So, 14 months after starting our duck adventure, we are still working on their outside pen. Until now, they’ve stayed in the barn at night and when we are gone (they have a stall as a “bedroom” and free roam of the large, well-ventilated, barn when not sleeping or outdoors). Whenever anyone is home, they’ve been allowed to free-range. This has been great for them, but extremely labor intensive for us as we have to supervise them at all times, lest they get eaten.
A 16’ by 16’ outdoor run has been started. It sounded bigger before, but now I’m worried it might be too small, although we only have 3 ducks.
The run is not attached to the barn for several reasons. It stands alone. The ducks will still spend the night in the barn, but they will spend the day in the run (with more limited free-range adventures, so that we humans can do other things than duck-sit).
We get a lot of precipitation, and the question of substrate has been on my mind. My latest idea is having rubber stall mats as a base as they can easily be hosed off. Thoughts? They work great indoors with shavings or straw on top.
The first layer of fencing, including the roof is a heavy wire, maybe 1 and 1/2 inches by 3 inches? The plan is to bury it and then add a second layer of hardware cloth. Do you think the hardware cloth will need to cover the whole thing? Maybe just bury it and have it go up about 3 feet? Once again, this is only going to be a daytime pen. I understand that weasels, in particular, can get through tiny holes. However, hardware cloth over 100% of the run seems excessive for a daytime run. Also, the snow would get too heavy on the roof in the winter. Trying to find the fine line between being protective and being paranoid.
I’d like the inside of the run to be interesting for them. They’ll have a pool, of course, and several options for hiding or nesting, but I’d like to add more enrichment, especially for the Muscovy sisters. I think they’d like logs and branches for perching. I’ve also thought about cruising yard sales for kids playhouses (those hard plastic ones) as they would be easy to clean and would add color and shade.
At any rate, I’d like to have their run completed before they (or I) die of old age!
Anyways, I realize this is a frequent topic, but I’d still love feedback. Meanwhile, I’m off to babysit the girls for a bit longer before bedtime!
A 16’ by 16’ outdoor run has been started. It sounded bigger before, but now I’m worried it might be too small, although we only have 3 ducks.
The run is not attached to the barn for several reasons. It stands alone. The ducks will still spend the night in the barn, but they will spend the day in the run (with more limited free-range adventures, so that we humans can do other things than duck-sit).
We get a lot of precipitation, and the question of substrate has been on my mind. My latest idea is having rubber stall mats as a base as they can easily be hosed off. Thoughts? They work great indoors with shavings or straw on top.
The first layer of fencing, including the roof is a heavy wire, maybe 1 and 1/2 inches by 3 inches? The plan is to bury it and then add a second layer of hardware cloth. Do you think the hardware cloth will need to cover the whole thing? Maybe just bury it and have it go up about 3 feet? Once again, this is only going to be a daytime pen. I understand that weasels, in particular, can get through tiny holes. However, hardware cloth over 100% of the run seems excessive for a daytime run. Also, the snow would get too heavy on the roof in the winter. Trying to find the fine line between being protective and being paranoid.
I’d like the inside of the run to be interesting for them. They’ll have a pool, of course, and several options for hiding or nesting, but I’d like to add more enrichment, especially for the Muscovy sisters. I think they’d like logs and branches for perching. I’ve also thought about cruising yard sales for kids playhouses (those hard plastic ones) as they would be easy to clean and would add color and shade.
At any rate, I’d like to have their run completed before they (or I) die of old age!
Anyways, I realize this is a frequent topic, but I’d still love feedback. Meanwhile, I’m off to babysit the girls for a bit longer before bedtime!
