Help With Duck Pen Please!

[Webbie22]

New to site! First Post!

From San Diego, I believe my duck is a Pekin and about 8 weeks old. We (me and my girlfriend) got him from the swap meet. He was tiny when we got him, he could sit in my palm but they didn't tell us how old he was. Now he's pretty big, about 8 inches tall I would guess? he's a decent size, not too big or too small.

Ok so we have his food and water situation covered. Neither of us had a clue on how to raise a duck, we're both only 20 so needless to say, we've never owned a duck before haha. We also have a children's wading pool in the front yard. I was thinking about getting a snap set pool that is deeper because he alredy touches the floor of the wading pool. I would be open to any suggestions tho because those pools are a lil bigger than I wanted to get.
(If anyone close by has any little tikes step 2 pools for free or sale let me know please[: that would be ideal)

Also I am going to be building a pen for him on the side of the house. It's all concrete outside so i need to line the pen with sand or grass or hay or some types of floor for him. I was thinking Turf (artificial grass) but not sure if that was safe?

Any thoughts? Also i wanted to make a tarp to cover the cage of his pen so at night it'll be dark ?

He has a food bowl and waterer in his cage right now, it's pretty big so he has room for other things like toys and such but wouldn't have any clue what else or if he needs other things in his cage to keep him entertained? his pool is not in his cage.

Thanks a bunch[:

 

[OldGuy43]

We raised a single duck in a studio apartment once. A little hint; Do not teach them to do tricks that you don't want them performing when they get bigger. OldGal taught him to sit on her shoulder and give her "kisses" when he was little. Funny to watch when he got full grown.

Until your duck gets fully feathered out do not give him a pool that he can't touch the bottom in. He can drown. We lost one that way.

 

[jdywntr]

New to site! First Post!

From San Diego, I believe my duck is a Pekin and about 8 weeks old. We (me and my girlfriend) got him from the swap meet. He was tiny when we got him, he could sit in my palm but they didn't tell us how old he was. Now he's pretty big, about 8 inches tall I would guess? he's a decent size, not too big or too small.

Ok so we have his food and water situation covered. Neither of us had a clue on how to raise a duck, we're both only 20 so needless to say, we've never owned a duck before haha. We also have a children's wading pool in the front yard. I was thinking about getting a snap set pool that is deeper because he alredy touches the floor of the wading pool. I would be open to any suggestions tho because those pools are a lil bigger than I wanted to get.
(If anyone close by has any little tikes step 2 pools for free or sale let me know please[: that would be ideal)

Also I am going to be building a pen for him on the side of the house. It's all concrete outside so i need to line the pen with sand or grass or hay or some types of floor for him. I was thinking Turf (artificial grass) but not sure if that was safe?

Any thoughts? Also i wanted to make a tarp to cover the cage of his pen so at night it'll be dark ?

He has a food bowl and waterer in his cage right now, it's pretty big so he has room for other things like toys and such but wouldn't have any clue what else or if he needs other things in his cage to keep him entertained? his pool is not in his cage.

Thanks a bunch[:

First

If you aren't 100% sure on breed you can post pics of your duck and BYCers will give their opinions. Or you can just post pics since we all like to see them.

For you pen, as long as you have a way of rinsing/cleaning the pen out you could just give him bedding to sleep on. Hay would work but gets wet easy and needs to be cleaned out often. I think that he may try to eat Turf especially if it's a concrete area so could be dangerous/destructive. Maybe sand or pebbles would be good for you and easily available.

If he is going to be outside at night then you will need to make sure the pen is predator proof so a solidly constructed roof would be needed not just a tarp

Make sure he has a waterer that he can get his entire head into the water. They need to clean their eyes and nares (nose holes

)

He has obviously bonded to humans so you may want to get another duck to keep him company if he is going to be outside alot or all the time. There are differing views about this but I personally don't think that its fair to keep a lone duck unless you have absolutely nothing else going on in your life and can spend every minute with it. They are VERY social. I had a house duck for about 3 days. I do not have the patience for something that clingy.

 

[jbirds2012]

i had ducks a few years ago and i got them a small childrens pool. it always seemed liked they need a bigger one. but in my experience, i was glad to have a small pool because they track dirt in it and use it as thier bathroom and it's a lot easyier to dump out and clean than a big one.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. Good advice given. Good luck.

 

[aaabirdman]

From NY