Duck Run and Pool from Amazon... opinions?

[Anjanette]

Hey all! We will be buying ducks and beginning our homesteading journey this Spring! I've been reading and researching for years, and am very excited to begin! I tend to just "jump in" lest I analyze everything to death, but I could use opinions on this.

We'll be converting a rather large shed into a nighttime shelter for our ducks (we live in Alaska... looooots of wildlife/predators), and I plan to let them range about while we are outside (several hours a day rain or shine - I have four children who need it as much as the animals!), but I'd still like them to be on real dirt while I'm inside and not right next to them.

So... the plan is to have a portable run that we can move around our rather large but strangely laid out yard. I'd like to usher them into it each morning and move it as needed. I am just about to hit purchase on this set up and thought I'd post it here first...

Run: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H91R8S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Removable wire top to protect from predators during the day: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002H3QX4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Pool for them to play in while we are near: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I3DL9XW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3AGIG37C8ILIH&psc=1

We aren't going to bring the pool out every day. We live in a temperate rain forest and they will be plenty wet.

The run will only give them 16 square feet to play in. If I get four birds (kakhi campbell most likely), will they be happy enough to spend hours a day in there? Again, they will have a large shed when we are away from home and at night, and a big yard with four children to play with for a short time every day, too.

Thoughts?

 

[Pyxis]

If you're handy at all, you'll save money if you build your own run instead, and it can be larger, too. Plus, the panels on that run won't stop predators from getting your ducks - a raccoon could reach right in and grab them, a weasel would just go right on in, etc.

A run should have 10 square feet per bird, so 16 square feet for four birds probably won't be enough.

You could build something like this for cheaper than the $75 you're looking at spending on the run on Amazon, and by using hardware cloth it will be safer, too.

Or you could go the route of a duck/chicken tractor, for which there are many plans on BYC here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/tractor-coops.17/

 

[Anjanette]

If you're handy at all, you'll save money if you build your own run instead, and it can be larger, too. Plus, the panels on that run won't stop predators from getting your ducks - a raccoon could reach right in and grab them, a weasel would just go right on in, etc.

A run should have 10 square feet per bird, so 16 square feet for four birds probably won't be enough.

You could build something like this for cheaper than the $75 you're looking at spending on the run on Amazon, and by using hardware cloth it will be safer, too.

Or you could go the route of a duck/chicken tractor, for which there are many plans on BYC here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/tractor-coops.17/

Hmm... thanks for that input and the idea. A friend has definitely had marten trouble here in town. Our bears mostly go after the feed, but neighborhood dogs and wolves would easily trample any of these moveable pens. The shed we're converting is seriously going to be a duck mansion, but I do want to be careful about their run.

I'm not necessarily handy, but I like to learn. More things to think about! I like how the one you posted folds/collapses - I definitely want to be able to move it around - but I also have to think about water-resistance because we're in a temperate rain forest...

 

[Duckworth]

I had a five foot in diameter pet gazebo with a tarped roof for our four ducks while we were constructing our run. The ducks stayed inside at night in their brooder. I wrapped the walls of the gazebo with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. It was heavy for me to move without help. I kept a 24" doggy pool inside, along with the ducks' food, since the amount of ground left inside the gazebo was inadequate for free-range feeding. Ducks must have access to water any time they have access to food.

The predators I worried about were our dogs, hawks, cats, and, if it got dark before I moved the ducklings back to their brooder, raccoons, owls, foxes, and opossums. There was a fence between our dogs and the gazebo. Otherwise, I don't think the ducks would have been safe. As it was, they destroyed the grass in each place the gazebo was set. It's just too small a space for them while they are eating, drinking, and pooping. Ducks are messy!

My new duck house and pen are attached. The house is 16 sq. ft. and the pen is 64 sq. ft. Both have a roof and hardware cloth covering all openings, so they are pretty secure. The space is barely enough to keep staying on top of the duck waste manageable. Ducks must have a water source deep enough to clear their sinuses and prevent them from choking on their food. This means mud and muck. Concentrating four adult ducks in a four by four foot space for most of their waking time isn't ideal for the ducks and I suspect that you would find the cleanup unmanageable. Eventually, you run out of yard to put the pen on. And each of those spots where the pen has been set will have a layer of duck poo and mud coating it.

Consider constructing a pen adjacent to your duck house.

 

[Anjanette]

I had a five foot in diameter pet gazebo with a tarped roof for our four ducks while we were constructing our run. The ducks stayed inside at night in their brooder. I wrapped the walls of the gazebo with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. It was heavy for me to move without help. I kept a 24" doggy pool inside, along with the ducks' food, since the amount of ground left inside the gazebo was inadequate for free-range feeding. Ducks must have access to water any time they have access to food.

The predators I worried about were our dogs, hawks, cats, and, if it got dark before I moved the ducklings back to their brooder, raccoons, owls, foxes, and opossums. There was a fence between our dogs and the gazebo. Otherwise, I don't think the ducks would have been safe. As it was, they destroyed the grass in each place the gazebo was set. It's just too small a space for them while they are eating, drinking, and pooping. Ducks are messy!

My new duck house and pen are attached. The house is 16 sq. ft. and the pen is 64 sq. ft. Both have a roof and hardware cloth covering all openings, so they are pretty secure. The space is barely enough to keep staying on top of the duck waste manageable. Ducks must have a water source deep enough to clear their sinuses and prevent them from choking on their food. This means mud and muck. Concentrating four adult ducks in a four by four foot space for most of their waking time isn't ideal for the ducks and I suspect that you would find the cleanup unmanageable. Eventually, you run out of yard to put the pen on. And each of those spots where the pen has been set will have a layer of duck poo and mud coating it.

Consider constructing a pen adjacent to your duck house.

How long have your four been in 64 sq ft run now? Is that size working well for you?

 

[Duckworth]

How long have your four been in 64 sq ft run now? Is that size working well for you?

Mine have been there for almost three months, now. I think the size will work, though it does require daily raking and regular adding of litter. At first, I had the water on the high side of the pen, rather than the lowest corner where it is now. That made for water-logged straw. Our local code requires a hard surface floor, so I can't rely on water soaking into the soil. It has to run off. I put the water containers on pea gravel topped with sand.

The larger your run/pen, as opposed to house/shed for extra nighttime protection from predators, the easier it will be to maintain, since the waste will be distributed over a larger area and be more easily managed. Either way, it does have to be actively managed if the ducks are enclosed. Flies and odor also have to be managed. At least that's my experience, so far.

I have tried to engineer things to make maintenance as easy as possible because I have to be able to do it every day. If I can't, it's not going to be sustainable. I have a pen with a full-sized door and adult walk-in height to make things more manageable. Now that winter is coming on, I have a white tarp covering the north side of the pen as a windbreak. The water is now all by the low cleanout door of the pen where it can run off most easily. The kiddie pool is retired for the season, replaced by feed buckets of water, since our outside water spigots are off for the winter.

 

[Anjanette]

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Mine have been there for almost three months, now. I think the size will work, though it does require daily raking and regular adding of litter. At first, I had the water on the high side of the pen, rather than the lowest corner where it is now. That made for water-logged straw. Our local code requires a hard surface floor, so I can't rely on water soaking into the soil. It has to run off. I put the water containers on pea gravel topped with sand.

The larger your run/pen, as opposed to house/shed for extra nighttime protection from predators, the easier it will be to maintain, since the waste will be distributed over a larger area and be more easily managed. Either way, it does have to be actively managed if the ducks are enclosed. Flies and odor also have to be managed. At least that's my experience, so far.

I have tried to engineer things to make maintenance as easy as possible because I have to be able to do it every day. If I can't, it's not going to be sustainable. I have a pen with a full-sized door and adult walk-in height to make things more manageable. Now that winter is coming on, I have a white tarp covering the north side of the pen as a windbreak. The water is now all by the low cleanout door of the pen where it can run off most easily. The kiddie pool is retired for the season, replaced by feed buckets of water, since our outside water spigots are off for the winter.

Thank you for the photos! The major motivation for us using the shed is that we are tall people and we want that full sized door, for sure! Your birds are beautiful.

 

[Duckworth]

Thank you for the photos! The major motivation for us using the shed is that we are tall people and we want that full sized door, for sure! Your birds are beautiful.

My husband is tall. I am height challenged. I don't know how big your shed is or whether it is feasible to add a pen space onto the outside of your shed. I do know that I found using the pet gazebo to be a lot less manageable than I expected and I knew it was a temporary measure until I could finish the house and pen. I got injured while building and had to recover before I could finish. So the gazebo solution went on for longer, too. It wasn't best for the ducks, the yard, or for my workload.

If you are starting a homestead, you will have a whole lot on your plate. I'm hoping that between what I and others here can offer in terms of lessons learned the hard way, we can help contribute a little to your successful (ad)venture.