Housing/cleaning/BUGS

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

I have four ducks and they get to free range during the day in a fenced in pond area (an acre or so). In that fenced in pond area, they have a dog kennel along with a duck house they stay in at night.

Ever since I moved them down to this bigger fenced in enclosure, they only get their water from the pond, not from hose anymore, their poop is different. Like so much bigger and almost black. They don’t act sick, if anything, they seem happier because they used to be in a smaller cage. They forage all day and I feed them pellets in the afternoon. But their little house at night gets exploded with poop to the point to where I’m really cleaning it once or twice a week. And there’s flies and maggots.

What do I do? I can’t imagine sitting and trying to sleep at night with maggots and I’m afraid the maggots are going to do something to them health wise.

Any tips or similar experiences??

 

[ruthhope]

I have four ducks and they get to free range during the day in a fenced in pond area (an acre or so). In that fenced in pond area, they have a dog kennel along with a duck house they stay in at night.

Ever since I moved them down to this bigger fenced in enclosure, they only get their water from the pond, not from hose anymore, their poop is different. Like so much bigger and almost black. They don’t act sick, if anything, they seem happier because they used to be in a smaller cage. They forage all day and I feed them pellets in the afternoon. But their little house at night gets exploded with poop to the point to where I’m really cleaning it once or twice a week. And there’s flies and maggots.

What do I do? I can’t imagine sitting and trying to sleep at night with maggots and I’m afraid the maggots are going to do something to them health wise.

Any tips or similar experiences??

The black poop is from eating soil/mud and nothing to worry about.

As for their sleeping quarters, you have to use bedding and either rake it out every day, or deep layer by adding a new layer of clean, dry bedding on top each day. I use pine shavings and dried leaves, but others use straw successfully.

 

[Jpat]

The black poop is from eating soil/mud and nothing to worry about.

As for their sleeping quarters, you have to use bedding and either rake it out every day, or deep layer by adding a new layer of clean, dry bedding on top each day. I use pine shavings and dried leaves, but others use straw successfully.

Pine shavings are great, Smell nice and you can sift it with a pitchfork like a cat litter. And its soft on their feet too helo avoid bumble foot

Alot of people around here are using horse bedding too

 

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

I don’t put a lot of pine shavings because summer but maybe that doesn’t make a difference?

Also, like I said, their poop is ALOT to where it’s caked and you can’t even see the shavings anymore and there’s maggots. I’m worried that they’ll get in their vents. And with the flies and maggots, I’m not sure how I can just add more shavings over top the nasty stuff.

Do I need to give them apple cider vinegar or some type of antibiotic that’ll flush them out or keep them from getting anything? We sell their eggs but when I noticed the maggots the second time and have been watching their poop for a couple weeks, I stopped because I was told they could have parasites/worms and you can’t see them in the eggs

 

[Miss Lydia]

To keep flies and maggots down or non existent scoop all wet nasty bedding out daily.

 

[ruthhope]

I don’t put a lot of pine shavings because summer but maybe that doesn’t make a difference?

Also, like I said, their poop is ALOT to where it’s caked and you can’t even see the shavings anymore and there’s maggots. I’m worried that they’ll get in their vents. And with the flies and maggots, I’m not sure how I can just add more shavings over top the nasty stuff.

Do I need to give them apple cider vinegar or some type of antibiotic that’ll flush them out or keep them from getting anything? We sell their eggs but when I noticed the maggots the second time and have been watching their poop for a couple weeks, I stopped because I was told they could have parasites/worms and you can’t see them in the eggs

I agree you need to scoop out the worst poopy mess daily, and then add enough pine shavings to provide a clean top layer