When it comes to barnyard livestock, ducks are probably the easiest-going of the bunch. When there is a slight drizzle, the goats complain and run into the barn. When the north wind blows ice crystals across the fields, your chickens are floofed-up and hiding in the coop. Meanwhile, the ducks are blithely waddling across slush and snow, and swimming among pond ice-chunks with hardly a care.
I must admit, their hardiness has given ducks a special place in my heart. And though those endearingly doofy birds mayseemto spurn any sort of shelter, they do benefit and use a coop. They just use it in a very duckish way — meaning they are very easy to please.
They need no manicured mansion or perfectly proportioned palace — just a safe, dry place for them to spend the night. The options for such a duck coop are endless, whether you go for someDIY pallet-repurposing, rethinkan old dog house, or build anover-the-top inventionfrom scratch.
Building ducks a coop that suits their shortlist of needs should be an easy endeavor, but not without forethought. So, if you’re about to welcome a quacking brood and are in the planning stages of making their coop, here are 10 considerations to keep in mind as you create the perfect place for your wonderfully awkward, waddling flock.
1. A Coop That’s Easy to Clean
鸭子绝不是最干净的鸟类。它们喜欢被淋湿,而且它们喜欢利用一切可能的机会拉屎。如果你不好好打理,你的鸭棚很快就会变成一个湿透的下水道坑。That’s a problem of more than aesthetics becauseaspergillosis, a fungal-borne disease, finds dirty bedding to be a perfect place to spawn and infect your flock.
Related Post:Chicken Coop Plans
Do yourself and your ducks a very needed favor and make their coop easy to clean. You’ll be much more likely to clean it when it needs it, rather than putting off an awkward, uncomfortable task until later. If you’re building it from scratch, I would highly recommend making it tall enough that you can stand in it.
We did this with our coop, and as the resident mucker-outer, I can vouch that being able to use a pitchfork with ease makes an otherwise unpleasant task totally doable. If you’re repurposing a structure, give yourself an easily-accessible clean-out door somewhere at the back. Just make sure that it latches securely when you’re not using it. Raccoons are dexterous enough to open simple latches.
2. Compostable Bedding And A Nearby Compost Pile
Though the cleaning of a duck house may seem a chore, what you’re really doing is setting the stage for some of the most awesome compost ever.
To give you and your gardens a fantastic boost, I recommend using straw as bedding for your ducks. You can pile it real deep in the winter to let your animals snuggle in during snowstorms, and it holds its shape well when a broody hen decides to build a nest out of it.
Finally, when combined with the inevitable loads of duck poop, it becomes an easily-compostable matrix to help turn that poop into soil fertility.
One of the best decisions we did with our duck house was an accident. My husband put a compost ring about 15 feet away from the door. Built out of old wire fencing, we were originally using it (and dozens of others like it) to break down the loads of oak leaves that carpet our homestead in the fall.
But when it came time to clean out the duck coop its first summer, the convenient opportunity was too much to resist. We filled the ring with the spent, soiled bedding, and when spring came, we planted squash seeds directly in the pile. Squash are heavy feeders and don’t mind a huge load of nutrition.
Our efforts were rewarded with an entire summer of plentiful crookneck and zucchini harvests. I would never consider building a duck house without a nearby compost pile ever again!
3. Ventilation
Ducks are water birds (an obvious fact, I know), and that means they are just naturally damp from their constant bathing, dabbling, and swimming. Their house needs adequate ventilation to make sure all that moisture doesn’t stagnate in their coop, growing fungal spores, mold, and who knows what else.
How Tall Does A Duck Coop Need To Be?
如果你从头开始建造一2022世界杯四强亚盘赔率个建筑,至少要建到3英尺高——在我看来,越高越好——并在屋顶安装某种通风系统。如果你要改变建筑结构的用途,试着在至少两个不同的面安装窗户,以便空气流通。
Be sure to cover the windows with hardware cloth to keep those crazy raccoons from invading! I’ve even seen duck houses with shutters that can be drawn closed at night or during bad storms.
Related Post:Raising Muscovy Ducks And Why You Probably Want Some
我们的鸭舍是一个露天结构,有三个遮蔽面和一个完全开放的南向区域(稍后会详细介绍)。这样的设置让他们可以避开很多暴风雪,我们也不用担心潮湿的空气会在一夜之间堆积起来。
4. Size Requirements
Ducks are surprisingly big birds if you’re used to chickens. As such, they need plenty of space to move around, nest, and sleep. Aside from Muscovy ducks who often sleep perched on a roost, all other ducks sleep piled on the ground, and they don’t like rubbing shoulders.
? How Big Does A Duck Coop Need To Be?
The general consensus is that a coop needs at least4 square feet of floor space per duckfor comfortable quarters. If you are intensively housing your ducks so they stay confined within an assigned, fenced space at all times, they also need at least 15 square feet of outdoor space per duck.
Some say less square footage can work, but the truth about ducks is the more space they have to move around, the healthier and happier they will be (and the cleaner their space will stay). We solve that problem by having free-range ducks during the day. They only sleep in their coop at night.
Related Post:19 DIY Duck House Plans
5. Entrance
Though they can be positively poetic on the water, ducks aren’t the most graceful birds on land. With bodies held close to the ground and relatively weak, short legs, they need all the help they can get to enter the duck house. If the house is not at ground level (which is recommended) provide a wide, ridged ramp for your ducks’ often slippery, webbed feet.
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Try to make the incline of the ramp as gentle as possible. My first mistake with ducks was to give them too sharp an incline to enter the house they shared with the chickens at the time. Poor things never could make it up. They fell off with a sad thud every evening and tripped head-over-heels down the ramp every morning. We soon remedied the situation by making a ground-level duck house just for them!
另外,确保鸭舍的入口比鸡的入口宽——宽到可以让两只鸭子同时进出(这经常发生)。
6. Building Orientation
Our duck house is south-facing, and it isn’t because our ducks prefer the view (though they can see the pond, so maybe they do). This orientation is strategic because it protects them from the worst weather that winters throws at them.
If you live in the northern hemisphere, a south-facing building has two advantages. First, it makes the most ofsolar gain, and allows the ducks’ space to be naturally warmer in the winter. Secondly, the northern and western parts of the ducks’ sleeping area are solidly walled off. Our worst winter weather blows from those directions, and the wall blocks the wind from buffeting our birds.
Though ducks are pretty winter-proof — they naturally grow a down jacket, after all — deep bedding to protect their feet and blocking the wind gives them the best chance to make it through the freezing months.
7. Predator-Proofing
鸭子是非常可食用的,特别是对流浪的狗或土狼寻找免费的食物。在鸡舍里设计保护捕食者的装置,让自己每晚都能安心。
有几种方法可以战胜入侵的食肉动物的诡计。用大石头把鸭舍的底部围起来,阻止挖洞,用门闩闩上门窗,这有两个作用(阻止浣熊),在庇护所的顶部盖上编织的铁丝,阻止捕食者攀爬和飞行。
Related Post:Homestead Stories: The Day I Butchered My First Duck
我们最大的盗贼都是蛇形的。我们已经让捕鼠蛇爬进笼子里偷蛋了。由于我非常重视蛇的食鼠技能,所以不会杀死它们,所以我一大早就起床收集蛋——鸭子们似乎是在黎明时分产下这些蛋的。这种做法似乎已经解决了问题。
8. Training For Returning To The Coop
一旦你建造了漂亮的鸡舍,你(当然)希望你的鸭子能从中受益。在你的家园生活中,一个重要的细节是训练散养的鸭子回到鸡舍。虽然早上放生鸭子,晚上让它们自愿回来听起来有点吓人,但鸭子是可以训练的。
This simple guide这是我成功运用的方法。如果你的鸡舍纯粹是一个室内空间,你可能需要在它周围设置临时围栏,让鸭子在训练期间有一个可控的地方走动。即使这意味着你的清理工作可能比平时更紧张,也要为该地区提供食物和水。
小贴士:每当我在训练中喂我的鸭子时,我都会发出一种我只在那时使用的独特声音。我说“独特”是因为说它是一种尖锐的“呜呜”声听起来不太……高贵。一旦鸭子自由放养,我只在晚上给它们食物。因为食物是和声音联系在一起的,所以当它们听到我的叫声时,它们不会很快跑到鸡笼里来!
I recommend free-ranging ducks if you have solid fences around your smaller property or enough property that they can roam all day without bugging the neighbors and getting into their garden. I keep my ducks close by only providing water for them near their coop. They can get pretty thirsty, so I find that they can only range so far before they need to come running back for a sip.
The only time this plan has failed is during heavy spring rains when there are puddles everywhere. On those days, I gather greens for the flock and keep the ducks cooped up in their run for the neighbors’ sake.
9. Full Or Part-Time Coop Life
如果你所在地区的空间有限,而你有一小群鸭子,有些人决定把鸭子留在他们的房子里。我见过非常昂贵的预制鸭屋,售价超过2000美元,但我觉得它们相当荒谬。你可以自己建造类似形状和用途的鸡舍,而价格只是其中的一小部分,特别是如果你在重复使用材料的话!
这些房子带来的一个大问题是不断的清理。鸭子需要很多水,当它们被限制在这么小的空间里时,它们会把地面弄脏,弄脏提供的迷你池塘,并在一个早上内浸泡它们的被褥。Ducks are not the tidiest of creatures.
When free-ranging, ducks are a fabulous manure dispenser to enliven your acreage, but in confinement, they’ll be a lot of work to keep clean and dry. My personal opinion is that ducks make the most sense and benefit the homestead if they free-range. I’d welcome differing opinions, though, if you want to share your experience in the comments below!
10. A No-Coop Solution
On the flip side, if you have enough space, it is totally possible to go without a coop for your ducks. Of course, there is an inherent risk in full-time free-ranging of poultry. Ducks are vulnerable and tasty, and with their slow, waddling gait and inability to fly (with the heavier breeds), losing ducks to predators is always a possibility you’ll have to anticipate when you do your morning head count.
I would only completely condone the no-coop approach to ducks if you have a pond for them to use as a refuge at night, and if you live in an area with more mild winters.
An easy way to provide them with overnight safety is to have a small island in the middle of the pond for them to use as a nighttime roosting area. It could be either natural or a simple, man-made floating roost. This will certainly make your egg-collecting more of a treasure hunt than a reliable source of food, but it can be and has been done.
So there are my top 10 things to consider when planning the housing for your quacking brood. I hope it can help you provide the best possible life for your animals because life with ducks is wonderful. Are there any tips and tricks that you would recommend? Any points that you think I missed? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
Megansays
This was very informative thank you!!
Wren Everettsays
I’m so glad, Megan! I take it you’re adding ducks to your world soon? Hope it goes well–they are wonderful creatures.
Honorata Di Pietrosays
I love this site, we are also thinking of adding ducks to our homestead! We are planning on getting Welsh Harlequins!
Melissasays
我们对鸭子的世界是陌生的,但我们喜欢它的每一分钟。我们住在海湾地区的泽西海岸。我的儿子们喜欢钓鱼,还喜欢读一些能吸引人的读物。因为我们住在咸水边,而不是淡水边,他想知道他们是否可以养咸水鲦鱼。他们喜欢蔬菜和水果。他想稍微改变一下。Any thoughts ?
Wren Everettsays
Ducks are great, aren’t they? They are also very adaptable. As long as you provide plenty of fresh drinking water (which they need anyway) they can drink enough to dilute any excess salt in their system and the minnows shouldn’t be a problem–if anything, they’re a huge benefit, and your ducks will go crazy for them. Thanks for your question!
Casey R.says
Having ducks is a blast! I love to just sit back relax and watch them. This is our first year having ducks so I’ve had so many questions. After reading that I think you’ve answered quite a few of the questions I had. Thanks so much
Wren Everettsays
I really love having ducks as well, and I am always happy to share that enthusiasm. I am so happy to hear that the article was helpful. Thanks for your comment, Casey!
Lanniesays
Last fall we received 6 ducks unfortunately over the winter we lost 5 do to a bear but we replace them with 7 others. One male in 7 females.
We decided to use an incubator to hatch 28 ducklings for our school project and the children were each going to get a duck to take home well because of the Corona virus school was cancelled we ended up with the extra ducks fortunately we managed to give away enough of them so we ended up with 10 more ducks I have 18 they are free range majority of the time. and we have nesting boxes inside their coop that they come to at night. But the problem we seem to be having is they’re laying eggs and we have three of them did a roosting all on one nest. Unfortunately there were 23 eggs we now have zero the three females snuggle in the one nest together and they’ve managed to break them all, how do we stop them from roosting together?
Wren Everettsays
可以确定,这是肯定的。这种鸭子式交通堵塞听起来令人沮丧!
Are all three ducks actively laying eggs? It could be that they’ve all contributed to the pile, and so they’re all competing to be the one to sit on a way-too-large clutch. I think 23 is way too many to be successfully incubated in the first place.
My guess for next time would be this–whenever there are 12 eggs on the nest, mark them all, and then remove any “extra” ones contributed to the pile as the days progress. At night, see who is the first one to cover them/who’s been the best mother in the past (if you know) Whichever duck goes broody first, let her have the clutch, then just continue collecting all the other eggs so that the other don’t go broody on the same pile. Once a duck is actively sitting on a nest, she should cover it all day, and she should also chase away the others.
请记住,我的经验仅限于番鸭,番鸭与其他品种的鸭稍有不同。但我还是希望它能有所帮助!
Bella Grechkasays
我有一处很大的房产,我希望能捕到鸭子,但我们几乎完全被森林包围了。熊、土狼、山猫和钓鱼猫经常把我们的院子作为通往森林另一边的捷径。我不知道用什么栅栏来保护鸭子的安全。
Jessica Johnstonsays
I am getting 6 ducks. Building a coop. What fencing did you use?
What did you put to protect the ground from predators?
Jessica Johnstonsays
I also have a really big property Bears, coyotes, foxs, and fisher cats . I also don’t know what kind of fencing to use to keep the ducks safe. Especially for the ground. What to do and what to use?
Matti Onsjösays
伟大的技巧!我们正准备建造我们的第一个鸭子专用的房子,非常感谢你分享的经验。谢谢你!
Anniesays
Hi, great article thank you. I’m in the north NZ, have 4 silver appleyards, a drake and 3 hens, all of the latter are currently sitting on eggs for the first time. They’ve been living free-range, so the nests are all out along the creek. They’re very well hidden, but I’m worried about the imminent hatching of the ducklings as we have a lot of hawks around and I’m sure a duckling is tasty tucker! I’ve thought of moving the ducks and eggs into some sort of shelter but thought that might throw them off sitting. What would you recommend?
Nicsays
感谢所有这些建议!我希望今年春天能养上鸭子作为我们的第一批家畜,我正在疯狂地研究。2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国到目前为止,我还没有看到回答的一个问题是,我应该计划多久清理一次鸡笼。每隔几天?
Brittanysays
Thank you for all of the information! I got 6 ducks back in February when I bought a new house. They are now about 5 months old and I just found their first 2 eggs! I am looking to build a safer shelter for them to get through these New York winters. Right now, they have a fenced in area and an old rabbit hutch to sleep in which I cut the legs off of. They swim in a little plastic pool which needs to be cleaned CONSTANTLY. I don’t let them have access to my whole back yard because of their poop. Ducks are very yucky!