Help get ducks out of house

[Banana01]

My muscovy ducks, 1 male and 1 female, are currently sleeping in my house at night. The female was laying eggs when I got her, and I had no other place to put her nesting box because of the eggs and rats. It has been almost 45 days and the eggs have hatched and the babies are doing well. Here is their nest where they sleep now. The male sleeps in the corner, and the female gets enclosed to protect from him.

Predators are not a concern at night, only for unhatched eggs but the egg laying is over. Does anyone have input as to the type of enclosure neccessary? Does it have to be rain proof or just rain resilient? Does it have to stay dry? I have a bunch of galvanized roofing and wood. I was thinking of just putting a simple structure together where they can sleep under a roof and be protected from the rain. Is that reasonable? These ducks free range all day so I would like them to be free to hunt at night for food also.

Here is a picture of where I was thinking of building it, next to some water and up on a mound of dirt protected from drainage during the rain. Can I just build a simple enclosure with a roof and throw them out?

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Hi! I don't have experience with Muscovy ducks specifically or know much about Peru, but my thoughts are that your ducks would be fine with a very simple structure - and could well actually prefer it over a fully protected and waterproof chicken coop structure. I have a lean-to style "duck hut" available for mine, and they do visit it during the day when they want some shade, but at night they prefer to just plop down and sleep next to their kiddie pool, with no roof at all. I think if I were in your position, I would set a wood floor in the ground above mud level, and raise a roof over it with the concrete blocks in your photo. Maybe banana leaves or something on the floor for extra insulation.

I've found that my domestic ducks behave like wild ducks in the rain - they absolutely love it! As with "cleanliness" I think ducks have their own standard for "dryness". I trust them to go where they're comfortable, so I try to provide a variety of environments and let them wander where/when they choose. I would also trust Mama Duck to know when her babies can be out in the rain and when they should dry off, and she should coat them with her preening oil to keep them somewhat waterproofed.

Best wishes! Bryan