HELP NEEDED! Enticing my Muscovies into a new duck house...

[allanjensaft]

I get the feeling that one of our Muscovy hens is broody, but I can't get them to go into the new house I've put together for them...

Tried walking them in, tried with food, tried with encouragement - nothing works!

Any hints, or tips?

 

[Miss Lydia]

How many Muscovy do you have? And if you don’t have any ventilation and windows in that coop your going to roast them if they do go inside. Any openings will need to be covered in hardware cloth.

 

[allanjensaft]

How many Muscovy do you have? And if you don’t have any ventilation and windows in that coop your going to roast them if they do go inside. Any openings will need to be covered in hardware cloth.

Thank you, one drake and three hens.

The other side is fine chicken wire from halfway up, for ventilation!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Okay chicken wire will not keep out predators only keep our birds in. You need hardware cloth over that chicken wire. As for getting them inside try putting fencing around your coop and food an water in there and teach them to go inside by training them. I use temp plastic fencing from Lowe’s and those heavy plastic fence post to stick into the ground. Easy to make a gate too. Once you get them inside the fence slowly herd them inside.

 

[allanjensaft]

Okay chicken wire will not keep out predators only keep our birds in. You need hardware cloth over that chicken wire. As for getting them inside try putting fencing around your coop and food an water in there and teach them to go inside by training them. I use temp plastic fencing from Lowe’s and those heavy plastic fence post to stick into the ground. Easy to make a gate too. Once you get them inside the fence slowly herd them inside.

Thank you, for both bits of advice! Will try the temporary fencing this weekend.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

We had a hard time getting ours in at night, i decided it was the ramp. It was plenty wide enough for passage but I’m sure “having your ducks in a row” is a myth. I widened it to 51” and there is no step at all, they didn’t seem to like that. Now they stand on the ramp at night wanting In. They have a small duck door 18” square inside the big door. They want the big door opened . I leave the small one open all day, they aren’t happy with just that. But they stand in the ramp at night to be let in
So in short, no step up, and wide ramp we’re what I found helped me

 

[Going Quackers]

Okay chicken wire will not keep out predators only keep our birds in. You need hardware cloth over that chicken wire. As for getting them inside try putting fencing around your coop and food an water in there and teach them to go inside by training them. I use temp plastic fencing from Lowe’s and those heavy plastic fence post to stick into the ground. Easy to make a gate too. Once you get them inside the fence slowly herd them inside.

Agreed. I find Muscovy stubborn about housing, they go from squeezing themselves into the silliest of places to avoiding proper places you'd think they'd go.

They will learn this new place is safe and a source of what they want ie; food/water ducks in general are very distrustful of anything new but they are prey animals so it's to be expected.