Ducks in the hen house, what do they need?

[ChickenMack]

I made an impulse purchase of two Blue Sedish ducks about 3 months ago. They are big and beautiful. But here is where I think I am failing them.

At night I have them locked up in the hen house away from predators but I have nothing set up for them in the way of a special space just for them, I think they are just resting on the straw on the floor. I have tried to check but when I open the door, they are running around trying to get away from me. I don't know if I have two hens, two drakes or one of each so if I do have at least one hen, what do I need to set up so she will lay?

I am sure this is frustrating to you duck experts out there to have us chicken people take ducks we know nothing about but I want to learn and there are waaaay fewer duck books out there than chicken books, and they don't give any information that has been worth a darn.

So I really need advice on bedding and laying needs for ducks.

Any advice would be most appreciated. Thank you.

 

[callahanfarmgirl]

I'm really not the one to be giving advice, as I am a new mom to 4. But I will tell you what I have done so far. I took a large rubbermaid container & placed it on its side and put some hay in it. They won't sleep in it but have been very good about laying there eggs there. I am bugging my DH to build me a doghouse type home for them to put in the coop so they will be able to sleep in it for more warmth during the winter. Also, mine free range all day & have a kiddie pool that they love!!!
I know there are plenty of people on here with more elaborate set-ups but my ducks seem very happy!!

 

[jdywntr]

These things happen. I think most of us have been guilty of the "oh how cute", "I must have it NOW". I know I am, hence 1 chinese gosling and 4 african goslings.

Quick answer is it will depend on your particular birds. I have my ducks, chickens and geese together with a partition for the chickens but I don't know how it will work out long term and with chicks or ducklings being hatched.

A similar set up for nesting to what you have for your chickens should work for laying but not raised. So a quiet, dark area. Put a fake egg, golf ball, etc in there so they know its a safe place for eggs. Now saying this, my first ducks, runners, would just plop an egg out whereever, for a while.

My biggest concern would be gender. Males can get along fine without females but will try to breed your chickens which is dangerous/deadly for the chicken. Two females would also be fine. A pair may or may not work depending on the drake. I had a muscovy pair, housed seperately from my chickens but out with them all day and the drake never tried to mate my chickens. My runners, even with a few females still tried to mate my chickens.

Good luck with your birds and the duck forum is a VERY friendly place. (usually)

 

[BarneyChick97]

Try to separate them and listen to their quacks. Hens are VERY loud and chatty. Drakes are quiet and raspy. I've had ducks for a little more than a year now. At first we just had a pair-drake and hen. The drake is awfully rough with the one hen. The feathers on the back of her neck were pretty much gone. So, now we separate them. They share "free range" now, half a day in, and half a day out. We have turkeys and chickens too. The drake has tried to mate with all of them. He never really gets far though. Some fight back, and he leaves them alone. We recently added 2 more ducks (who are swedish blues, the first 2 original ducks are a pekin and rouen).

For housing we like things that are "plastic", for ease of cleaning. So we've used old dog crates, rubbermaid tubs, and even purchased a large dog house from Walmart.


Ducks seem to lay eggs WHEREVER they like to.... Before we gave them a large fenced area, our duck would lay eggs in the woods, in gravel, and in dirt. Now, if when we let our duck out, if she hasn't laid an egg, she stays in her coop until she lays. (she has food and water) If she hasnt' laid an egg by noon, I figure its a "no egg day". Our rouen duck didn't start laying eggs until she was about 9 months old. (unless she was laying in the woods before then, and we didn't notice?? quite possible. we have 1.5 acres, and there are critters out there that would of eaten those? but to my knowledge...??) Before I kept her locked up in her coop until she laid, I discovered a pile of eggs in the woods---about 6 eggs! You can just mound a pile of hay/straw on the ground of your coop, and they will dig a bowl and lay eggs in it. But if your ducks are still quite young, just keep an eye on them. When they are out of sight, or doing circles in your flower bed, lock them up! I'd think the last thing you'd want is random eggs scattered all over your yard! Surprise chicks or spoiled eggs, not my cup of tea!!

We really love our ducks. They are super fun to watch.

 

[erinszoo]

We have 2 swedish as well and a khaki and a buff/runner cross. The swedes are 4 months old now. Our drake got his drake feathers about 6 weeks ago, a little curly feather on the top of the tail, so yours should be getting one soon too if you have a drake. Also our drakes bill turned green and he has a very hoarse quack. He's bigger than our hen too. We house our ducks separately from our chickens because we have had a duck trying to mate with a chicken and pull it into the pond and drown it. If you have hens that probably wouldn't be an issue at all. Our ducks have a pen 8 x 8 with a pool, a bucket of water that's changed twice a day, and a feed platform under a lean-to. Then they get to free range either in the morning or evening depending on when the other birds are out. They sleep in their pen but don't like to go inside anything. Our swedes prefer to sleep in the pool. Ours haven't started laying yet though so I don't have any advice on that. They all seem to get along just fine. We were told we couldn't keep two drakes together but ours don't have a problem and they all seem happy and breed with each other.

 

[erinszoo]

Oh, and if you want to keep them from running away from you all the time, hand feed them treats. They'll still run away some, that's what ducks do, but they will come to you for treats. It makes it easier to keep up with their health needs if that arises.