Help ducks going bald on bellies

[Ally2u4me]

What kind of lock is best?!? Do ducks need lots of space to sleep?!?

Chicken wire will not keep out predators it only works to keep poultry in. To make a really safe place for your ducks you'll need to use hardware wire[cloth] over any openings and have a secure lock going into your duck house because raccoons can open many a lock.  Some kind of netting over the top of your kennel secured so climbing or flying preds can't get in.  @Ally2u4me
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[Miss Lydia]

Looks like you have a good plan for the water.
When they get wet its normal to look like there is bald areas. Once they are dry and fluffed up they look normal again.
And i also bought a second rubbermade and cut the sides off and connected them. Because even with a diff waterer they still will get their bedding all wet.
So i connected mine and kept food and water on one side and the heat lap on the other with still one side cool. So one side always stayed dry and the water side often wet but i changed the bedding once a day.

Pics?

 

[chickens really]

I filled it up as it got dirty....You can use sour cream or cottage cheese containers too...I just used different sizes as they grew..Now I use an ice cream pail.....

It works a lot better than a bowl of water they can jump into and splash all over the place...

Sweet... Ive got to bulid a duck house cheap... I got a big dog kennel fence and old snowball stand... Maybe i can call lumber yard and see if they got scrap wood for cheap... Just not sure if i need to use chicken wire are what and how much will that run

Do you mean a dog run?......my Ducks live in a dog run and sleep in a Dog house.....


Cheers.....

 

[Miss Lydia]

What kind of lock is best?!? Do ducks need lots of space to sleep?!?

What breed are we talking about? 2-6sq foot depending on size. Calls smallest] 2sqft Pekins {largest] 6sqft. As large as you can go is better but these are the requirements.

as for locks I don't know the exact names but I use the slide bolt ones and then reinforce with the screen door latches that have the metal deal to keep the latch from coming open unless you slide it. .

 

[Ducks4us]

Pics? 

Unfortunatly no i took it apart once i moved them to the out door brooder/coop.....
basically two containers the same size i bought i think 45 -50 gallon? I can check that. The biggest home depot sells. And cut out a large section on each one and put them together. Left the top edges intact.
And drilled holes along the edges where they met and used zipties to keep the containers connected. The had a little step between the two .. so i filled deep enuf with pine shavinga to cover that.
Sorry dont know if that makes any sense..

 

[Ally2u4me]

What breed are we talking about?  2-6sq foot depending on size.  Calls smallest] 2sqft   Pekins {largest] 6sqft. As large as you can go is better but these are the requirements. 

as for locks I don't know the exact names but I use the slide bolt ones and then reinforce with the screen door latches that have the metal deal to keep the latch from coming open unless you slide it.  . 

One perkin and im not sure about the other one... Was told a rouen but thinking cayca

 

[Ally2u4me]

Yes dog run and my local lumber yard said i could come and see what scrap wood they have if i would like

 

[chickens really]

Yes dog run and my local lumber yard said i could come and see what scrap wood they have if i would like

That sounds good....Make sure it has a top on it and dig it down a bit into the ground so digging predators cant get in..A skirt of wire along the bottom buried under ground works great.....

Cheers!

 

[Ally2u4me]

Can i use screen wire are is that a no?!?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes dog run and my local lumber yard said i could come and see what scrap wood they have if i would like

Alot of folks use a dog run just keep in mind our birds are on the top of the menu for preds so it's very important we do all we can to keep them safe. Many a member has posted on here about their ducks sleeping next to the fencing and a pred[raccoons] reaching in and grabbing one or 2 and trying to pull them out through the fencing pulling off heads etc. Just trying to help you not to wake up to a heart breaking night mare like some have gone through. So saying all of that dog run fencing will need to be supported with another type of fencing most use Hardware wire and come up from the ground at least 2-3' and then to keep diggers out you'll need to some how do the outside of the run with either some type of skirting or heavy rock all around the outside. We have used raw wood from lumber yard to do many types of building here just keep it painted and it will last a long time.

You ducklings are adorable.