Think like a duck? Ideas for inside a duck house?

[duckitup]

I know it's not "natural" but I put a baby mirror in the house recently and they were cautious at first but now they like it. It's always filthy in the morning from them messing with it. Every time I put them away at night the first thing they do is check on those other two ducks. lol

I never would have thought of that! Thanks!!! And good luck on your project. It sounds amazing!

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

I guess I'm more old school...haha
Spartan coop, and free ranging

 

[TroyerGal]

I would say that it MUST be waterproof. Our ducks have almost disintegrated their houses floor

 

[duckitup]

I would say that it MUST be waterproof. Our ducks have almost disintegrated their houses floor

Yikes! We are enclosing a section of our covered porch. Floor is concrete. And the concrete will be covered by some sort of something or other my boyfriend is getting to protect it. He works in excavation and it is some sort of mat type material they use under the roads. Can't remember the name of it. Their summer home is on the ground and it has worked well for us. What's your floor made of?

 

[RachG75]

next time I get some compressed straw I'm going to stuff it with some things before I break it apart. Maybe raisins? Like finding a needle in a haystack. Should keep them busy when everything is frozen.

Also, I just ordered a hanging bell marketed for parrots and a turkey feather duster to hang that will swing when they mess with it. I figure I should rotate these kind of things. When I had a parrot, it absolutely LOVED tassels made out of rope, but I'm not sure that would be safe for the ducks. Will have to think about that. I wonder if I could hang one of those knotted dog toys with the ends that fray. something to bite and pull on. hmmm.

 

[pattyhen]

You could put a couch and a couple of recliners, a big screen tv, a fridge and of course a hot tub for those cold nights. I'm just joking.

The main thing I think is security. You have to make sure no critters are able to get inside. Ventalation. My duck coop has only the bare essentials. They do have a big picture window and a bank of nesting boxes under it. They can get up on the nesting boxes and look out which they do. I put down pine on the floor and I don't put any food or water in the coop. Remember if you put food inside you have to put water for them to drink. Water in the coop is a big mess to deal with. I've never seen my ducks interested in toys but it's worth a try. They are usually afraid of new things. They are creatures of habit and they don't like their habits changed. Good luck with your duck house and let us know how it comes out.

 

[TroyerGal]

Yikes! We are enclosing a section of our covered porch. Floor is concrete. And the concrete will be covered by some sort of something or other my boyfriend is getting to protect it. He works in excavation and it is some sort of mat type material they use under the roads. Can't remember the name of it. Their summer home is on the ground and it has worked well for us. What's your floor made of?

It's plywood

... And linoleum

 

[RachG75]

I would say that it MUST be waterproof. Our ducks have almost disintegrated their houses floor

I have plywood covered in linoleum. What exactly happened? Do you keep water in their house? food?

 

[TroyerGal]

I have plywood covered in linoleum. What exactly happened? Do you keep water in their house? food?

They are just MESSY...! The floor and walls are all gross and we fairly recently built it. We are going to do something about it soonish though

 

[duckitup]

Water is messy inside a house but I always keep water and food inside for them at night. If I had to deal with a small coop I probably wouldn't leave food and water at night because all of the bedding would get wet then and that's just not healthy for them. In a larger coop, where they can get away from the mess, I just keep it on a far end and change the bedding in that spot daily. I've seen people who have put up partitions in their coops for the water area and placed a bin under it to catch the water that is splashed around. I've seen posts by Amiga with her set up. I think I might do something like that in the new house.