Lofty Duck House on Pond for Muscovies

[JayColli]

Hi all!

The last few days I’ve been digging out a pond in my yard in anticipation of getting a trio of Muscovies this year. I’d like to keep them in a duck house on the pond but I’ve read that unlike chickens they may not always return to their house at dusk and I won’t be able to close them in... So in thinking about alternatives, I’m wondering if Muscovies would still use a house if it were 2-3’ above the waters surface without any sort of ramp or ladder and fly up for refuge? I have a solar fencer that I would put on the house and line the underside of the platform with electrified wire to keep raccoons, foxes and dogs from getting up on the platform. The pond will be ~4’ deep at the center so flightless animals wouldn’t be able to push off the bottom and jump onto the platform. I’d like to build something similar to what is pictured below but lifted off the surface of the water 2-3’. Thoughts?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Looks like a nice house for ducks but most likely Muscovies would settle for sleeping on top where they would be subject to Flying preds at night.
About all you can do is try. I've had a few of mine fly up on top of their roof to their house thinking they were going to sleep up there. It's a high roof so I had to take the sprayer on the hose to get them down.

 

[JayColli]

Thanks for the reply Miss Lydia! If they were to sleep on top they would at least be safe from predators other than owls. Glad to hear that they tend to sleep up high like chickens or turkeys rather than tucking themselves away on the ground. Whether or not I can attach them to the little house I build for them or they choose another place to roost is the question... will they tend to stick around water when roosting?

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are actually tree rooster but so many preds will climb to get them and drakes tend to get too heavy to fly eventually. So to me trees are out of the question.

If you give them something like your talking about and feed them there you may train them to use it. If not they may choose to sleep on the ground close to water. Mine roost with the chicken inside their house. Then where to lay their eggs. They will want something private and with some kind of bedding so they can cover them. If you build this house maybe partition off a section for the females to go into to lay. Then they might brood there also if you want ducklings.

 

[3bird]

Hi all!

The last few days I’ve been digging out a pond in my yard in anticipation of getting a trio of Muscovies this year.

I'm trying to figure out how you are digging four feet down at this time of year. Isn't the ground frozen? ;-)

 

[JayColli]

They are actually tree rooster but so many preds will climb to get them and drakes tend to get too heavy to fly eventually. So to me trees are out of the question.

If you give them something like your talking about and feed them there you may train them to use it. If not they may choose to sleep on the ground close to water. Mine roost with the chicken inside their house. Then where to lay their eggs. They will want something private and with some kind of bedding so they can cover them. If you build this house maybe partition off a section for the females to go into to lay. Then they might brood there also if you want ducklings.

It's good to hear that it could work out. Would a roosting bar inside the coop make it more attractive to them?

I'm trying to figure out how you are digging four feet down at this time of year. Isn't the ground frozen? ;-)

I use my lumberjack's axe to get through the 3' of permafrost and then shovel the last foot!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Try it an see if they like a roost pole mine are 2X4's so they can get all their feet under them and avoid frost bite.

Be sure to post pics.

 

[JayColli]

Try it an see if they like a roost pole mine are 2X4's so they can get all their feet under them and avoid frost bite.

Be sure to post pics.

Will do! Thank you for the responses.