Holy "Crap"...

[JP101010]

Our two ducks are poop picasso's. Every morning its a different masterpiece , on the floor of the barn , walls , chickens , chicken wire , you name it. They do not discriminate when handing out there works of art

Sometimes the chickens get even drop "paint" from up above onto the ducks as payback.

I only have two , thankfully , More than two ducks and there would be a possibility of birds drowning in poop in the barn so no way would i ever get more ducks..

Ohh well , i guess thats why they make a pressure nozzle for the hose..

 

[Tivona]

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NOWAY! That is so cool! I have a cockatiel and although she rarely poops on my I bet she'd be smart enough to learn. As for my ducks...I agree I'm going to have to separate them. During the summer they had separate Coops and only because the ducks couldn't get up the ramp to the chicken coop but now that the snow is upon us I had to move them into a temporary coop (it's a shed with a large dog house inside) closer to the house so I could keep a heated water bowl plugged in. I think I'm going to try the barrier idea first because they love to be together and this way I wouldn't have to totally separate them. They always travel as a pack and have had since the time they were babies.

Try searching potty training birds. Several websites give what looks like good tips judging my brief glance. I personally have not done any potty training for birds so I can't give any tips but I do know that for at least some birds it is possible.

 

[chickschool]

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I too only have two ducks and agree anymore and it would be a bit to much for me. I love them to death and they are so much fun to watch and full of PERSONALITY! Interestingly enough they did sleep in a coop I'd built last winter (before ducks) and the reason I switched to the current layout is because I was worried about the chickens pooping on the ducks. The chickens slept on the roost and the ducks insisted on sleeping right under them. Ironically enough they never had poop on their backs so either it slid off or the chickens didn't poop all night. I'm guessing the first.

 

[cbohn80]

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your best bet is to find a way to help it dry fast. try and have the pen over layers of sand and gravel or have the pen on a hill that slopes slightly to drive away moisture. i also throw some pine shavings or dry leaves over the poop every few weeks to block the smell. ducks are messy, the only way around it is let them freerange at all times or get rid of them. personally i think they are worth the extra work. i have noticed the more access to clean water they have the more liquidy their poop will be helping it not to mound up. best of luck

 

[duckluck]

The good part about ducks and poop is, unlike chickens, they generally don't perch or roost and so they don't shoot ducky goo all down walls and whatnot...they keep it at the local lower level.

 

[kstes347]

We currently have 4 ducks! 2 adults that reside outdoors all day and night and 2 babies who are inside with us during the day (in diapers, which they seem to grow out of every other day) but outside at night, and the amount of poop we deal with is ridiculous!! Our coop is right on the ground but we are making plans to raise it up a bit so that the poo doesn't pile up as much.

I've heard a lot about chicken poop being great for fertilizer, does anyone know if it is the same with ducks? We also let our ducks free range in the yard during the day, does anyone have any tips about how to keep the yard clean? Ours is mostly dirt with some grass, we are just interested in trying to keep things clean around here!

 

[Tahai]

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I compiled this chart last year for my Mastering Manure presentation at our local Master Gardener symposium. Hope it helps some.

Happy Gardening,

Tahai

 

[goosedragon]

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Crazy 1 Get off you butt and go put down fresh litter. Crazy 2 Research the 'deep litter system'

 

[chickschool]

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Crazy 1 Get off you butt and go put down fresh litter. Crazy 2 Research the 'deep litter system'

Oh trust me...my butt is out there everyday cleaning off the top layer of litter and putting down fresh. Sometimes twice a day because it gets cold and wet due to the snow and since they don't roost they have no other option but to sleep on top of it. The coop they are in right now isn't large enough to do the "deep litter system". I researched that last year but it seems gross to me.

 

[stargazingmommy]

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Crazy 1 Get off you butt and go put down fresh litter. Crazy 2 Research the 'deep litter system'

Oh trust me...my butt is out there everyday cleaning off the top layer of litter and putting down fresh. Sometimes twice a day because it gets cold and wet due to the snow and since they don't roost they have no other option but to sleep on top of it. The coop they are in right now isn't large enough to do the "deep litter system". I researched that last year but it seems gross to me.

I thought it would be gross also, but I've been thrilled with it.
I'm even starting to get excited to do a deep clean out come spring to stick it in my compost bin.
My chickens don't stink. That was the biggest thing for me, since I live in the city and have neighbors. We accidentally started this in the attached run(its covered and in the shed) also. The run was just dirt(the birds free range almost all day and only get locked in at night). But, bad weather hit and the ducks moved in, and I had to throw something down to help contain the mess. So, a couple layers of pine shavings with straw on top and all is good and my containment areas don't smell.
I went digging through the bedding in the coop looking for the missing eggs the broody hen was sitting on(never found them), and was thrilled at the amount of composting in the lower layers and the heat being put off(the eggs must have been toasty warm having heat from above and below)