help me with a ducky hut... new to ducks!

[Hillsvale]

So we got a cute little call duck this weekend who is now all alone (dog got her little male friend....) so I put the little duck in with the laying hens to protect her, I feel badly for her because she needs special access to the feed and she can't roost with the others... I thought the two little silkies would cuddle with her but they want to roost! So now I am going to get her two new friends but I wonder whether they should have their own little house within the chicken run....

If so, what do I build for three little call ducks, how big and how do I keep the chickens out (obviously they won't be getting a house like the chickens (see my page for pics if interested). Do others put a little water access (a big square dish or something) inside for the quackers or just give them something to drink? what about a nest and bedding?... do they care that they can't access a pond or anything during the winter?

I thought I would do a little square house with a ramp and a door for the nighttime lockdown and perhaps a hinged roof for easier clean out ... I wonder about having a mesh floor with a drop bottom because I heard they poop way more than a chicken... could this be true? If so then what about bedding... wouldn't that make the mesh floor inoperable?

Help me with links to your ducky huts!!

 

[katharinad]

Forget the wire floor. They can hurt themselves on it, plus their poo is so large only the liquid type would make it through. My best recommendation for sleeping quarters is a small shed partitioned into half. That allows you to store extra food and bedding in it. Get a scrap piece of vinyl for flooring and flip it upside down. That way they ducks cannot slip on it. Cover it with pine shavings and you are done. The extra space will allow you to put up nesting/bed boxes and allows you put in a feeding station too. My feeding station is plastic tray with the food, water, grit, and oyster shell bowl on it. Keeps down the mess they make. Not sure how to deal with the chicken.

 

[Hillsvale]

Quote:
That much space for a tiny call duck... she is two and not much bigger than my hand, you could put three of them in a shoe box they are so tiny.

The reason I commented on the wire is because that what the breeder had, I assumed because they were such a tiny breed that their poop would be tiny too

 

[Wifezilla]

Yea right! LOL

2 animals that have surprisingly huge poop for their size...ducks and quail.

 

[Hillsvale]

Quote:
Oh, c rap (Pun intended lol)

lets not forget turkeys and geese, I have mostly heritage but knew I wanted a christmas turkey which meant of course the BBW... their poop is large dog size...

charming topic!

shavings on the floor it is!

 

[katharinad]

Quote:
That much space for a tiny call duck... she is two and not much bigger than my hand, you could put three of them in a shoe box they are so tiny.

The reason I commented on the wire is because that what the breeder had, I assumed because they were such a tiny breed that their poop would be tiny too

Do you really think you will stop at 3 ducks? They are quite addictive, and you know how that goes. Plus you can partition is really small and enjoy all the extra storage space.

 

[Hillsvale]

Simons going to kill me... I already have another goat shed to build... though he did mention giving the little duckie their own run with access to the chickens run, this would give them about 60' x 30' with access to the chickens which is twice that!

I saw a cute little house on stilts though....

 

[TLWR]

Lowe's carries this dog house, er, I mean duck house.

It's a kit to be assembled. We added a door (I have no pics of it with the door... hmmm, must remedy that)

Hinged roof for easy cleaning

I can attach a clamp light to the roof.
I just started recently adding a plastic bin in with pine needles and whatever leaves are mixed in with what I raked up.
I hose it out in the morning after I let them out.

Working pretty well for my 3 runners.

 

[PineappleMama]

^Oh I LOVE that! I was randomly thinking on how the devil I would manage a hinged roof for cleaning (in those Some Day Day Dreams) and figured it'd be a disaster with MY mechanical skills... glad to see I could get prefab.

 

[Hillsvale]

that is very cute.. I could manage that but would need to come up with a funky creation for the hinged roof.... I would never be so sensible as to buy anything premade! lol