will my ducks eat all the grass in their pen?

[Kyle85]

what do you guys think about beach sand? It wouldn't get muddy in there, which is what I would like to avoid. Although I'm not sure about how easily I would keep it clean. I'm thinking rain or even a light sprinkle from a garden hose would dissolve most duck waste and it would filter down through the sand back into the ground. maybe even a 1in layer of pea gravel under the sand?

This isn't really my area of expertise here, just throwing out ideas.

 

[FenDruadin]

I can't say anything about pea gravel from personal experience, but here is what Dave Holderread, author of "Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks" and internationally known duck breeder says:

"If the soil on the land where you live has poor drainage, the duck yard should be covered with pea gravel, sand, straw, or wood shavings, with the center of the yard built up higher than the outside edges."

He especially recommends pea gravel for under watering areas. I like straw bedding because it is sustainably disposable (i.e. I don't actually have to wash anything), and easy on the duckie's feet. But pea gravel and/or sand would probably be washable, and drain better--when the weather is wet here, the duck yard *does* get pretty mucky, even with the straw down.

If you really want to do it up nice, you could try Holderread's "Triplex Duck Run," which consists of three parts (and would permit part of it to be grass--hurrah!). This is a paraphrase from Storey's Guide:

1. An area inside a building, where they are shut at night for predator protection, bedded with coarse cedar sawdust (I imagine you could use straw or whatever similar product is readily available in your area).

2. A bedded outside yard that they have access to during the day. Quote, "To prevent mud, we cover these yards with 3 to 4 inches of coarse, round gravel, topped with 2 inches of sand, covered with a layer of coarse cedar sawdust."

3. A grassy yard that is available to the ducks only during nice weather (i.e., not rainy--wet weather encourages them to dig holes and make a mess out of anything living).

I *don't* have anything this elaborate, but I'm able to let my flock free range during the day, and at night they are shut into the equivalent of those top two areas, except that the entire area is bedded with straw on top of dirt (no pea gravel, etc).

Let us know what you decide and how it turns out!

Heather

 

[Wifezilla]

They will also tamp the ground down with those big flat feet and splash enough water into the dirt to make mud puddles. Then they will root in the mud puddles.

That is why use deep litter in my pen

Works great and NO mud puddles​

 

[Soccer Mom]

But they loooove the mud puddles.

Although I think the idea of pea gravel under sand has some merit.

I do deep litter in the duck house. Never occured to me to try it in the pen.

Hmmmm....

 

[Wifezilla]

Here is Duck Harbor. They are only in here at night. Otherwise they wander the back yard.

 

[Soccer Mom]

They look very happy in there. My outdoor run is pretty big. I might try the sand route there. Of course they spend most of their time free ranging, but I'm getting new babies in the spring and they will be confined to the run for a couple of months.