Dear Egreen,
I would like to share some ideas that came very useful in my ducks home, especially when cleaning:
The first row of boards at the level of the floor is a little bit elevated, there is about 1.5-2cm (less than an inch) airflow. Not just it provides some air circulation on floor level, but when I clean their bedding the messy straw can be hosed out easily through the sides.
Here is the chore
1. taking out their waterplate, their soap dish of river gravel, their foodplate, their 4" high sided plastic catpan filled with dry mown grass
2. raking the bedding out, clearing their catpan if they poop in it (rarely they do, they poop on the straw)
3. hose the floor clean with water - a compact high pressure washer is VERY useful (HW101 is not expensive), but a hose will do just fine
4. weekly brush with diluted oxidizing liquid, rinsed out carefully
Also, the back side of their home is elevated a little, so the water comes out in the front entrance, this way the floor dries fast.
I made windows all around (except the front), covered with double chickenwire (the plastic covered version), but I screwed boards on top of them until I have money for hardware cloth. There is no huge needs for windows though as all boards have a little space inbetween (<1/2 inch), it proved fresh air.
The top is covered with double chicken wire, and the roof on top of it is elevated with a brick - again it is good for air circulation, safety (no fox or cat can go under to tear the chickenwire as the roof is very heavy).
All the duckhome is elevated, it is built on a pallet for easy transportation with forklift (if ever needed to put it elsewhere).
My ducks love it, when they go tired from foraging they go inside and I just shut the door on them. Easy management was the key in my design.
I would like to share some ideas that came very useful in my ducks home, especially when cleaning:
The first row of boards at the level of the floor is a little bit elevated, there is about 1.5-2cm (less than an inch) airflow. Not just it provides some air circulation on floor level, but when I clean their bedding the messy straw can be hosed out easily through the sides.
Here is the chore
1. taking out their waterplate, their soap dish of river gravel, their foodplate, their 4" high sided plastic catpan filled with dry mown grass
2. raking the bedding out, clearing their catpan if they poop in it (rarely they do, they poop on the straw)
3. hose the floor clean with water - a compact high pressure washer is VERY useful (HW101 is not expensive), but a hose will do just fine
4. weekly brush with diluted oxidizing liquid, rinsed out carefully
Also, the back side of their home is elevated a little, so the water comes out in the front entrance, this way the floor dries fast.
I made windows all around (except the front), covered with double chickenwire (the plastic covered version), but I screwed boards on top of them until I have money for hardware cloth. There is no huge needs for windows though as all boards have a little space inbetween (<1/2 inch), it proved fresh air.
The top is covered with double chicken wire, and the roof on top of it is elevated with a brick - again it is good for air circulation, safety (no fox or cat can go under to tear the chickenwire as the roof is very heavy).
All the duckhome is elevated, it is built on a pallet for easy transportation with forklift (if ever needed to put it elsewhere).
My ducks love it, when they go tired from foraging they go inside and I just shut the door on them. Easy management was the key in my design.
).
