SO much mud and poop from my ducks! how to manage it?

[lomine]

Redwood is a cypress, right? I think as long as it’s not cedar it should be fine. I would just stay away from mulches that have pine needles in it to avoid bumble foot.

 

[CarleeAnn]

We grew grass from seeds before we put our ducks in but it was just too delicate and got muddy. If we had a do-over we would probably just have rolled out grass, probably Saint Augustine. I found it helpful to drain the pond far from the yard and to separate the food from the water about three to four feet. I also put a stone in front of their water bucket so they don’t make a mud hole. I think it would have also been helpful if the duck yard was partially covered by a tarp or roof of some sort so the rain didn’t contribute so much

 

[Vegan Mountain Mama]

Anything in that small of space with two chickens and two ducks is not going to stand a chance at growing.

Yea, ok..we can just expand our yard perimeter so they won’t be in that space all the time trampling that one area...maybe that’ll help. If not we will have to resort to mulch

 

[Welshies]

This is why I got out of ducks LOL

 

[lomine]

This is why I got out of ducks LOL

They aren’t for everyone.

 

[Welshies]

They aren’t for everyone.

Really tough for me here because we get -40°F temperatures in winter. Too cold to have water loving birds! I also don't have running water down at my coops, I have to haul it down from the house in a cooler in the back of the side by side. Pretty tough situation for ducks.

 

[lomine]

Really tough for me here because we get -40°F temperatures in winter. Too cold to have water loving birds! I also don't have running water down at my coops, I have to haul it down from the house in a cooler in the back of the side by side. Pretty tough situation for ducks.

I can see why.

 

[Welshies]

I can see why.

Yeah, lol. Mind you, I did love their quacking happy personalities.

 

[Vegan Mountain Mama]

This is why I got out of ducks LOL

Yea, I'm a first time duck mom, I wasn't warned hahahaha

 

[CarleeAnn]

You could also give them a “break” from their yard periodically, sort of like how you rotate cows and horses in different pastures. We started letting our ducks free range when we are home and can see them out the window and their yard seems significantly less muddy.