Duck run muddy mess help!

[DirtyBird85]

So this is my first year with ducks and chickens as an adult. The way my poultry area is set up currently is with the ducks in a 10x10x6 dog kennel and the chickens in the same which opens up into an approximately 20x50 yard with a small dug in and pinned pond for the ducks that is hooked to a filter, pumped into a watering trough*(located in the ducks 10x10)and then back into the pond in addition to another watering through that gets changed out regularly. *(chickens have their own waterer in their 10x10) the floor in the duck's 10x10 is just dirt. I put in grass clippings and it has just turned into a muddy poopy mess. I'm trying to figure out a solution *(ideally one that won't cost a fortune) to deal with the mess in their own and allow me to easily clean up the mess. I've been entertaining ideas from gravel, to concrete, pavers and even building a slight raised wooden deck from recycled/deconstructed and then reconstructed pallets. I'm not sure how many of these ideas have been covered, as I've just signed up*(so sorry if this is redundant). I saw in another thread on here that concrete wasn't recommended for ducks due to the potential bumble foot hazard. So I guess that idea is out. I was hoping that I could get some direction or ideas from someone with a bit more experience than me. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[DirtyBird85]

Can you post some pics of your setup?

Yeah in the morning. Bit dark out now to get decent pictures.

 

[Chicalina]

Ducks are mud maniacs. They can turn any nice ground into a soggy mess within hours.

I used to keep chickens and ducks together because I didn't have enough space to separate them. In the end it created an environment that didn't suit either of them.

I would keep them separate to save the chickens from the boggy ground. And try a deep layer of garden mulch bark chippings in the duck pen. They can be hosed if really necessary (turned is better), they do compost down eventually and they are soft on their feet.

 

[Chicalina]

It really does get matted up, and does tend to get stuck to the dirt. some people use a coarse sand, as it drains well and keeps claws filed down but the individual feces need to be scooped out of the sand.

You can't scoop duck poop, it is too squirty!

 

[AvianBrain]

You can't scoop duck poop, it is too squirty!

I was thinking that as well, I was generalizing for other fowls commonly kept with ducks

 

[AvianBrain]

This is the water setup I was speaking of, I designed it through trial and error for the most part.

 

[Acre4Me]

Can you post some pics of your setup?

 

[DirtyBird85]

Can you post some pics of your setup?

So here you can see the full set up. The chickens always rush into the duck area to clean up all the spilled grain from when the ducks eat at night. It is on a light downward angle to runoff rain water rushes into the tree line.

 

[AvianBrain]

I used to have mine on dirt, a nice dense layer of hay has worked well, it has to be changed and/or tilled every once in a while to prevent too much molds from growing, the moist, rotted hay is good to spread on top of garden beds.
...My aviary has a good roof on it though. Keeping out the rain is a good idea

 

[AvianBrain]

Also the coop in my aviary doesn't have water or food in it, especaly at night. once a water dish is on the ground, it becomes more or less a toy. The water dishes in my aviary are on top of milk crates anchored in deep hay, with a safe slab of wood across the middle of the bowl, it discorages mine from trying to stand in the bowl. larger ducks can drink out of it just standing on the ground, my mallard has a cynder block used as a stool, although the rouen uses it too, either to drink, or as a place to nap. It will still get dirty every day, but this keeps the water clear-ish for longer, having a place to swim puts less "pressure?" on each station. More ducks means more of these stations