Husband brought home 17 DUCKS and 10 Chickens...OMG

[amoreland0304]

Question bolded at the bottom if you do not want the back story or my rant haha.

SO my husband is awesome and decided 2 weeks ago to bring home 17 ducklings and 10 chicks from tractor supply. He did NOT think through the amount of work it was going to be to set them up a place. I had a VERY small chicken house I used for my guinea pigs and somehow he thought that would be great.

Last weekend we started upgrading the chicken house and since they are still small we were able to put a subfloor halfway down (we can remove it when they are bigger) so the ducks would have a place as well. The chickens and ducks are sharing a space as of now and since they are under really good supervision so far so good on them getting along We just moved them outside (they are all about 4 weeks old) and they are in a 30x30 run. (yes there is a pool but it is only filled when we are watching, I read up on ducklings and their ability to drown).

The chickens (roosting at night in the top of the "duplex") put themselves up every night, but we play Duck Wranglers every night scooping up the 17 ducks individually and getting them in their part of the house.

FYI we live in Texas and the nights are warm enough for them. We have precautions if the temps drop for a freak cold front.

I understand chickens and will be adding onto to their mobile house making it large enough for a roost and nesting area for them (they will all be free range once older).

My question. I have been looking for duck night time coop ideas and they all seem relatively small...idk like normal people only buy 5-6 ducks and not freaking 17. How do you suggest I do this and how large of a place do they need to sleep at night? They all seem to pile up in a big pile...but are they always going to do this?

 

[elmoflim]

Question bolded at the bottom if you do not want the back story or my rant haha.

SO my husband is awesome and decided 2 weeks ago to bring home 17 ducklings and 10 chicks from tractor supply. He did NOT think through the amount of work it was going to be to set them up a place. I had a VERY small chicken house I used for my guinea pigs and somehow he thought that would be great.

Last weekend we started upgrading the chicken house and since they are still small we were able to put a subfloor halfway down (we can remove it when they are bigger) so the ducks would have a place as well. The chickens and ducks are sharing a space as of now and since they are under really good supervision so far so good on them getting along We just moved them outside (they are all about 4 weeks old) and they are in a 30x30 run. (yes there is a pool but it is only filled when we are watching, I read up on ducklings and their ability to drown).

The chickens (roosting at night in the top of the "duplex") put themselves up every night, but we play Duck Wranglers every night scooping up the 17 ducks individually and getting them in their part of the house.

FYI we live in Texas and the nights are warm enough for them. We have precautions if the temps drop for a freak cold front.

I understand chickens and will be adding onto to their mobile house making it large enough for a roost and nesting area for them (they will all be free range once older).

My question. I have been looking for duck night time coop ideas and they all seem relatively small...idk like normal people only buy 5-6 ducks and not freaking 17. How do you suggest I do this and how large of a place do they need to sleep at night? They all seem to pile up in a big pile...but are they always going to do this?

yeah, if it’s too hot they like to sleep close by, but not piled up. I’d say they’re like babies and have to touch each other to feel safe and sound.

 

[sumi]

@Miss Lydia @WVduckchick

 

[WVduckchick]

Even when my ducks free range in the yard, they still take naps all together. Not a total pile, but within a few feet of each other.

Depending on the security of your run, and your predator threat, mine prefer to stay outside and not even go into a "house". They don't need feed and water overnight, so if you must wrangle them into an enclosure, it doesn't have to be huge. Just enough floor space for them all to spread out a little, maybe 1.5 to 2 square feet each?

Also, herding ducks with arms out wide is a little easier than catching them individually. They will usually get in a line, if you can funnel them toward a door, even with a couple of temporary guides to herd them the right direction. They will understand soon, and usually go on their own. Mine have to be herded if its before sunset, but right at last light, they go in on their own. They are always last to go in. My chickens seem to start going in right as the sun starts going down.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Wow, 17 is a lot! From your picture it looks like you are in wide open spaces and don't have any sort of shed or barn structure "They" say that each duck should have 4 sq feet. So if you got at least 4 pallets, laid 2 full plywood sheets on them and framed out a building that would be a start. I'm not sure that would even be big enough but better than nothing.

@Jpat is building his own pen and is doing a great job. I think he'd have some good ideas for you.

They are about the size mine where when a king snake killed one in the middle of the day so I'd be extra careful about that. I don't really know how but just thought I'd mention it.

 

[Henry&Friends]

Are you going to move the run every once in a while? Seems like it’d turn to mud real quick.

 

[Tannerpauldean]

Depending on the security of your run, and your predator threat, mine prefer to stay outside and not even go into a "house". They don't need feed and water overnight, so if you must wrangle them into an enclosure, it doesn't have to be huge. Just enough floor space for them all to spread out a little, maybe 1.5 to 2 square feet each?

I did this when I first started out, and it worked for a while (4-5 months). I live adjacent to a wooded area, and ended up losing all 6 of my ducks within 3 days from predators. I am building my flock up right now and am building a house to keep them in at night. I have a shed with an overhand and am closing up the overhang to create a safe place for them. I am figuring it will be 14x12 (168 sq ft) and able to comfortably house up to 30 ducks. We'll see if that number holds up when it all gets finished.

The structure I am building is solid wood on the bottom 4 feet of walls, with chicken wire or hardware cloth (haven't decided yet) on the top half of the walls. The roof is the existing metal roof on the overhang of the shed.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

You need to understand your husband, with ducklings its like with cars: The more horsepower the better. The more ducklings the cuter!
I raised fifteen (15!) ducklings starting this February, first in my home-office, then in the garage. Yes it is messy, but think about that you go through this only once and not multiple times over and over again. And a flock of 15 ducks messing up your yard is a lot of fun to watch! Do you have straight run ducklings and chicks or sexed. If straight run, start to think about what to do with excess drakes/roosters…

Even with a lot of space available, ducklings will always pile up. They need the body contact with the other ducklings, it makes them feel comfortable and safe. If you look at below picture of my first five Spring Ducklings in their Momma Heat Cave, you can see there's plenty of room available yet they all sit in one corner and pile up.

The older they are the less they will pile up. At an age of ~3½ weeks they all had their preferred sleeping spot in their brooder and were viciously protecting that. Still at an age of three months some BFFs sleep close together now in the duck house.
Ducklings and chicks can stay together in one house until the chicks start roosting while the ducklings still sleep on the floor - and being pooped on. Outside you need to watch for the chicks during the duckling's swimming time, they might have the idea to try swimming too and drown.

 

[quackiemama]

 

[elmoflim]

Mine are over a year old and still free range use the others’ butts as pillows I wish they’d let me take a picture of it. One will go and sleep with the silkies if the others aren’t feeling like piling up.