Tips on keeping duck enclosures clean?

[Luv Ducks]

What kind of rug do you use?

I know this question is not directed to me but I use indoor outdoor carpet in my pen that I can hose off. It has lasted and is much easier to clean off.

 

[Deemorgandy]

I know this question is not directed to me but I use indoor outdoor carpet in my pen that I can hose off. It has lasted and is much easier to clean off.

Thank you!

 

[Luv Ducks]

Thank you!

You are most welcome.

 

[Miss Lydia]

it's probably similar to when I told the vet my dog loves to eat chicken poop, she said well it's just recycled food.

 

[SmithsCoop41]

We are building our duck house and enclosure soon and I was wondering if anyone has any tips for keeping the enclosure clean, right now we have our 3 ducks (1 drake, 2 females) in a fenced off part of the chicken run area, and boy is it ever muddy in there when we have their kiddie pool filled, also, there are a good many flies in the half of the run that is occupied by the ducks currently, I'm assuming the ducks don't eat them as much as the chickens? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My husband mentioned some kind of gravel to put down that can be hosed off and cleaned easily but my question is, what kind of gravel would be good to use for that with ducks? I know their feet are a bit more sensitive than chickens and I don't want them to get hurt.

Thanks in advance everyone!

Hey! So You've joined the duck band wagon I see! LOL I have 7 ducks of different breeds (2 Rouen Hens, 1 Rouen Drake, 2 Female Pekin Hens, and 2 Orphington Drakes), and then I have 11 Muscovy Waterfowl (The Muscovies aren't really ducks, even though most people think they are), and let me tell you both the ducks and especially the Muscovies are MESSY MESSY MESSY!!!!! I know how unpleasant it can be trying to keep their coops/nests/areas clean, well as clean as possible LOL. I was at first keeping my ducks inside their little "quack shack" as I like to call it, with hay on the ground and a old blueberry lug for them to lay their eggs in, even though they didn't always use it for that It's not anything fancy, just a little metal wire pen, like an outside metal kennel for a dog, except it has tall panels, and I've got a black tarp as the roof. Like I said, I was trying to keep them in there, to let them have a little area in the back by the chicken coop, but I mainly was using it for their protection against predators at night. Well, as you probably already know, ducks are messy and needless to say it didn't stay clean very long. Well, now I just let them free range, and although they do decide to go outside the main coop fence to stroll around the house here and there, they stick around inside the coop fence mostly. They seem happiest that way. But, I have the hardest time getting "clean" eggs from them little rascals! LOL and that's if I actually find the eggs they laid that day. Most days I find at least 2 eggs laid in different spots, and I'm not so sure if my white pekin ducks are laying yet anyway. My 2 Rouen hens are the ones that I know are laying. And most of the time they lay their eggs inside the coop fence or just outside of it. The reason they can go outside the coop fence is because we haven't finished it yet. My husband has finished the wood part of the fence but we are going to put like the dog metal fence behind it to keep them from getting out and predators in, although we really haven't had any predators problem....yet, except for few oak snakes back in the summer, but they never bothered the chickens or ducks, just my quail. BTW, I also have a little quail coop inside the big fence that goes around the whole area in back. The ground back there at the coop is just plain regular dirt, except for the small area right up against the coop building where I have pine bedding sprinkled out over the ground. It did help for a little while, but I've had to put another layer since then. The most recent layer I put was cedar bedding. I will put this out there-----I know it's not really good around chickens/ducks, and it's not recommended as a safe bedding, but I put it outside the actual coop so the chickens cannot get it, and all the ducks is probably gonna do is walk on it anyway. I know everyone isn't the same, and you have to figure out what works best for you and your feathered babies. But takeaway from my loooong post is maybe this: If you are going to have an enclosure, maybe use something like hay or straw or sand. Some people do the sand and scoop up the poop with like a litter scooper. I personally always love how clean and neat everything looks when I first put the pine bedding out and they haven't scratched or messed it up. LOL But to each their own. The other option of course is free ranging. Hope you find what works best and safest for you and your babies.

 

[SmithsCoop41]

it's probably similar to when I told the vet my dog loves to eat chicken poop, she said well it's just recycled food.

Muscovies are not really ducks, but waterfowl. I know I pretty much consider them ducks too, but technically they're not.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Muscovies are not really ducks, but waterfowl. I know I pretty much consider them ducks too, but technically they're not.

I have heard people argue that they are ducks. Their eggs taste like duck eggs and my Muscovy Ducks act just like my Mallard derived ones. They just don't quack loud but have that pretty trill to their voices. They also breed with my Mallard Ducks as to how I got my Mules.