DuckMama9
Songster
I have five, four, and three week old ducklings and I finally got the duck house built in the section of the yard that I designated for the duckpen, but I need some landscap--I mean DUCKscaping advice! The duck-pen area was a part of the yard that hasn't been used for anything for a while and had been mulched over with cardboard topped with cedar mulch to keep weeds down. Now that I am using this area for the ducks I need ideas on what to plant in there for them to make shade, provide cover and hiding from predators, and possibly provide some snacks! Their house faces north and the south wall of the duck house is up against a shop, so there is mostly shade in the southwest corner of their pen, but mostly sun in the rest of it. It is all shaded by the pecan trees at west end of the backyard for the late afternoon to dusk. We live in the panhandle of Texas, I think in USDA zone 7a.
Also, is the cedar mulch a bad idea for the ducks? What type of ground cover would do well with the wet conditions that ducks make? I plan to put a small pool or pond in there too. I would like to make some kind of quackaponics system to help grow some of their own herbs and veggies but I have no experience with these types of systems, so any advice or tips to share would be appreciated!
Also, is the cedar mulch a bad idea for the ducks? What type of ground cover would do well with the wet conditions that ducks make? I plan to put a small pool or pond in there too. I would like to make some kind of quackaponics system to help grow some of their own herbs and veggies but I have no experience with these types of systems, so any advice or tips to share would be appreciated!