Substrate/Flooring for duck runs/pens???

[DuckResearch]

Hello all!

I am a graduate student and am starting a behavioral project that requires the rearing and housing (for roughly 10 weeks of early life) of Wood Ducks which we will release into a wild population once they reach roughly 10-15 weeks of age. We already have appropriate enclosures, but I have recently been struggling with what to use for substrate/flooring in the longer term pens (after the first few weeks of brooding with a heat source). We have 10 full-enclosures (predator proof) that are each 10x20 ft with concrete flooring and a drainage system. The current plan is to house 10-20 ducklings/ducks in each of these enclosures.

My question is whether you have an opinion on what I can use for substrate. Currently we have an excess of soil that could be used; with this set up we would have a deep enough layer that can be turned over regularly in order to allow fecal matter to decompose somewhat naturally. I am also considering wood shavings as an alternative, but am afraid that this would require much more maintenance (i.e. removing shavings and hosing down the runs on at least a weekly basis). We are conducting a behavioral study and will be releasing these individuals back into the wild, so we wish to minimize contact with human caretakers; as such, anything that requires relatively little maintenance would be preferred.

Thanks so much!

 

[DucksAndGardens]

I don't think you really want to use dirt for the floor. Ducks love water and they will turn that dirt into a slurry morass of mud. Seriously they will carry water in their little bills to make a mudhole. Don't know how they do it but they do.

For me I use shavings when they are under 6 and just clean them out every day. Of course my brooder is 4 feet by 5 feet and I have 11 ducklings in it. Soon I will move them out into their run and my duck house has a dirt floor with wood chips on top. Now what I've done in the past because my duck house doesn't have doors, because its in an enclosed run, is I take straw and lay it down and then every day I turn it and add a new layer of straw or wood shavings (I alternate so I can vary the composting). The straw/woodshavings and poop on the bottom will compost down and I just add a new layer of clean stuff on the top. Ducks stay clean, straw and shavings compost and produce heat ( so no heat lamp needed for the ducks) and everyone is happy.

About every 3-6 months or so then I clean out the duck house completely and put the composted mix on my garden.

 

[DuckResearch]

Thanks for your reply! That has definitely been another concern (ducklings finding a way to be ridiculously muddy). The way I will have our enclosures set up, the pools will be separated from the dirt by a couple feet and the flooring under them will be foam/rubber mats. This is an attempt to avoid just that. Still, I really like your idea of turning wood shavings/straw...I hadn't considered layering the shavings because a previous student had just removed the substrate and hosed down the runs repeatedly. However, I will be working with many more ducklings over a longer period of time and do want to minimize disturbance. Thanks again!

 

[DucksAndGardens]

Just curious but are you hatching these wood ducks from wild eggs or buying from domestic stock?

 

[DuckResearch]

We are hatching from eggs collected from our wild population. Most of the eggs will be collected from abandoned nests (we are tracking hens and are able to determine timing of incubation on our nests), but some will be taken immediately after they are laid.

 

[DucksAndGardens]

That's pretty cool. Hope you can post pics of your endeavors. I love wood ducks!

 

[buff goose guy]

Hello all!

I am a graduate student and am starting a behavioral project that requires the rearing and housing (for roughly 10 weeks of early life) of Wood Ducks which we will release into a wild population once they reach roughly 10-15 weeks of age. We already have appropriate enclosures, but I have recently been struggling with what to use for substrate/flooring in the longer term pens (after the first few weeks of brooding with a heat source). We have 10 full-enclosures (predator proof) that are each 10x20 ft with concrete flooring and a drainage system. The current plan is to house 10-20 ducklings/ducks in each of these enclosures.

My question is whether you have an opinion on what I can use for substrate. Currently we have an excess of soil that could be used; with this set up we would have a deep enough layer that can be turned over regularly in order to allow fecal matter to decompose somewhat naturally. I am also considering wood shavings as an alternative, but am afraid that this would require much more maintenance (i.e. removing shavings and hosing down the runs on at least a weekly basis). We are conducting a behavioral study and will be releasing these individuals back into the wild, so we wish to minimize contact with human caretakers; as such, anything that requires relatively little maintenance would be preferred.

Thanks so much!

Your going to raise ducks that are dependent on you and then just release them ?

 

[Jessica89]

It's not a good idea to release them back into the wild if they have been raised by humans. They won't know how to fend for themselves in the wild .

 

[DuckResearch]

Thanks for your question buff-goose-guy!

We will be operating in conjunction with a captive release program that is already established and has been shown to be successful. Furthermore this project is officially supported by federal and state permits and has been approved by animal care and use committee established to ensure ethical/proper treatment of research animals. Ducklings will not be raised to be dependent on human provision (direct contact/disturbance will be minimized particularly during early stages of life) and will be tracked upon release. Additionally, a majority of eggs collected from our wild population will be eggs from abandoned nests, i.e. eggs that would have failed to hatch otherwise. Egg salvage programs in many states aim to do exactly this in order to bolster population numbers and ensure that population of species such as the Wood Duck are more capable of dealing with large scale perturbations primarily caused by human activity (i.e. destruction and fragmentation of wetland/riparian habitat). One major goal of our research is to further inform, and hopefully improve, captive-release programs such as this which are used as a conservation management tactic in order to help prevent species extinction.

Hopefully this assuages some of your concerns, and I am happy to be transparent regarding our findings at the conclusion of this project.

 

[buff goose guy]

okay good, its aweful when tamed mallards and wood ducks come to my farm and get into my coops and come up to me only to fly away in about 3 days