Outdoor pens for ducks- best builds/bought

[Aimee_1313]

Hey everyone -new to owning ducks here.
I have ducklings that I am currently raising. I am after some advise on the best type of pens/enclosures to keep them in. I have a decent sized yard and I am willing to put some time into building a pen for my 3 ducks (when they are ready to go outside)
Any ideas/photos/links on where to buy one or make one would be much appreciated

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Are you talking about for all the time, just night, or just day? What is your climate and your local predators? I live in TN so my ducks have a wooden house attached to a roofed pen for the nighttime, and they free range in my fenced garden during the day. I live in the middle of a subdivision and have a six foot privacy fence so I am not too worried about ground predators during the day, so my garden does not have a top. This does leave my ducks vulnerable to hawks but I have not had any problems in five years.

 

[Ratchnick]

Do you have raccoons?

 

[Sheepheart]

There are so many different coops and runs to design and choose one. The beat way to narrow down what would be best for you is to figure out:

When will they be in the coop/run?

How much free range time will they get is any?

Where do you live? In a town, in the country, by a wooded area, etc.

What kind of potential predators live in your area? Like hawks, coyotes, dogs(stray or domestic), raccoons, etc.

What kind of weather and temperatures do you normally get throughout the seasons?

Do you plan of getting any more ducks in the future?

How my space do you have to build in?

Do you have a budget?

there are probably more questions I’ve forgotten, but these will definitely help.

 

[Aimee_1313]

Do you have raccoons?

No, I actually live in Australia! Haha very different but we do have feral cats that wonder around streets so these are the predators im worried about.

 

[Aimee_1313]

There are so many different coops and runs to design and choose one. The beat way to narrow down what would be best for you is to figure out:

When will they be in the coop/run?

How much free range time will they get is any?

Where do you live? In a town, in the country, by a wooded area, etc.

What kind of potential predators live in your area? Like hawks, coyotes, dogs(stray or domestic), raccoons, etc.

What kind of weather and temperatures do you normally get throughout the seasons?

Do you plan of getting any more ducks in the future?

How my space do you have to build in?

Do you have a budget?

there are probably more questions I’ve forgotten, but these will definitely help.

Great, this helps alot! Thanks so much

 

[Ratchnick]

No, I actually live in Australia! Haha very different but we do have feral cats that wonder around streets so these are the predators im worried about.

If all you have to worry about is cats a chain link fence will work ok, i put 2x12 boards along the bottom so the ducks don't stick their heads through. If you have hawks i would put some sort of roof on it.

 

[LT71689]

Anything carnivorous that can dig or fly is a risk - dogs/coyotes/dingos/etc, cats, large birds, foxes, mink/weasels of any sort. Even if you don't normally see them, they're there.

How you build really depends on how invested you are in not losing them. Most people would go for hardware cloth (smaller holes and stronger than chickenwire), four sides, a roof, and a predator apron (burying the hardware cloth flat/horizontally to create an L shape so predators cant dig under the vertical fence)

You'll want to consider what the area will look like a few months in when the ducks have eaten and trampled whatever grass/vegetation used to be there - will its location/set up turn it into a giant mud puddle when it rains. Once they pack down the dirt what are your plans for bedding? Will its location/construction give them a spot to get out of the sun once in a while?