Flooring for duck pen?

[BigBlock]

I'm building a pen that's 7'x11' for my two ducks. Inside they will have a self filling pond and I don't want a muddy/poopy mess. (well, at least as little as possible!) What should I use as the substrate for the flooring in their pen? Right now I'm using straw for the ducklings but I have to change that daily. Is there something with a little less maintainence? I was thinking about something like pea gravel, then I could wash it down easily. Would that work?

 

[Kevin565]

Yes it would work but no that would not be my first choice for a duck pen. Many people have had excellent luck with using sand to combat the smell of ducks

 

[70%cocoa]

Pea gravel does work, but you need a deep layer (like, a few inches) and the downside, as you mention, is having to hose it.

I originally set up my pens with a 3 inch gravel base topped with 3 inches of sand. I pooper scooped the sand every day. There was also a small paved area that I hosed off (which was a pain in winter as the hose froze...). About 6 months ago I started changing the pens over to deep litter. One just has a 7 inch layer of litter (I use rice hulls) and the other two now still have the 4 inches of gravel and about 2 inches of sand but also a 2-3 inch layer of mulch on top. I stir up the mulch every day using a hoe with three prongs on it. After a few weeks the litter starts to break down and become a nice compost which doesn't smell. Basically, good bacteria eat the poop, as they do in a compost heap. I change out the litter every few months and put it on my garden.

So, overall, I'd recommend a sand base (for drainage) topped with deep litter that you dig over a bit each day. You need to use a litter that is in small pieces so you can mix it up (not straw).

Here is a pic of the base of one of my pens before I put the gravel/sand/litter in:

 

[cskotek]

Im not sure but for water drainage you can always use for the bottom a large rock and layer it yup to a small gravel so the water dosent lay and if its just 2 ducks you may only need to hose it down once or twice a week, or if your top layer of rock is think enough just rake it. Thats my idea. lol

 

[Missy60]

I tried using straw it's a real pain in the pen. I still use what I have left in the coop part though and it works fine in there. My base is just like cocoas except I have a layer of sand, then a layer of pine shavings. I also use the three prong thing to stir up the pine shavings. I first poop scoop out the poop with a small shovel and dust pan thing I bought. I think it was originally intended for dogs, but it works great.

When using the deep litter don't you get a lot of flies? When I was using the straw you couldn't really scope out the poop and I had a few flies around. I basically don't really have a fly problem at all now.

 

[BigBlock]

Im not sure but for water drainage you can always use for the bottom a large rock and layer it yup to a small gravel so the water dosent lay and if its just 2 ducks you may only need to hose it down once or twice a week, or if your top layer of rock is think enough just rake it. Thats my idea. lol

That's kinda what I want to do, the pen is already on a slight slope and I want to use larger rock at the bottom to allow for drainage. Then maybe some smaller gravel or sand. I'm going to install a hose bib next to the duck pen to make it easy to clean out, maybe even a sprinkler inside to make it "self cleaning".

 

[cskotek]

That's kinda what I want to do, the pen is already on a slight slope and I want to use larger rock at the bottom to allow for drainage. Then maybe some smaller gravel or sand. I'm going to install a hose bib next to the duck pen to make it easy to clean out, maybe even a sprinkler inside to make it "self cleaning".

Only reason i suggest the big to small is because my dad laid in some drainage pipe that has holes in it and when he buried it he put rock around it so the water can seep away and not make a mess. I love the rock idea, nd for it to be easy on the ducks feet you can even put the top layer as those smooth rocks or even river rock.

 

[70%cocoa]

When using the deep litter don't you get a lot of flies? When I was using the straw you couldn't really scope out the poop and I had a few flies around. I basically don't really have a fly problem at all now.

Missy, to my great surprise, I don't get a lot of flies with the deep litter. I think it's because I dig it over every day, so poop is quite quickly dug in and starts to be eaten and broken down by good bacteria, before flies can really get a hold. It really doesn't smell at all (which I still find amazing!!!). Having said that, it was a little whiffy in the first few weeks until the bacteria got going and got stuck into the poo. You need to let a little ecoystem develop.
Sounds like it is working great for you too!! I am really sold on deep litter for ducks now (as long as you can dig it over daily).

I agree with the idea of putting the bigger rocks at the bottom, then smaller ones towards the top. Bif, smooth river rocks on the top (eg. round their water supply) would be good too though.

 

[Cbrock2]

what do you mean with dig it over? it seems like something i would like to do for our 3 acona's,... im planning on building a pen on top of a 10x7 concreate slab we got, so it wont be to messy i hope, any suggestions

 

[cskotek]

Like taking a metal rake and mixing the top layer under so theres a new layer for the dropings. And concrete is what gave my runner bumble foot so your going to have to cover the concrete with something softer for their foot pads.