bumblefoot potential down).

Your idea of astro turf / fake grass carpet could work, but could also get slippery when wet...

I prefer outdoor rubber mat material - easy to clean and duckie foot friendly. Outdoor carpets could work, but I'd be concerned that their claws could catch the carpet fiber loops, adding another potential issue.

Hope my humble opinions help, one way or the other

Dan

Dan, I totally get what you are saying about the landing--makes sense and if I can work out the construction logistics of it I will do that, otherwise I will use a ramp that's at least six feet. I hadn't considered the slippery-when-wet aspect of the astroturf, so the rubber mat/runner sounds like a good idea, or the other poster's idea of a stall mat as a surface. I live in Southern California, and there are only a handful of nights a year where it gets down to freezing temps so ice won't be an issue for me. If the ducks absolutely won't use the ramps, then as a last resort I will cut the coop to 6 to 9 inches off the ground and use pavers to make steps, but that will make it a nightmare when I need to clean it out under it I think.


Farm316, the wire floor has a rubber mat in the sheltered area, so in the area she is sleeping in is nice and soft. I have a second mat I could put down if necessary to cover more surface area, but the food and water really need to be on the wire to keep everything clean (although last night she took her peas back to her mat to eat them there, and now there are squashed pea remnants in her sleeping area ).

Lithachick and Veronicasmom, what is the specific problem with chicken wire? Is the problem that predators would tear a hole in the wire itself, or that they might rip it away from the sides of the frame? Are you thinking a raccoon could access the cage from the top? 2 of the 3 top panels are plywood anyhow, and only the middle one is chicken wire, but I think I have enough hardware cloth left to cover at least the top.

Thanks for the input. One thing I have noticed in researching duck coops is that while there are many prefab pens/coops designed for chickens, there just aren't any that are specifically tailored for ducks (that I could find, anyhow), so we are kind of on our own when designing them!