Show me your duck coops! Update: also looking for duckling brooders

[CJreef]

I love your floating duck house! That is the coolest idea & I cant believe they aren't interested in it! We only have one duck (a Swedish Blue) that's about four months old. Her best friend Is a full grown Brahma & the two never leave the others side. They sleep in the same coop, but the duck puts herself to bed a little later than the chicken does. She doesn't want to go to bed too early but she doesn't want to leave her chicken either, so she stands outside the coop for a while & eventually goes in. Last week we let the new generation of pullets out into the yard to free range during the day with the big girls. They're only about 10-12 weeks old, which is younger than we've ever let babies co-mingle before, but things are going surprisingly well so far. Its funny how everybodys birds are so different. I love reading all the stories & especially seeing the pictures.

Thank you. I do too, wish the ducks agreed
This is such a cute story about your duck and chicken. We adopted a cat, Maurice, a couple years ago and he fell in love with our dog and the love affair has been going on since. The dog, Lola, is kind of indifferent but puts up with it.

Maurice and his love Lola
See their story and more on my website. It's woefully out of date but still has a lot of pertinent info. One of these days I will take the time to update it.
http://www.the-pets-lounge.com/

 

[room onthebroom]

I have noticed that waterfowl go to bed later and wake up earlier than chickens. I think it is because they are a bit less vulnerable to predators, and they see better.

Good to know. We actually thought she was lingering out there, waiting for another bed time snack. Now that I think about it, she's always up & waiting when we open the door in the morning too. I am so happy with the wealth of info on this site. Thanks!

 

[room onthebroom]

Thank you. I do too, wish the ducks agreed
This is such a cute story about your duck and chicken. We adopted a cat, Maurice, a couple years ago and he fell in love with our dog and the love affair has been going on since. The dog, Lola, is kind of indifferent but puts up with it.

Maurice and his love Lola
See their story and more on my website. It's woefully out of date but still has a lot of pertinent info. One of these days I will take the time to update it.
http://www.the-pets-lounge.com/

I look forward to reading your story. I always enjoy the 'unlikely friendship' stories and I love watching the interaction between my two girls. When we had a bigger flock, my Brahma was always at the bottom of the totem pole & very much a loner. The first couple days after bringing the duck home, she could not figure out why it kept following her. It was hysterical to watch, but they bonded remarkably fast after that. Now the chicken lays near the duck pool & patiently waits for her buddy to finish her baths. I love these girls!

 

[haileebucket]

Here's there little house, made of palettes then stuckoed

 

[room onthebroom]

Wow! That's pretty awesome!

 

[Welshies]

This is mine. It's a 4 season duck tractor that can hold up to 10 ducks. The run area isn't big enough for them to be in there all the time, so they free range as well. I have 6 ducks now. This is super secure, and really handy. My ducks love it so much! It doesn't smell and their poop isn't near as runny with access to clover and bugs!
The bottom half of the front fencing is hardware cloth, the top half double layered chicken wire. The roof is a single layer of chicken wire, and the sides are 100% hardware cloth. The edges of the hardware cloth are covered with 2x4s. The coop has a shelf inside for food and bedding, and the ramp flips up so they can be shut inside at night. The door is double latched with spring loaded pins for the latches.
The only thing I'd change in the next one is make the coop higher so they can go underneath it more comfortably, and make the run area taller so I can stand up. It works amazing and the ducks are so much happier in it. Plus, it's very secure and safe.

 

[rancher hicks]

How hard is it to keep ducks in the winter? What bedding works best? Do they have a nest box like chickens and how is that situated? Have 7 K. Campbells. How do you sex ducks?