What should i do???

[Jason Bourne III]

My 2 muscovy female ducks are gonna start laying this spring. Great right? Yea but idk where they're gonna lay because they sleep outside, so I need suggestions on how to make something for them to lay in I'd really appreciate any suggestions at all cause I'm at a loss on the matter.

 

[Isadora]

Do they have a common area or a spot where they hang out a lot? I would try to set up a corner or something with some straw for them. But since they have free range it sounds like, you might have a hard time getting them to lay somewhere, even if it's a nice setup.

 

[Jason Bourne III]

Do they have a common area or a spot where they hang out a lot? I would try to set up a corner or something with some straw for them. But since they have free range it sounds like, you might have a hard time getting them to lay somewhere, even if it's a nice setup.

They hang around a large pond out behind our house, they come around to the coop a lot tho. I can send more photos if you want?

 

[Isadora]

I can send more photos if you want?

Sure

 

[Jason Bourne III]

Sure

 

[ruthhope]

Jason, where is your coop in relation to the pond? Can you not entice them into the coop [food/treats] late in the day and then keep them safely there overnight?

We have nesting boxes [drawers out of an old chest and a slatted crate with one top slat removed] in the female coop -- they use them all for napping in but will only lay in the slatted crate. Muscovy and pekins are the same in that regard and one of the pekins keeps all the eggs warm until I got to pick them up. I don't let them out until they have done laying for the day as last year, we had the crazy egg hunt every morning as one of the pekins

Otherwise, out in the wild by a pond, they will lay where they fancy and that might be a different place each day.

 

[Jason Bourne III]

Jason, where is your coop in relation to the pond? Can you not entice them into the coop [food/treats] late in the day and then keep them safely there overnight?

We have nesting boxes [drawers out of an old chest and a slatted crate with one top slat removed] in the female coop -- they use them all for napping in but will only lay in the slatted crate. Muscovy and pekins are the same in that regard and one of the pekins keeps all the eggs warm until I got to pick them up. I don't let them out until they have done laying for the day as last year, we had the crazy egg hunt every morning as one of the pekins

Otherwise, out in the wild by a pond, they will lay where they fancy and that might be a different place each day.

The coop is pretty far away and enticing them to come in would be extremely hard. I haven't had any problems with predators all year long so rn I'm just trying figure out how to get the eggs without having to go on a manhunt for them

 

[Isadora]

Wow, with that kind of space to work with I feel like it's a crap shoot. The coop seems the most likely place they would could be enticed to lay if it was bedded with nice material for nesting and they felt safe there. You could always throw up a couple of small lean tos with straw near the pond and see if they like it but I'm not very confident it will work.
Sorry I'm not more help.

 

[Jason Bourne III]

Wow, with that kind of space to work with I feel like it's a crap shoot. The coop seems the most likely place they would could be enticed to lay if it was bedded with nice material for nesting and they felt safe there. You could always throw up a couple of small lean tos with straw near the pond and see if they like it but I'm not very confident it will work.
Sorry I'm not more help.

I'll figure something out, Thanks for help you did give me

 

[chickengr]

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