Muscovy duck shed & run...

[saddina]

I reworked the mesuring and got this:
Duck ledge area 3x64 ft = 192sqft
Duck shed** 6x8 ft = 48sqft

Using the 50sqft per bird (thanks Terrie for finding it for me), I come up with 5 birds in the space. What I'd like is to put a muscovy trio here and grow out batches of ducklings, could the space support this? Since it's so narrow, I could easily isolate a broody mama and ducklings from the male if needed. (give him a 36 sqft bachelor area while the ducklings are tiny). I read SGTRD and don't see a problem, but thought I'd ask here before drafting plans further.

** (house came with a shed in the back yard, when I relooked at it, I realized it was once a chicken coop, still has the perches in place, the side of the ledge touches the side of the shed)

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Don't be in any huge rush to remove the perches. The Muscovy is a perching duck by nature. some have lost the instinct by being raised on the ground. We had a old chicken house with roost bars and the muscovies we got as chicks paid little attention to them at first. we first noticed perching activity when the nights started getting cold. by the end of the first winter about 90-95% were sending the night on the perches. When they started to lay more of the ducks would stay on the ground to keep an eye on their nests. we never got around to building nest boxes on the perch level but they would use the higest chicken nest boxes by choice. If you are not used to roosting birds, be advised that the ones on the higest roost are the higest in the pecking order. (highest roost= last to be bothered by preditors. or other birds moving around)

 

[saddina]

The perches stay, I was just amused by how considerate of them to leave me a coop (filled with shed junk, including a transission) Now that it's cleaned out it's clearly been a coop before.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Mine have never used the coop perches but do fly up and land on the fence posts or the gate outside now and then. Only the females do that.

 

[saddina]

They won't have room to fly, I'm doing the yard 3X3x64ft long (the fence makes 2 sides so they'll have room to stand and run, but a top to stop flight (and keep things out).