How to keep ducks and their pen mud free during winter.

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I use a stock tank for their pool and I just laid down shade cloth and plan to put pea gravel around on it to help with the mud.

 

[kbandrews]

I started out with pea gravel in the pen, but it gets covered with mud, so I laid in some hay. The gravel makes it easy to clear out the muddy hay, but you lose alot of the gravel in the process and now I have gravel in my compost... There must be a better way. I tried cedar shavings, too. They smell nice but they poisoned the soil and killed off the Kiwi vine. I only have three ducks; two runners and a mix of something that is definately not runner. Very messy but very funny and I love them!

 

[Kevin565]

I would use the sand as well. I think it should help absorb even more moisture.

 

[Amiga]

Wow, Miss Lydia, stuff sure can pile up all of a sudden especially when the weather turns.

We have the nine runners and the pea gravel over soil seems fine - just not maintenance-free (always I dream . . . )

I grade the gravel so that it drains fairly quickly when I dump the concrete mixing pan (a.k.a. kiddie pool). I have a little trench that goes downhill away from the duck pen and toward the garden, so the fertilizer goes to the plants and the water doesn't sit around. The ducks, of course, like to dabble in the dumped water as much as they like swimming in the fresh water.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks then I am off to Lowes this Thursday to get started on this project.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Quote:
Right now I throw the used pine shaving out and around and it's kinda like the straw after a while it gets bogged down and spongy so I am thinking the pea gravel will help to keep the nasties under it and i can just rinse off at night as long as the hose stay thawed. Now should I put sand under the gravel or is that over kill? appreciate your imput with 10 ducks and 1 goose it is very gross right now and we had alot of rain yesterday and now snow so it's getting worse by the minute.

We roll up our hoses and bring them inside when its going to freeze outside. Then we bring them back outside in the morning. We use our hoses all winter long by doing this. This way they don't freeze up on us.

We use straw or hay down in our duck and goose yards too. I'm always afraid with the pea gravel of them eating or choking on it.

Laurie

 

[Angeljim95]

I use the thick-ish fake grass carpet, its really easy to clean off as well

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Right now I throw the used pine shaving out and around and it's kinda like the straw after a while it gets bogged down and spongy so I am thinking the pea gravel will help to keep the nasties under it and i can just rinse off at night as long as the hose stay thawed. Now should I put sand under the gravel or is that over kill? appreciate your imput with 10 ducks and 1 goose it is very gross right now and we had alot of rain yesterday and now snow so it's getting worse by the minute.

We roll up our hoses and bring them inside when its going to freeze outside. Then we bring them back outside in the morning. We use our hoses all winter long by doing this. This way they don't freeze up on us.

We use straw or hay down in our duck and goose yards too. I'm always afraid with the pea gravel of them eating or choking on it.

Laurie

I never thought they might eat the pea gravel? Now I'll have to rethink this. Thanks for input.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
This would work if inside a penned area but I'm talking a pretty large outdoor area , it wouldn't work for me. Thanks for the input though.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I have not had any problems with wetness since I added pea gravel in the run part of my duck enclosure & sand in the house area. It has done wonders.
I find it pretty easy to just rake off the straw layer and haven't had too much pea gravel work its way into the compost. I rake the pea gravel around, rinse with the hose, rake & rinse again. Pretty easy.
My ducks nibbled the gravel & found it was just rocks. They haven't gorged themselves on it.