Help with duck house ( Newbie)

[mvinotime]

Hello. I am new to ducks. Getting four Pekins this weekend about age 2 mos. Hubby and I built a duck house to lock them in at night that is 4x6 in size. They also have a 50x50 enclosed yard for daytime. My questions are many lol but to start, do you normally keep food and water IN the duck house where they sleep at night? It will be open during the day and locked at night but I have read they can be very messy and didn't want my straw bedding to turn to mush in there. Any tips on best place to keep food and water for them? Thanks so much.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

yes, they are super messy, lol I keep my water and food outside when they are out all day, but if i have a day where i can't let them out, i put it in the shed. Also, if you are keeping their water outside, also feed them outside and withhold it at night...they need water to wash down anything they eat. good luck! Pekins are really fun ducks!

 

[needlessjunk]

At that age I would not put food or water in the house unless they cannot come out due to weather. It is not worth the mess to me to keep it in the house especially when it is a smaller coop.

 

[mvinotime]

Thank you for the replies. I will leave food and water outside the house. Where I live (northern CA) I don't foresee it ever being too inclement of weather to turn them loose all day. We rarely dip below freezing here and that is only at night. I will need to build an eating area that is covered so that rain won't get in the food. I have heard a rubber feed tub from TSC is good for drinking water but what about feeders? Also just a pan or dish? And I was told layer pellets would be a good feed? But I had read where some folks feed game feed? Is there a preference?

 

[JoyAnna]

It took me a while to learn this about their feed pan: It should have straight sides so it won't tip over so easily, and be deep enough that they won't scoop the feed out. They tend to sort of scoop the food up with their bills rather than peck it up like chickens. I use the rubber feed bowls for their food and a bucket for their water. You are in for some really good times. Enjoy!

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

Thank you for the replies. I will leave food and water outside the house. Where I live (northern CA) I don't foresee it ever being too inclement of weather to turn them loose all day. We rarely dip below freezing here and that is only at night. I will need to build an eating area that is covered so that rain won't get in the food. I have heard a rubber feed tub from TSC is good for drinking water but what about feeders? Also just a pan or dish? And I was told layer pellets would be a good feed? But I had read where some folks feed game feed? Is there a preference?

I feed mine a mix of wheat berries, corn, layer pellets, worms, mealworms, and fresh veggies (i grow all but the layer pellets). Layer pellets will work just fine, they don't really need game feed, but if you have it, you could maybe mix it. Ducks are better than chickens in the sense that they don't need anything special to lay well...lots of people just feed wheat berries. i feed them such a mix of stuff because i have it one hand.