What do you recommend for...

[Knighstar679]

I am starting to get my stuff together for my duck house and pen build later this month. I am thinking about using pea gravel for part of the outside pen, where I would put their pool, the rest would be natural grass for ranging. And inside on the floor covering the hardware cloth to keep the predators out with small areas that have wood shavings for bedding but not covering the whole floor.

What do you recommend?

 

[BirdGirl2004]

This sounds like a great plan! Especially putting pea gravel beneath the pool, my ducks were ALWAYS making a mess with the pool! Are you planning on having nesting boxes? Good luck with your coop building!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

The pea gravel might be ok, but it is small they might eat it. I use river rock. It is smooth and like a big lumpy marble.
When you say cover the floor with hardware cloth - is this inside the duck house?
I don't think I would as ducks aren't generally housed on top of hardware cloth. What are you planning to build the duck house from?
But, if the hw cloth is around the outside, that is fine.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Here is the sticky for duck runs and housing:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-pond-pool-pictures.320654/

 

[Knighstar679]

The pea gravel might be ok, but it is small they might eat it. I use river rock. It is smooth and like a big lumpy marble.
When you say cover the floor with hardware cloth - is this inside the duck house?
I don't think I would as ducks aren't generally housed on top of hardware cloth. What are you planning to build the duck house from?
But, if the hw cloth is around the outside, that is fine.

I have an existing building on my property that I am converting into my duck house. What is currently the bottom will be covered in hardware cloth and staked down to the ground as well as drilled into the wooden base. After that I am covering the hardware cloth with pea gravel, or sand then soft wood shavings.

I would just go all around the buybut someone in their intellectual guinus decided it would be smart to put it near the propane tank. I don’t want to chance hitting a line so my options are to predator proof from the inside.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

It wasn't clear in the first post, sounded like the hw cloth would be what they would be walking on. I wonder if you could put a rubber horse mat down over the hw cloth and then the sand or pea gravel?

 

[Knighstar679]

This sounds like a great plan! Especially putting pea gravel beneath the pool, my ducks were ALWAYS making a mess with the pool! Are you planning on having nesting boxes? Good luck with your coop building!

I plan on it. I am debating between using a shallow metal bucket like thing, or an upside down Rubbermaid with a whole cut into the side.

I should have lots of time before laying happens as they haven’t hatched yet.

 

[jennybvcr]

I have hardware cloth as the entire bottom of my run and I covered it with sand. I just take the sand every few days with a hand rake to turn it over. Darn easy.

 

[Knighstar679]

I have hardware cloth as the entire bottom of my run and I covered it with sand. I just take the sand every few days with a hand rake to turn it over. Darn easy.

What kind of sand did you use?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Be careful with sand it is an abrasive @onaharley used it and is now dealing with bumble foot on 1 of her Pekins.