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

[WannaBeHillBilly]

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.

I really like to see a picture of that! Awesome!

 

[elmoflim]

I really like to see a picture of that! Awesome!

Me too, but they see me and think I have treats or I’m putting them to bed. So they’ll either take off for last swim or run at me excited.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you could join the Flock! Let me know if you need anything!

 

[Anime2lover]

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?

My ducks like to stay outside, only going in to lay eggs for the most part. Their "living" quarters is under the home made deck that their dick house sits on.

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?

My adult ducks dont even sleep in the house their provided, only lay eggs in it. They sleep under the deck that their duck house is on.

Tou could use large dog houses on the ground, turn water tanks into huts for them would probably work to.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

My ducks like to stay outside, only going in to lay eggs for the most part. Their "living" quarters is under the home made deck that their dick house sits on.

My adult ducks dont even sleep in the house their provided, only lay eggs in it. They sleep under the deck that their duck house is on.

Tou could use large dog houses on the ground, turn water tanks into huts for them would probably work to.

umm... Duck?

 

[quackiemama]

that made me giggle

 

[WVduckchick]

gotta love autocorrect

 

[Anime2lover]

umm... Duck?

Oh geeze quite the typo there XD ,yes I meant duck house, not the other

 

[Lynxfire]

Our duckhouse is pretty big. It is not a perfect rectangle because we put it between a shed and a angled fence but for 12 they have plenty of room. It has 3 rooms. It goes from 5.5ft to 7ft wide, 13ft to 15ft long and with the slanted roof that raises up (includes part of the side wall) 5ft to 4ft tall. Sizes are estimated. Pictures are from when it was being built.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Oh geeze quite the typo there XD ,yes I meant duck house, not the other

that's what I figured!