Houseing for ducks?

[5WoodedAcres]

Hi
We are new to ducks and have 4 mallard Runner crosses( or so I was told) They are penned up in the garage at night right now ( have the run of the place during the day) however I rather wish to have my garage back. We built a nice coop for the chickens so not against building them a house but would like to know if anyone has any basic ideas on size, demeitions, etc? Also I know of people that use DogGlu type dog houses. Any one have luck with that? Is there a good way to get a door one them?


Thanks

S

[uncle Will in In.]

They need a pen that will protect them from preditors more than they need a house. Something like a dog pen with a wire top to keep owls, hawks, and coons out. Put it where they will have all day shade. <>UNK

[Ravenlost]

My Pekin Duck lives in the chicken pen with the chickens. She sleeps in the chicken house at night.

[xoxoGOATSxoxo]

I dont know if you posted this on the poultry forum or not, but you'll probably get more answers there.

Are you able to let them range your yard during the day? Or do you want them penned day and night?

I lock mine in a covered pen with a wooden house in it during the night, and let them out in the yard during the day.

If you are able to let the range during the day, all you have to do is lock them in a covered, secure pen at night with a shelter for them to get out of the rain and snow.

If you'd rather keep them penned up all day, you could still have a covered pen with a shelter, that opens into a larger, uncovered pen.

I dont know how cold it gets in VA, but I think you will still need a substantial shelter for winter. I'm in Michigan, and I have a simple wooden boxlike house that is raised off the ground just a little, with a small door. They rarely go in during the summer, but like to snuggle in their straw during the winter. I also have a temporary summer pen for my teenaged ducks, and they have a large dog crate as a shelter that works fine for summer.

If I could, I think I would build a small pole barn, like 6 feet tall and maybe just 100 square feet, with a sliding door. I friend of mine has this for her ducks and it works wonderfully.

If your ducks are truely runner/mallard crosses, they are probably quite small and dont need lots of room, but still try to give them as much as you can. They could also be runner/rouen crosses, as rouens look just like mallards, only gigantic. They might even be gray runners, which are regular indian runners with a mallard pattern.

[Maura]

They will probably sleep in the hen house if you let them. The chickens will roost on the roosts, and the ducks will sleep on the floor. Make sure you have a good bedding of straw.

[highlands]

Keep it simple and protect them from predators. Our protection consists of dogs. Without the dogs we would need serious fencing as ducks are not good at protecting themselves. For housing they have a simple roof but they rarely use it. They prefer being out in the open.

[5WoodedAcres]

Hi all Thanks for the replies!

Yep they range all day with the chickens. No pen as we're far enough in the woods there seems to not be an issue with hawks at least. We're just looking for ideas to keep them safe at night. Right now we heard them into a pen in the garage. Thanks again, looks like I'll build them a little house. Really I wish these things weren't so darn cute and personable....

As for teh breed, they are rather large. I was told that they were Mallard/Runners. They don't really look like Mallards at least none Ive ever seen but they aren't as tall as runners. Perhaps I need to post a pic?


Also, has any one used Dogglu type dog houses for them?

Thanks again

[Bearfootfarm]

Also, has any one used Dogglu type dog houses for them?

I'm not so sure they would like it.

I know some people who have a small hatchery, and all they have is a low , 3 sided shelter for all their ducks.
It gives them a dry space to nest, but they spend most of their time in the open.
In the wild, ducks would nest in farily open spaces

[Jennifer L.]

When I had ducks they free ranged and at night went into their duck house, which was a 4' x 8' x 2' box with a concrete base and a roof that raised on one side for clean out. It had a cedar shake roof, had hardware cloth filling in the peaks of the roof for lots of ventilation, and looked pretty nice, too. The ducks generally would go in by themselves at night and I'd close the door and lock them in for overnight. I never lost a duck to night time predators when I had this box.

Jennifer

[xoxoGOATSxoxo]

Yes, yes, post a pic!

Dogglu houses can get rather hot, but I know someone that uses one. Be sure that its in the shade, though.

[fixer1958]

The ducks we have won't use any shelter as in a chicken house.
I have several small huts out there for them to get out of the sun, hail etc.

Brooding ducks need a building of sorts to keep the little ones dry and out of the sun, rain etc. Mom will take them out when she thinks it's time.

Other than that, the adults are in the weather, rain, sleet or snow. There choice. I keep hay on the ground in the winter to keep there feet from freezing and off the snow. They do appreciate that.

It's funny to watch them in a heavy rain.
They face the wind with there necks outstretched. Looks like they are worshipping the rain god.

[Bfly Farmer]

Originally Posted by 5WoodedAcres

Also, has any one used Dogglu type dog houses for them?

We use Igloos for our ducks and geese. We just have them in our pasture. Heck, even some of our chickens use them.

We recently moved from Hamilton and hawks were never a problem, but foxes, racoons, and coyotes were. So whatever you build, make sure it will keep them out.

Good luck, Sarah

[NostalgicGranny]

Originally Posted by Bfly Farmer

We use Igloos for our ducks and geese. We just have them in our pasture. Heck, even some of our chickens use them.

That's what we use too. The ducks, chickens, goats, and pigs (that fit) all love them. Sometimes even fight over them.

[Little Quacker in OR]

Ducks have totally different needs than land poultry. So, their husbandry is quite different or it should be. Ducks are outfitted by mother nature to migrate and in these journeys fly very, very high. So good old nature has presented them with a physiology to withstand extreme cold AS LONG as their plumage is in good shape....meaning they are well fed and parasite free.

So, even in extreme conditions all healthy adult ducks need is a wind break from the weather. However as others have pointed out, they do need to be protected from predators. Ducks do not do well if forced into quarters that are too warm or poorly ventilated. True waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans)if kept in healthy conditions have no external parasites ir gross stuff like coccidiosis but if you keep them with chickens they will pick up some disgusting things from them.

Domestic Ducks are short and do not roost like chickens so in theory a duck house can be quite short too. But most of us are taller than ducks so we need to make the duck house tall enough to work in. I made the mistake of building my first one quite short. Boy was I sorry! So the next time I constructed a nicer house, 12ft long, 6ft wide and 6 ft high(with two pens coming out from each end) and put a window in. Much nicer for me cause I could then swing tools to work in there, see to find the eggs etc. Do remember if you want to have deep bedding for your ducks, say when its really gonna be sub zero cold and you want to keep them clean.. it will take up more height. I forgot that simple law of physics too and bumped my head a lot until i got a brain. LOL So, make the height accordingly.

The problem with building smaller quarters is that ducks are catching. they are smarter than chickens and more a pet than just a bird for eggs and the pot. So, plan for more than you start with. A friend a long time ago said of her family that when they lost a chicken they tossed the carcass to the pigs. When they lost a duck they had a funeral. This seems to sum up how most of us feel about ducks.

If you pop over to The Poultry Connection and go onto the Waterfowl Forum you will find a wealth of info and great people there who are waterfowl experts.

Also the best duck book ever written is by Dave Holderread. Raising the Home Duck Flock or one of its many reprints. You can get it used really cheap and its a gem.

Have fun! LQ

[uncle Will in In.]

Who knows ducks better than a Little Quacker? LOL
Hi Youngin'. <>UNK

[Little Quacker in OR]

Hi Unk! LOL Been busier than a one armed quilter caring for a Foster Cattle Dog and her eight puppies. She had pneumonia poor girl when she was rescued and then whelped eleven puppies! Eight of them lived. Had to bottle feed two pups and syringe feed two more to help out the momma dog. I hadn't burped ANYTHING in many, many years and burping puppies was a trip! They just cracked me up! ROFL!!! You know, you don't have to bottle feed chicks or duckings!

Anyway they are all doing great. The momma dog Dolly has now been spayed, mircrochipped and gotten up to date on vaccines and has gone to her new home. Seven of her enormously talented puppies(Half Lab)have gone to their new homes ( naturally... altered, chipped and vaccinated)and I have just one puppy left, the smartest of the bunch but a real momma's boy. Looks and acts just like a Lab, adores water and retrieving. I'll miss them I know but my three cattle dogs will be relieved that the little pests are gone!

Take care and enjoy your birds everyone! They make us smile so we need them!

LQ

[Home Harvest]

My Saxony ducks live in a fenced pasture. They have a portable house, but they rarely use it except when setting eggs. The house is 3X6 with a roof that lifts on hinges for access. Nothing fancy. I put it on skids, and use ropes to move it around as we rotate pastures.

[fixer1958]

Ducks definatley are smarter in most respects, and I can agree with the funeral aspect for a chosen few.

It's a love/hate thing for me. Get PE'OD at all of the porch crappers one day, and then think about not having the goofballs around and just be stuck with chickens.
It would be too boring, but on the other hand, a lot less work and a lower water bill.