duck smell?

[ben is a terror]

Will be getting ducks soon. What do you put in your run area to help with the smell? Can I use cedar mulch? Don't want to give the neighbors any thing to gripe about. No complaints about the chickens,dogs,kids. Had a roo and they never said a peep had to get rid of him because I did not chicks. If not cedar than what?

 

[Cuqui18]

ive heard people use sand! they say it works wonder, cuts down on the smell big time and acts like a giant kitty litter box and is much quicker/easier to clean... just rake and scoop!

 

[Amiga]

I have been told cedar is not healthy for ducks.

Some use stall mats which can be hosed off.

Be sure there is a little bit of slope, and that the downhill side can be easily raked out or covered. If you have a choice, well-drained soil is best.

Duck manure is excellent fertilizer and compost material. In my run I have a few different substrates. There are areas piled with straw for resting and noodling around, areas with sawdust that begin to act like flooring and once a month or so need to be scraped out and replaced, and the area under the swim pans has pea gravel and drains into a small channel that runs to the grape arbor, thereby watering and fertilizing the grapes in one swoosh. I do need to rake off detritus from the pea gravel a few times a year, and make sure the drainage isn't obstructed with organic material.

I have found that dry oak leaves neutralize odor very well. Also, fluffing the material, adding fresh carbon-heavy (straw, sawdust, coir) material regularly really helps.

When I do the occasional muck-out, I carry that material over to the compost to supercharge it.

I tried sand in one area for the ducks. In my case, it rapidly began having that dirty sock smell that heavy nitrogen material gives off, and that is when I began covering it with pine shavings. So the sand drains well, but the shavings catch manure and nitrogen and help neutralize the odor until the occasional cleanout (again, onto the compost pile).

Their house has over a foot of shavings, which get stirred daily, and I top that off with a few inches of nice dried straw, which gets replaced every three or four days. A friend stuck her head in the house, took a deep breath, and said, "wow! It just smells a little earthy - very clean!" I would sleep in there (on a blanket, natch).

 

[70%cocoa]

I have deep sand as a base in my pen. Sand works fantastically well in covered areas where it stays dry and can be poop scooped - just like the 'giant kitty litter box' mentioned above. It's good but not fabulous in areas that get wet (round the pool or in areas open to the rain). The sand I have in un-roofed areas has to be cleaned (poop scraped off) and raked daily - you need to aerate the top layer of sand to avoid the dirty sock smell also mentioned above! This daily regime keeps it pretty good though and when it rains the whole thing gets a good clean. My pen is right outside my bedroom window and it smells totally fine. BUT if I did it all again I'd do deep sand in covered (roofed) areas and rubber matting or pea gravel in unroofed areas. I have actually put rubber matting over the 'most pooped on' outdoor areas (round the pool and waterer) and it is great to be able to hose this off.

Having a drain that takes the hosed off poopy water away to water plants is a great idea. I have a hedge on two sides of my duck pen and a massive cherry tree on another side and they love the poopy water. The plants help to keep things smelling nice - the leaf litter and shady, damp conditions attract earthworms and they eat up the poop and turn the soil and the tree/hedge roots soak up the water.

 

[ben is a terror]

I was going to try to elevate the pool on pallets and cover it with that soft grass indoor/outdoor stuff. Sand sounds good and leaves and how about leland cypress bushes or bamboo. Any plants that ducks won't eat I want it to look nice. Could I use that grass stuff over pallets in the outdoor area? We used it to make a ramp for your old dog. It hoses off well. I'm just afraid they might try to eat it. Thoughts?

 

[70%cocoa]

The ducks will probably work pretty hard at destroying the plastic grass. A few weeks ago I wanted to put a screen up between two pens to stop drakes arguing and I used plastic woven weed mat. The ducks destroyed it within 48 hours. They had a wonderful time shredding it. So that's why my guess is that they'd love to try to destroy your plastic grass too.

What about rubber matting? Or the stall mats that have been mentioned? Something not too thick so it 'draped' over the pallets? Also thinking.....do you really need to put the pool up on pallets? Can you just mound up the dirt (or sand) a little bit to create a slight slope and then put rubber matting over it and then the pool on top? The rubber matting would obviously shed the water so you'd want it to be able to run to where your plants were.

Clumping bamboo would probably work very very well around the pen. Bamboo likes water and it will provide a good screen and wind break. It grows so high that even if they nibbled at the bottom leaves that wouldn't matter. They might have a go at young emerging shoots so you might need to protect these until the bamboo clump reaches the size you want. Just don't get the kind of bamboo that spreads with runners or it'll take over your whole yard.

 

[DurhamDuck]

I have to agree with others, that sand is the best. It stays dry and you can rake out the mess easily and with little effort.

 

[destinduck]

I wouldnt use nothing but sand. Lets face it they are poop machines so whatever else besides sand you use ask yourself this. Can I get this dried poop out of this material ? Now as for the smell you just every once in a while have to either rake it out or till it over or both.The more you do it the better the smell of course. Plus you can use plants outside the pen that help cover it a little bit. Gardenia,jasmine, roses, etc. Cedar branches or dried cedar shavings definitely wont hurt your ducks. Now fresh cedar shavings is the only thing Ive heard of maybe being a problem for ducks.

 

[ben is a terror]

Here I go shopping Where do I find the matting? The closest thing we have to farm supplies around here is bagged manure in Lowes. I am a really displaced country girl. Having 4 cats I never saw duck box in my head. Big scoop needed

Fake grass out,pallets out, Bamboo and climbing roes in. I found something called Green Panda Bamboo it's noninvasive and very soft clumping. Will the thorns hurt there eyes? Should I trim the thorns at the bottom? Are there thorn-less roses? Is the sand a problem for their nostrils? When I rake the lawn and weed the garden can I throw it all in the pen? All your suggestions are so great!!!! I'm trying for ducky paradise. I want all the wild ducks who fly over be so jealous.

. Any other ideas are so welcome.

 

[Hattiegun]

I used a sand base with pea gravel over the top at one end, pond in middle and grass at the other end .. Ive had my ducks 1 yr and this work Great. No mess when they swim , no mud, no dragging dirt in their pond.. I rake the sand /pea gravel or spray with hose.