What does your duck house look like?

[tatswell]

Their new coop, 8×10, plus 3x4 nest box. I may extend it but I think I need a building permit if I build anything over 10×10.. which is annoying. It is for four ducks, so it may work as is. They've only been in it for a month and so I'll give it more time and if they "seem" like they need more space, I suppose I'll make them happy

 

[cgrant57]

I

HI Marshall!

Can you help me out here.  I've been wanting to get ducks for a while.  I'm thinking Muscovies.  I accidentally ended up with chickens first  because I was searching Craigs list for a duck house, and instead found an awesome homemade chicken tractor.  The owner had to give up his small flock also, though, because of an HOA.  So we brought home a nice coop with great predator protection and chickens already laying.  The run surrounding the coop is built pretty well, but there is also a door on a timer.  That's fantastic for us as we sometimes get home after dark.  

When I first bought this, I thought I would include ducks.  But the more I read, the more I'm hearing that Muscovies (esp a drake) might pick on the chickens.  The chicken coop also has a fairly steep ramp from the run up to the housing.  

So I'm thinking I need a separate house for the ducks, right?  My plan is to get Muscovy ducklings in a few weeks, when my daughter will be home to watch them a lot and get them well-adapted to people. We have plenty of acres to forage on, and a creek.  So I am intending to allow them flight for predator protection, hoping that the handling and night-time treat feeding will keep them coming back to their duck house every night.  

What are your thoughts on that arrangement?  Specifically I mean on getting the young ducklings socialized to us, putting them in the house every night for a while, and eventually counting on them to enter on their own before the door closes at dark?   

I am also assuming that if we get 10 ducklings, we will probably have to keep only 1 or 2 drakes, and "get rid of" (ahem, dinner) the extra drakes?  

If this works out, will we eventually need a different place for any females and their babies to be safe from the drakes later?

Thanks for any help!

I had to separate my Rouens from the chickens as the drake kept after the hens. My ducks won't come in at dark without a little mealworms encouragement. So don't know how an automatic door closing would work, maybe Muscovy are different.

 

[MarysAviaryHeartAndZoo]

Flooring: we used old dog run grates. It's very easy to flush away the poopie and the holes are small enough to not harm duck feet. I put a coat of brown paint on it.

We added a rain gutter with a collection barrel to wash away the poop using rain water

I got the shutters for free off Craigslist. I sanded them then painted them with "Exterior paint" to seal it from water damage.

I then decided to add a duckie deck. I sealed it off with gardening fence (green metal stuff). They really enjoy stepping out to get fresh air or to catch some rain.

Not sure if this is the best idea for a nesting box, but I used large size dog crates that I split in half. They seem to like it and I find that plastic is easy to wash.

Btw...this whole project costed a little over $200!
How I did it: drive to construction sites and ask if they have any scrap lumber. You will not believe how much wood you can get for FREE!

Good luck and Enjoy!!

 

[tatswell]

That is a great idea to line the house with shutters. I have shutters for their door but I love your coop!

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Flooring: we used old dog run grates. It's very easy to flush away the poopie and the holes are small enough to not harm duck feet. I put a coat of brown paint on it.

We added a rain gutter with a collection barrel to wash away the poop using rain water

I got the shutters for free off Craigslist. I sanded them then painted them with "Exterior paint" to seal it from water damage.

I then decided to add a duckie deck. I sealed it off with gardening fence (green metal stuff). They really enjoy stepping out to get fresh air or to catch some rain.

Not sure if this is the best idea for a nesting box, but I used large size dog crates that I split in half. They seem to like it and I find that plastic is easy to wash.

Btw...this whole project costed a little over $200!
How I did it: drive to construction sites and ask if they have any scrap lumber. You will not believe how much wood you can get for FREE!

Good luck and Enjoy!!

Maryam, that looks like really nice flooring. Part of my duck house has a grate, but I'm using just welded wire, it doesn't look as comfy as yours. Tell me, where did you get that dog run stuff?

 

[MarysAviaryHeartAndZoo]

Thank you!! It's nice that you can open them on hot days to let a breeze in. Note that I painted the bottom half brown. As you know, ducks squirt poop on everything. The extra layer of brown paint makes it look less obvious than leaving it white plus it looks kind of cool. I really like your duck house and all the windows.

 

[Little witch]

Finally finished my duck house :-D and even have the pool plumbed so it can be easily emptied by removing a bung at the end of the pipe the ducks love it

 

[DDDucks218]

I was wondering what peoples duck pens/ houses looked like cause i have 4 and a pond and was wondering what to do

btw i have mallards so do i need a top?

This is our duck house! It has screen windows for the summer and plexiglass windows for the winter. We also have fencing we put around it in the winter. Too dangerous to be free range in the winter in upstate NY!

 

[MarysAviaryHeartAndZoo]

Hi Tracy! Thank you for your kind compliments. My fiancé is a veterinarian and he said these old grates have been sitting in their basement for 20 years. He said his dad made them. I found a few similar grates online. I'll ask my fiancé where the best place to order them when he gets home.
I did find these sites for you, but I'm not sure about pricing.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Wow, thank you for doing all this investigating! I really appreciate it! I am going to look into each of these.