What's best on floor of ducks' house?

[Sunny Side Up]

I had been keeping my 5 young Khakis in a plastic dog house each night and hosing it off each morning. Now I have finished constructing their new pen and also a larger wooden duck house. I used the roof from a wooden playset and covered the back with wood & wire mesh, the front with a door and wire mesh. The bottom is open to the ground.

What should I put on the ground in their house?

Should I just leave it bare dirt & hose the poops into it each morning? If I put in straw or mulch, how often will I have to change it and add new stuff? Should I lay some washable type of mat in there that I could pull out & hose off daily?

Also, once they start laying will they lay in that house? Should I add a nest box in there for them to share or will they just use a handy corner?

My favorite chicken coop has a dirt floor that I cover with mulch or straw. The poop just breaks down & disappears in there, I only have to rake it out once a month. I'm hoping to have a similarly low-maintenence duck house.

Thank you for your imput!

 

[Alaskan]

I can't imagine you being able just "hose the poops" into nothing. *shudder*

I would think that maybe a plastic/rubber mat of some kind to give some airflow under the bedding and help a tad to keep that bedding dry. Then, on top of the mat put the bedding of your choice.

I would worry a bit about varmints tunneling into the house, but if you haven't had a problem with the chickens, then maybe no worries.

Can't help with eggs, my ducks are young still, no eggs yet.

BUT THE MESS!

I still haven't figured out the best way to deal with the mess.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Wow, Homer, Alaska!! I'm quite some distance from you here in West Palm Beach, Florida!! Perhaps your ducks poop ice cubes there, but here in the swampland they make mud. It's really fairly easy to hose into the ground, just a brief shot with the sprayer makes it all disappear.

When they slept in the plastic-bottomed dog house they left a puddle of poo that had to be rinsed out each day. But now that they're sleeping on dirt it doesn't look that bad when I let them out in the morning. Even though their house is fairly airy I would rather not keep spraying water on their floor to wash away their poop if I don't have to.

And thankfully, I haven't had any predators digging into coops here, so I'm not worried about danger coming up through their dirt floor.

Unless someone else has a better suggestion, I think I'll just put some mulch in the ducks' house, and rake it all out or add a fresh layer every week or so, depending on the smell.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I use straw and hay. I replace it when it starts to get wet and full of poop.

 

[swampducks]

My almost finished duck house that my husband has built me has a wood floor that I plan on covering in vinyl tile/sheets whatever is cheapest at Homer Depot. Then I'll throw straw on top that I can sweep out periodically.

Can't say how it's going to work out yet as they've been sleeping on the pond all summer. Got my fingers crossed it will work well though.

 

[Celeste]

Our duck house is up off the ground so we put hardware cloth with a good layer of river rocks over it. It is super nice to just hose the poo down out of the house. They do have nest boxes in there (removable ones) as well and for those I put pine shavings in and change them out every few days. Mine are out in the pasture for most the day and just get put up at night for security. I am loving my ducks, they even put themselves to bed just like the chickens.

 

[chiknhut]

We have a furniture business so I just use the pine chips that come off the planer. The wood isn't treated and I can scoop it out if it gets messy

 

[blue90292]

Quote:
any chance you can take pictures. for some reason, i'm having a hard time pictureing this. thanks.

 

[Celeste]

Please don't mind the mess, they are scheduled for cleaning in tomorrow morning.

Side with removeable nest boxes, they don't dirty them too quickly. Pulling them out and cleaning the pine shavings out isn't too bad every few days.

Cleaning it out isn't bad at all. Pull out nest boxes and dishes and go to town with the hose. The grass is really tall under the house. LOL
The idea for the rocks was from someone else's duck set up but is working really well for us so far.

 

[Alaskan]

how cold does it get where you are?

Do you get an ice slick under the water bowl?

And how much wind do you get? Does it blow up through the rocks?

It looked like the rocks are your only venting, or is the odd thing on the roof a vent too?

Thanks!