messy messy??????????????

[blondiebee181]

I have two five-week old Runner females whom I put outside in their dog house about a week or two ago. I have been using straw in the dog house and since it's been so hot in Boise and the ducks spend a bit of time outside with my chickens free-ranging the bedding at least gets some time to dry, but even for 2 ducks they poop alot. I have a waterer that sits in a shallow dish in there (the dish keeps some of it from lapping out everwhere at least) and a small bowl of food. So I have two questions:

When can I put them in at night and not have to have water or food in the house, cuz that would solve some mess issues.

Two, is it okay to deep litter with straw? And just pile it on top of the old? I have been scooping it out daily and adding fresh but kind of a pain. Plus, I just trimmed the Lavender plant so I used that too and now the girls smell like Lavender

 

[HauiBali]

Dear Blondiebee,

we have 5 runners (1 drake + 4 duck), and their night pen is 32"x48" - a size of an EU pallet, really-really tiny, but enough for them to sleep in. 1/10th of small straw bale /day is their bedding. A small bale's size is about 13x21x39", I bought 32pcs for 300days, as our garden "produces" enough for at least two months of bedding with the lawnmower in the spring and summer. I clean it every morning after I let the flock out. They can roam and forage in the garden all day when we are around, but in the few case when we all leave then there is the fenced yard near their coop with a little lake and shade.

Cleaning is very easy, first I rake the messy straw out, then I clean the coop with a high-pressure washer: Kärcher 2.100, a base model with 300litre/hour, 100Bar, I bought it yesterday for $71. There is a pipe on the washer so it can mix in sanitizer too (vinegar preferably). Good thing is that just a bucket of water is enough to clean it perfectly, which is a good thing as in the winter months our wells are closed to prevent them break (icing).

Because of the straw is sometimes dusty (and lawnmown grass is very dusty), they have water inside the coop, deep enough to clean their nostrils and it stays clean for drinking, they can't hop in it: a plastic washbasin with a terracotta pot in it does the job well. As you see all is designed to be very low maintenance.

I do not recommend deep litter, it is much cleaner and hygienic this way. Now, what to do with all the used straw? Well, if you have a huge area and a big compost-pile, it can be an option to compost it. However, straw breaks down long, long time, and it is big work to fork it together with soil every now-and-then. I simply burn the messy straw in an old oil barrel every week with the newspapers and bones from the table - our soil is acidic, so the ash is good to spread around the fruit trees and flowerbeds, helps with maintaining the pH-values. Also, the minerals from the poop do not burn away, this way we have a good ash with natural fertilizer inside. The barrel is covered so no rain makes it wet, and yes, it smokes when it burns, just close the windows for that time.

For the cold months styrofoam insulation will be fixed around the coop with elastic ropes, and a bale of straw under it.
Their water can be heated easily, here is a diagram how:


No food inside the coop (huge mess reduction), they have breakfast and supper outside.

There are slugs in the wells' mine I give them as treat, there are snails at the flowerbed, and all kinds of critters in the grass they hunt for.

Washbasins filled with clean water (and a pot inside) on strategic locations in the garden makes sure that the flock will be foraging nearby. Placements are rotated. Our ducks absolutely adore routine, I highly recommend to do stuff in roughly the same time and method.

Wish all the best, take care, I hope my wall of text helps in a thing or two.

(Lavender? Oh I bet they smell lovely. We have oregano-field at the back of their coop, and they eat it, makes their poop smells a bit spicy. I find chickens' poop smell very disgusting, duck poop is not that bad IMHO.)

 

[veronicasmom]

Blondiebee-just scanning thru these posts, but if I read yours correctly, your ducks don't have a bowl to wash their faces in. If I misunderstood, excuse me. But if not, I really suggest some sort of container that they can dunk their whole faces into to wash eyes, nares. Very important. I see that yours are tiny, so they are probably not to the pool stage yet, but they will need a washing/drinking bowl. From what I have gleaned from others, those waterers are not all that great for ducks. I believe I read people take a cool whip bowl, put the top on and cut an opening in it so they can dunk, but not get it.
I am sure if I am wrong here, I will be corrected, but thought I'd chime in to help possibly.

 

[Miss Lydia]

By 5 weeks they can go to bed at night without food or water, just keep it out till bedtime then bring it in to keep varmits from eating it through the night, I haven't had food and water inside in years, keeps the mess down 100% and like Veronicasmom says they need some kind of small bucket or bowl deep enough to wash their faces in to prevent eye problems and to keep their nares washed out. Outside their house though in their run.

 

[blondiebee181]

Blondiebee-just scanning thru these posts, but if I read yours correctly, your ducks don't have a bowl to wash their faces in. If I misunderstood, excuse me. But if not, I really suggest some sort of container that they can dunk their whole faces into to wash eyes, nares. Very important. I see that yours are tiny, so they are probably not to the pool stage yet, but they will need a washing/drinking bowl. From what I have gleaned from others, those waterers are not all that great for ducks. I believe I read people take a cool whip bowl, put the top on and cut an opening in it so they can dunk, but not get it.
I am sure if I am wrong here, I will be corrected, but thought I'd chime in to help possibly.

By 5 weeks they can go to bed at night without food or water, just keep it out till bedtime then bring it in to keep varmits from eating it through the night, I haven't had food and water inside in years, keeps the mess down 100% and like Veronicasmom says they need some kind of small bucket or bowl deep enough to wash their faces in to prevent eye problems and to keep their nares washed out. Outside their house though in their run.

Thanks guys, very helpful. Veronicasmom, yes they have plenty of wash/drink stations. They have a rubber feed bowl in the yard, as well as the canteen waterer that hangs from the fence. In the run there is a large mason-type waterer that the chickens mailnly use but also deep enough for ducks if they chose to use it. In the house I have a small mason type waterer that sits on a shallow, wide terra-cotta pot because I felt bad if they didn't have water at night. The truth is though that I think they dabble more of it out onto the bed thatn they drink, hence my concern.Also on top of all that, their pool is in the run and they have been swimming from day one. (supervised when they were little of course) They are fledged enough now and it is so hot that they swim at least once every day. Miss Lydia, good to hear I can take that stuff out of the house, it makes an awful mess. Here's a semi-related question:

I am trying to integrate them with my 5-hen flock. It's going okay. Everyone hangs in the yard and free-ranges, but of course the little duckies get picked on a bit. Same when they are all in the run together. Plus, the ducks imprinted on me so they cry if I leave them out in the yard or in the run. The only place I can leave them alone w/out them crying is in their house with the door shut. Am I doing the right things? Do I need to do some more tough love and just lock them in the run and let them cry or leave them in the yard? Or will they grow out of it and eventually the flock will come to it's order and I'm doing all I can?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks guys, very helpful. Veronicasmom, yes they have plenty of wash/drink stations. They have a rubber feed bowl in the yard, as well as the canteen waterer that hangs from the fence. In the run there is a large mason-type waterer that the chickens mailnly use but also deep enough for ducks if they chose to use it. In the house I have a small mason type waterer that sits on a shallow, wide terra-cotta pot because I felt bad if they didn't have water at night. The truth is though that I think they dabble more of it out onto the bed thatn they drink, hence my concern.Also on top of all that, their pool is in the run and they have been swimming from day one. (supervised when they were little of course) They are fledged enough now and it is so hot that they swim at least once every day. Miss Lydia, good to hear I can take that stuff out of the house, it makes an awful mess. Here's a semi-related question:

I am trying to integrate them with my 5-hen flock. It's going okay. Everyone hangs in the yard and free-ranges, but of course the little duckies get picked on a bit. Same when they are all in the run together. Plus, the ducks imprinted on me so they cry if I leave them out in the yard or in the run. The only place I can leave them alone w/out them crying is in their house with the door shut. Am I doing the right things? Do I need to do some more tough love and just lock them in the run and let them cry or leave them in the yard? Or will they grow out of it and eventually the flock will come to it's order and I'm doing all I can?

At 5 weeks they may still be a little young to stand up to the hens especially if you have LF, although I did see my 4 week old Muscovy duck stand up to a chicken, but She probably would have run for her life if the chicken had started after her. I would continue supervised times together and even leave them alone with your hens as long as the hens aren't trying to hurt them, maybe go inside and watch at a window just to give your ducks so time with the girls without you around. If they have imprinted then they want their mama but by 5 weeks old most mamas have given them the boot to be on their own so you need to wean them. Shutting them in their house when your not able to watch to make sure the hens aren't terrorizing them might be a good idea but they are going to have to live in this set up eventually without mama being there. Still spend as much time as you can with them but also give them their own space now to start growing up. How come we haven't seen any pics of them lately?I should talk I have a 9 week old and haven't posted any pics of her lately.

 

[blondiebee181]

Sounds like a good idea....um what does LF mean though?

 

[blondiebee181]

BTW that's them in my profile pic...Ivy the F+W and Willow the black. I have a couple more of them on my profile too, they are sweeties

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sounds like a good idea....um what does LF mean though?

Large Fowl. Sorry. They are so cute.. One day I hope to have some Runners.

 

[HauiBali]

I wish some runners for you soon Today I made a new lake for my runners (this time lined with plastic, the mud I spaded out was slimey and doughy), and later - when they enjoyed the swim - I just quacked out from the house, just enough loud that they can hear me, in kind of a "whats up?" tone. And Riesling (a mallard+runner duck I raised from day 2) greeted back loudly with a happy quack-quaaaaaack! Really, they talk! A heartwarming adventure to have ducks.