Topic of the Week - Duck Housing

[Conan]

My ducks hate being indoors. It was a huge hassle to try and force them all in for the night so we got rid of the coop and built something that works really well. Hoop house style enclosure with a pressure treated wood 2x4 skirt. Hoops are typical pvc pipe. Hardware cloth dug in 18 inches all the way around to keep the weasels out. There is siding only on the front where the door is. The hoop house is totally covered securely in chicken wire. The whole thing is about 8 feet wide by 16 feet long. It houses our crew of 13 (nights only) nicely with lots of room to spare. I always keep straw, grass clippings and pine shavings down - mainly so I can collect that garden gold come spring. The lack of siding keeps the ventilation great and we only cover the very top in a large tarp during the Winter. There is a dogloo stuffed with straw in the hoop house for the gals to lay in. They use it pretty diligently though there are many times that they lay under brush, willow, clumps of grass, the water...
We have a stream running through our couple acres which pretty much requires ducks. We have a portion of that area fenced off for the ducks and it backs the garden so they can pull clean up duty in fall. They are very spoiled and go right into their hoop house at dusk. By morning light, they are screaming to get out and into the stream. I just love how excited the are to hit the water
Ducks are awesome.

 

[onaharley]

Here’s my set up. 10x10 ft with tin roof and hardwire wrapping all around and underneath. And lots of leveling sand.

Here's the temporary set up for separating my two Peking, that drake just loves his hen!!!

 

[CayugaJana]

Here’s my set up. 10x10 ft with tin roof and hardwire wrapping all around and underneath. And lots of leveling sand. View attachment 1238472 View attachment 1238473View attachment 1238475
Here's the temporary set up for separating my two Peking, that drake just loves his hen!!! View attachment 1238476

How much work is filtering the sand to get the straw, excess food, leaves, poop out?

 

[kanina]

I read that ducks like a wider door too. Otherwise they might push each other to get out and get stuck in a narrow opening. Thoughts?

We'll have top open up our door this spring. I made it two ducks wide, but everyone was juvie at the time. Java is much larger now.

We got some wood for the ramp last night. Now I just have to work out the mechanics so its wide enough and slip resistant.

 

[onaharley]

How much work is filtering the sand to get the straw, excess food, leaves, poop out?

This past summer and fall was awesome and easy....it was like a very big kitty litter. The pine shavings and straw clean up is easy now because I’m not touching any sand since I have it like 5 inches thick. Now come spring....I am going to have a very big task on my hands to get all that straw and pine shavings up!! I might just take all the sand out and get new....idk though cause that’s a hefty price tag!

 

[Miss Lydia]

@onaharley Love your set up looks very secure too.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

My ducks hate being indoors. It was a huge hassle to try and force them all in for the night so we got rid of the coop and built something that works really well. Hoop house style enclosure with a pressure treated wood 2x4 skirt. Hoops are typical pvc pipe. Hardware cloth dug in 18 inches all the way around to keep the weasels out. There is siding only on the front where the door is. The hoop house is totally covered securely in chicken wire. The whole thing is about 8 feet wide by 16 feet long. It houses our crew of 13 (nights only) nicely with lots of room to spare. I always keep straw, grass clippings and pine shavings down - mainly so I can collect that garden gold come spring. The lack of siding keeps the ventilation great and we only cover the very top in a large tarp during the Winter. There is a dogloo stuffed with straw in the hoop house for the gals to lay in. They use it pretty diligently though there are many times that they lay under brush, willow, clumps of grass, the water...
We have a stream running through our couple acres which pretty much requires ducks. We have a portion of that area fenced off for the ducks and it backs the garden so they can pull clean up duty in fall. They are very spoiled and go right into their hoop house at dusk. By morning light, they are screaming to get out and into the stream. I just love how excited the are to hit the water
Ducks are awesome.

 

[CayugaJana]

@onaharley Love your set up looks very secure too.

I agree it looks really neat.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

The three-sided thing sounds fine, but I don't think they would prefer it over their coop and it might not be warm enough.

I too just walk behind them to herd them. No "spectacle and stress," at least not most of the time. Sometimes there are really stubborn ducks who just don't want to go in and use their very fast dodging skills to get around me and run back home.

For the most part, though, all my ducks know their routine very well. Around 5 to 5:30 PM I come, and by that time most of the ducks are already waiting either inside the pen (the door is always open) or snatching some last-minute foraging time just outside. If I come really late, after dark, they're usually all inside already.



Maybe make a funnel? Two boards or something in a V-shape towards the pop door.

I use a blue 3-ft stick (actually a PVC pipe) when I herd my ducks because it acts like an extension of my arm and helps to direct them, especially when I have a large group of ducks spread out.

Also, treats could work, but when I first started training my ducks to go inside at night, I tried to bribe them in with their supper. They very quickly realized it was a bribe and refused to eat from my hand if they thought I was planning to catch them and put them inside. Neither would they follow the food to the door.

Why would they not prefer the three-sided thing to the coop? Since they are never in the coop ever, it would be hard to make something they prefer less... I think that if I put all roosts (for the female) and some other high places (for the drake) they might choose to sleep there. It's a bit of a long shot, but...

I'm not sure it needs to be warm; perhaps it's enough that it's non-windy.

And yes, maybe I could herd them in every night, but there's no chance I will get my parents to herd the ducks in every night... Not even if I give my parents treats... So it's a no-can-do.

 

[KariR]

I love this idea of the buckets! We have so many of these from our orphan foal rescues and I keep them around in case we need one for something. This is the perfect repurpose for them! I will be doing it this weekend!