Help with Muscovies...

[DVTO2]

I had such good luck with chickens this year that I wanted to try some other poultry. I had planned on getting some ducks in the Spring, but went to a poultry fair and wound up with a trio of lavender muscovies. I wasn't as prepared as I was for the chickens, but ended up covering the corner of my welded wire dog yard with poultry fencing with dog house for shelter. it is a cold and snowy NE winter and the ducks have been spending a lot of time in the dog house. i saw how dirty the litter got and cleaned it out but the weather got more brutal last week and the ducks must have spent even more time in the dog house in less than a week the litter got so filthy that one of the hens got dirty and died, my guess is from being damp and cold. When it's been warm enough I have been filling a contractor's pan so they can wash themselves but it's been too cold much of the time. My long term plan is some kind of tractor with maybe some free range as well, but I need to wait till it gets a little less snowy to do this properly. My question is how best to keep these ducks clean given my limited set up. Is there a better way than changing there litter twice a week, which thanks to a poop board, is way more than I have to do with my chickens. Thanks.

 

[Bleenie]

what are the temps like where you are? I know it went down below 10F here and I had to add a heat light to the coop for one of my older Muscovy boys and a hen.. all of them appreciated it though. She could have died from being damp and cold. Why don't you set a tarp or piece of plastic on the floor then add the bedding on top, then you can just pull it all out and it's much easier to clean that way. they do need dry bedding, especially if it's cold and they've been bathing and getting wet....

 

[Miss Lydia]

sorry for your loss.

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Sorry for your loss.

Try what Bleenie suggested w/the tarp & litter. Also, can you tarp part of the kennel so that its sheltered fm the snow and wind also? Also, place some logs or set up a roosting area so they can get up off the snow. Scovies are prone to frost bite so you need to watch for that. It's been a bitter cold and snowy week here also and I've had to pretty much keep my Scovies inside their shed. Even when I do open the door for a few hrs. they stay inside pretty much and roost on top of the nest boxes which are bins w/lids on them. I generally brush the snow off the logs outside I have for them to roost on so they can sit up out of the snow. I do have a heat lamp over their water bowls to keep them thawed which helps heat the shed just a bit once the door is closed. We expect - 3 tonight for a low.

I and my ducks are ready for a thaw.

 

[DVTO2]

A tarp in the dog house seems like a handy idea. The tractor I was planning will have a tarp on three sides of one end and the roof. I was hoping that would be enough for the scovies, with maybe a roost of some kind.