Need help with keeping Cage dry????? NEW CAGE PICS( UPDATE )5-2-09

[Fudgie]

go to your farm supply store and get some (horse bedding) wood chip pellets or stall dry and pour in that area, it will soak everything up. and add to the flooring of the pen. The STRAW will retain every bit of water and not allow anything to ever dry up. wood chips would be better for not retaining the water. they would soak it up but would dry out in the sun. Straw will not dry out ever.

 

[xfilesnumber1fan]

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Thank you I will try the horse bedding...

 

[Duck Keeper]

I know that wood pellets (to burn) only soak up a tiny bit of water then turn to disgusting mush, so you may want to see if you can get a pellet and see how it works in water before you fill their pen with mush makers.

 

[sweetie54]

i have 2 ducks and i have a baby pool in there with them to sleep in.They like to sleep in water! And to keep it dry i just put straw in there and i also put a drain hole in the pool so i dont have to lift it up to drain it every 3 days! I also have been draining the lets call it duck sludge water into one of my fruit trees!!!! Anyway your pen looks great!

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Seems you posted this twice - Here is what I added on your other thread.

If you want to address drainage, you would need to build a short retaining wall, say 8 inches off the ground, fill the bottom with #2 crusher run and then but stone dust or sand on top of that and then perhaps some mulch or dirt. That will allow the water to escape down through the dirt,sand, stone and travel out onto the ground which is lower.

And yes, a dog house would be good for them to nest in. I can tell you that mine stay out in the elements when it is raining, snowing, everything. Every now and then they will go in the horse stall or goat house but that I think is to look for food that might have been dropped.

 

[xfilesnumber1fan]

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The cage is working great...But it just wont stop raining here...It drains off the tarp and then the water fills up the cage and makes a muddy mess...I would let them walk around my yard if I could but Iam not fenced and no one seems to know how to keep their dogs from getting loose...I put the cage put because of that reason...The drain I have is just like a bath tub..I pull the plug and the water goes down a pipe and runs out and down hill behind the rain...I was think of putting a roof on it and not a tarp..but the rain still would run down the sides and water would still sit there!! If I grew grass in there I wonder if that would help???

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Grass - In that small of an area would be impossible to grow. Sorry!

 

[ShadyGlade]

We added gravel to form a little hilled up area where our ducks have there waterers in their main enclosures. We found that it need to be at least four inches deep to keep them from digging down through it to get to the mud. I think that ThreeBoysChicks advice sounds right on the spot. It is a constant never ending battle to keep muck holes out of duck enclosures no matter how large an area you fence for them.

 

[xfilesnumber1fan]

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What about sod? I could buy the grass already gone ...I can take off the tarp if need for sun??

 

[Duck Keeper]

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What about sod? I could buy the grass already gone ...I can take off the tarp if need for sun??

The ducks would eat it all and turn your pen into a mud pit within hours of putting the sod in there.