thinking about raising ducks

[Zigapor]

well, poop! no worries about neighbour dogs... there are none. Mine are the only dogs around, other than a chihuahua across the street who never leaves it's owner's side.

what will racoons and skunks do? how do i keep them away from my birds?

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Racoons and skunks are VERY capable of killing birds. I have lost tons of ducks/ducklings/chicks to a skunk this year. Make sure to keep them locked up good. All of my chickens/ducks free range during the day. What I've been doing lately is locking them in the coop for the night. I had something dig under the coop (under the door, which already had a little bit of a hole under it already, just not big enough) 2-3 weeks ago and get a duckling and two chicks. I put boards in front of the door and it hasn't gotten in since. So, just make sure that they are in a safe place, especially at night.

 

[Going Quackers]

Raccoons sure do! Skunks i thought took eggs.. We got a coon attack our first few days of putting our ducks out overnight, we made the pen what we thought was predator proof it was too a point, it never got in but did do a reach n grab... bird did live thankfully but still what a mess, he lost an eye because of it.

After that we wised up and locked the birds in solid housing vs a pen with a doghouse that they could go in/out 24/7. As for dogs doesn't matter if the neighbours don't there could always be a lost one or one further away you didn't know about. I spent 1.5yrs of free ranging my birds a dog killed two in less than a week.. the dog had never been here before and it's definitely gone now. Just sharing, you never know what is lurking until it all goes wrong.

 

[Zigapor]

hmmm, that's a good point about random dogs :/

The chickens and ducks will be housed in a tractor shed... i'm posting a pic, it's not of the shed itself, but a small shed attached to the main one (please excuse my mother in the pic, lol) The tractor shed is about 6 times as big as this one (they share that concrete wall you see) but built exactly the same. As you can sort of see, the roof has small gaps under it... should I seal those or leave them be for ventilation? Once we add a door the ducks and chickens will be super secure, the whole thing is built of cinder blocks, there's no getting in. This shed already has a door, and it's basically animal proof. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, would this little guy be big enough for ducks (and chickens) or should I stick to the bigger one?

 

[Zigapor]

I should add that both the tractor shed and the little shed are currently sitting empty... what can i do to bring them up to duck par?

 

[Zigapor]

oh and the birds most definitely will be housed "indoors" at night

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

About how big is the shed. What I've heard is that every bird should have 4 sq ft. So it depends...

 

[Zigapor]

I don't have the actual measurements at the moment, but it was built to house a standard lawn mower, with room to spare on either side, i'm sure it could fit two ride on mowers if positioned sideways... lol, if that helps any! I only plan on getting 4 chickens at most, and three ducks (i hear three is the magic number to start with) so there should be plenty of room (i think)

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Okay. Are you planning on getting them as babies or as adults?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Measure the shed before getting anything, that way you know how much room you have. You need to cover all open (ventalation areas) with hardware cloth to keep predators from entering, but still allowing airflow.

You need to have a secure front on the building to include doors allowing inside/outside access for the birds. If you live in town check the laws on keeping them. Often times you will need to build a run for the birds to be in while outside. (some cities/towns don't want birds running loose)

If it has a solid floor of cement then adding in deep litter of straw (not preferred. It works) or horse stall bedding (pine shaving) to give padding to their feet would be the best option. You can clean out the soiled bedding adding new to keep them healthy and happy inside.

Measurements and pictures of the building would help give more ideas.