housing call ducks

[minister man]

I want to raise my call ducks in pens, but not the raised ones with wire floors. does anyone know how much room they need in a floor pen? Holdereads books of ducks says ducks need 6-8 sq feet per bird, but I am thinking that is big ducks since the book isn't really about bantams. I want a pen for 3-6 ducks how big? I know that they need a run for daytime in the summer.

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

Ducks are messy. The bigger the better so they don't make a mess quickly. My pen has 7 calls in it right now, the house is 6' x 4' and the pen is about 20' x 40'. The awesome thing is our sandy soil dries fast, if you have heavier soil you may have drainage issues around their "pond" or water source, so you could put down some gravel. I know my pen is extra large, but I probably wouldn't try anything smaller than 12' x 12'.

 

[minister man]

wow, that sure is a lot bigger than those "raised pens" I have been reading about! I guess they get away with such a small pen because the wire floor keeps them from getting too dirty and wet.

 

[minister man]

So, if I went with the raised pens,( I have found some plans on line for those) Would I be better off to build one that is 4x8 and put a couple of drakes and three or 4 hens, or build two smaller ones maybe 3x5 and set up two trios?

I guess the birds wouldn't be on wire when they were in thier little house, or in thier water trough. Maybe if I covered the wire with oat straw, it would be easier on thier feet, and the water would still drain down through. Does anyone use wooden slatted floors?

 

[minister man]

How large of a raised pen would you use, if you only had a pair? I am Starting to think, "How many do I really Need, if they are just pets"