First quake

[bernie131]

My babies are 6wks old now and I heard Winnies 1sr quake so I think I have A GIRL!!!!! But I think Roxy is a drake, no distinct colors yet but Mama Shorty is trying to be part of the pact with daily walks. NOW, my question I am going to build a duck house/run so what are the necessary things a duck run/hse needs?? I see chicken coops have to be off the grown so do ducks need that also? I have a bunny hutch to start the housing area and a want a walk in, I also have 2 dog houses, what do you use for flooring?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ducks do better if their house is close to the ground. Def make it a walk in for you so much easier for cleaning. Collecting eggs. I have plywood on the floors of my coop with sheet vinyl over top then I put shaving down on the vinyl. You want good ventilation for their health and even in winter they need it. Congrats on have a girl now two females one drake isn’t a bad ratio. Glad to hear Shorty is trying to become part of the flock now.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Ducks are really bad climbing up ramps, so a dwelling close to the ground is preferred. For three ducks you need at least 12.00sqft of sleeping space and 30.00sqft of outside space if you don't free-range. As Miss Lydia wrote, a floor that is easy to clean is of the essence - my duck house does not have that and you could learn new curses from me every time during clean up. It is also nice to have the ceiling high enough to stand or a removable roof, so that you don't have to crawl around in duck poop.
Grown up ducks don't need a heat source during the winter, important is that they stay dry and out of the wind, regardless of what direction it is blowing.
You can find countless duck-houses in the small-coops section of the library, just look around and adapt for your purpose. Have fun with your ducks!

 

[bernie131]

Ducks do better if their house is close to the ground. Def make it a walk for you so much easier for cleaning. Collecting eggs. I have plywood on the floors of my coop with sheet vinyl over top then I put shaving down on the vinyl. You want good ventilation for their health and even in winter they need it. Congrats on have a girl now two females one drake isn’t a bad ratio. Glad to hear Shorty is trying to become part of the flock now.

Thanks for the info, where do I get shavings,wood shavings? I have a lot of trees down due to storms maybe I need a chipper ,..How are your babies, do you know what you have yet?

 

[bernie131]

Ducks are really bad climbing up ramps, so a dwelling close to the ground is preferred. For three ducks you need at least 12.00sqft of sleeping space and 30.00sqft of outside space if you don't free-range. As Miss Lydia wrote, a floor that is easy to clean is of the essence - my duck house does not have that and you could learn new curses from me every time during clean up. It is also nice to have the ceiling high enough to stand or a removable roof, so that you don't have to crawl around in duck poop.
Grown up ducks don't need a heat source during the winter, important is that they stay dry and out of the wind, regardless of what direction it is blowing.
You can find countless duck-houses in the small-coops section of the library, just look around and adapt for your purpose. Have fun with your ducks!

Thanks for the info, so definitely not have grass bottom because they love to make mud puddles, is that right? So have a floor of vinyl the best?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I had 6 duckling hatch here this year and 5 were drakes. 4 went to new homes I kept one since I already have 2 drakes besides this one. My two youngest turned 6 weeks this past Wed. I’d def put a wood floor in your coop and buy cheap vinyl to put over it it is so nice to help keep it all clean. If you have a TSC they have shavings or most feed stores carry it. The only wood you shouldn’t use is cedar. The oils are harmful to poultry respiratory system.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Thanks for the info, so definitely not have grass bottom because they love to make mud puddles, is that right? So have a floor of vinyl the best?

I have the "old" duckling-house out on the grass, because i am too lazy to disassemble it and it became a beloved napping spot for ducks. Did i say "grass"? - Well inside of the house there is no grass anymore, just bare dirt, dried rock-hard and covered in dried poop.
Currently i am working on two pallets, closing the gaps between the deck-boards so that there will be a flat surface. Then painting that surface with deck-restoration- and underside with red barn paint and then use the two pallets as a solid floor for the duckling-house. This way i can move it around and it won't require a flat surface. - I have very few flat surfaces on my land.
So apart from a piece of cheap vinyl, there are other possibilities for the floor:

• Deck-restoration paint
• Truck-bed liner
• Rubber floor mats
• Concrete slab
• …

The important thing is that the surface must not be slippery when it is poopy-wet. The deck boards in my duck-house become slippery when i release the Duckies too late in the morning because they make a mess there out of boredom and in the end they slip and fall on their bills and i slip and have not yet fallen, but i need to do something there. Problem is, what to do in a fully operational duck-house? I can't use any of the coating solutions or i will end up with permanently attached ducks… So far the pieces of cheap vinyl i found did not have enough structure to not turn slippery. Time will show me a solution, patience!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I use deep litter in my houses so don’t have any vinyl exposed. But all other things are def a possibility. My 1 coop has been up an running since 2009 vinyl still holding up.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I use deep litter in my houses so don’t have any vinyl exposed. But all other things are def a possibility. My 1 coop has been up an running since 2009 vinyl still holding up.

Remember, my Duckie's house is divided into three rooms: Two bedrooms with currently a foot of straw bedding and a large living/dining room with the bare wood-floor. They have food and water there, just in case they must stay inside for a day. If i put down any bedding in that area it will be a wet, stinky mess in no time.
So every weekend i take the feeder and the waterer out and hose down the floor. Water and poop drains down through the gaps between the deck-boards and runs into the compost bin below the duck house, where the pumpkin monster-plant is growing. I'm just not sure how long treated wood will withstand this kind of abuse.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Ducks are really bad climbing up ramps, so a dwelling close to the ground is preferred. For three ducks you need at least 12.00sqft of sleeping space and 30.00sqft of outside space if you don't free-range. As Miss Lydia wrote, a floor that is easy to clean is of the essence - my duck house does not have that and you could learn new curses from me every time during clean up. It is also nice to have the ceiling high enough to stand or a removable roof, so that you don't have to crawl around in duck poop.
Grown up ducks don't need a heat source during the winter, important is that they stay dry and out of the wind, regardless of what direction it is blowing.
You can find countless duck-houses in the small-coops section of the library, just look around and adapt for your purpose. Have fun with your ducks!

I have a plywood floor in my pen and use hay for bedding. Every morning I take my garden fork and carefully go under the flattened pieces of poo from the night before. I put it out in the run where it is broken down further and then into the garden. My flooring never gets wet at all because I take care of it daily and when the hay gets thin I just add more.