Ducks 101

[FBMcrazy8]

Love your set up and they are gorgeous!!

Thank you!

 

[Tookie]

Yup. I got the pool liner from Amazon and 2x6x8’ boards. Used braces to keep them together. I’m going to be staining the wood in the spring. But I bought pressure treated lumber so it will be ok even if I don’t. But the trim wood will go bad if I don’t.

Do you think a 50 gallon pool would be good? Or do I need to go bigger?

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I want calls soooooo bad! I just worry about their noise. We live in a rural area and it’s very normal for roosters and such to be crowing. There are no “animal rules” but I don’t want to make me neighbors mad I have a couple loud ducks (my pekin & Saxonys) and I’ve been told by others call ducks are much louder? Is that true? Also do call ducks fly?

I’ve seen duck food at my TSC but they rarely have it so it’s not something I can always count on having. Just an fyi for those looking into duck food.

I forgot to add that mine do fly. That is why I have netting over the run. I don’t let them free range because it is all open out here and they would be too easy of a target for predators. But I can clip one side of their wings and they won’t fly. I may do that once some of the trees we put in this last spring grow a little better and they have WAY better coverage. But right now all they do is swim in their pool. I have to skim it to get them out to check out the rest of the run.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Do you think a 50 gallon pool would be good? Or do I need to go bigger?

Honestly you could go any size! We went that big because we had several we had originally gotten and they would need the room. But we also were thinking of if we expanded the duck size (which lets not kid ourself that’s happening ).

 

[Tookie]

Honestly you could go any size! We went that big because we had several we had originally gotten and they would need the room. But we also were thinking of if we expanded the duck size (which lets not kid ourself that’s happening ).

Is there anyway I could attach a drain to a liner?

 

[BabyGotQuack]

What type of feeder do you use? I was thinking of using pvc pipe.

I make my feeders and waterers out of 5 gallon buckets

The waterers I drill holes and put in poultry cups (they have a pool and dog bowl out of the coop for swimming and dunking)

And the feeders I use pvc 90s

 

[FBMcrazy8]

What type of feeder do you use? I was thinking of using pvc pipe.

I use a plastic bowl that is by their water. I am attaching a picture that I took. It was taken though guys the boys were being such gentleman and letting the girls swim in their drinking water that I just replaced . I was cleaning out the pond this day so they couldn’t swim in anything else. I dug a hole that the water tub could set in and they could reach it. It’s a 3 gallon waterer. And I have a plan to keep them out of it. But they will still be able to get their heads in the water.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Is there anyway I could attach a drain to a liner?

I’m sure you could…but I’m not 100% sure. You would have to go through the side and it wouldn’t be able to drain it all. Unless you have it slopping slightly to the side the drain is in. In my head it seems pretty simple.. But I’m not 100%

 

[Tookie]

I was thinking of building a feeder like this.->
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-feeder.1535964/post-25908748

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I was thinking of building a feeder like this.->
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-feeder.1535964/post-25908748

I have seen those around and think they’re awesome because they don’t take up a lot of ground space. If I only had a few ducks I’d be into trying this set up. I think for 4 it would be great.