My babies are 4 weeks old today!! They are quacking and getting adult feathers... They are growing so fast! And... They have outgrown living in my house. Lol. I let them swim in my bathtub but besides that they are in their brooder all day. Ugh, I know they have to be going crazy being so cooped up all day. The weather is not cooperating. They've been outside twice (during the day) but now it's in the 40's again. We are all ready for some warmer weather. I'm having to clean their brooder 3-4 times a day. I'll be glad when all I'm cleaning daily is poop from a night in the duck house. But they're worth it all. I mostly feel bad about keeping them confined to the brooder. The duck house is still being worked on. I put the linoleum in this weekend. Oh, and I got their nesting boxes, which are actually storage things from Walmart (about $3 each). Do you think these will work? I'm going to steal... Um... Borrow... A couple of my kids Easter eggs to use as decoys. My compost bin (aka old trash can with holes drilled in it) is FULL. And now I can't reach the bottom to "stir" it. But... Now that my SO sees that it's not a huge pile of trash in the yard and doesn't stink,I think he might let me build something bigger (from pallets most likely). If I can't get to the bottom of it it's not going to build up gases and explode or anything is it? Lol. As I'm sitting here typing this I'm watching my ducks sit in the bathtub watching me and sounding like quiet little trumpets. Awwww Oh! Puddle is doing soooo much better now that she's getting niacin. I'd say close to 100% normal. And all of their feet are doing great on the bedding that I'm switched to. So hopefully no more problems. I'll keep my fingers crossed and try to be a good duck mommy. Well, I guess it's time to clean out my bathtub...
so cute! i honestly, have never found the need for a nest box, mine just fluff bedding under the shelf(there Muscovy, so do roost) and they lay under it, they brood babies under it too lol Good luck with you coop! those babies definitely look big enough to be in their own little home.
The only thing that I'd be worried about with the bins for nest boxes is they will need a lot of bedding in order to hollow out a nest and the bins aren't that deep. Mine always hollow out a bowl shape, add bedding and lay eggs that way the eggs are cushioned. But, I've always had earthen floors so they are able to dig into the ground. Mine have always appreciated a darker, less traveled area. But, again, I put the nests where I want them, not where they decide to nest (well except my last momma who is now causing roosting problems by protecting her babies). Depending on how high the bins are, you may be able to flip them over and let the ducks make their nest and use them as a cover. I'm assuming you have flooring since you put in linoleum so just make sure you have a deep layer of bedding.
