New Raised Duck Pen
I am currently working on a above ground raised duck pen that will sit adjacent to the chicken house. I had originally considered building an on-the-ground duck aviary with a pond. Unfortunately, ducks are notoriously messy with water. If kept on ground, ducks will quickly turn the area around their waterer or small pond into a muddy mess. They will even put dirt and mud in their bills and then mix it in with their drinking water. This results in foul water in no time. As such, I finally decided on an above ground design for reasons of cleanliness and functionality. The duck pen is 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. The pen is 6 feet tall, and the floor of the pen sits 3 foot above the ground so that the ducks are at eye level. The pen also includes a 3ft by 4ft duck house for shelter and a 30 gallon plastic mortar tub that will function as a pond. The floor of the house will be lined with several inches of wood shavings for bedding and warmth. Feed will be offered in the covered duck house in a galvanized feeder, whereas drinking water will be kept outside the house. The plastic tub is sunk into the floor of the pen so that the lip of the tub sits flush with the floor. The tub has a drain at the bottom for ease of cleaning. Because the pen is above ground, no dirt ever comes into contact with water in the pen. This will help keep the water clean and thus offers a major advantage over the on-the-ground aviary design. The duck pen will house my white call ducks and black east indies.
January 17th Update: The original pen has pen completed; however, I am currently making a second duck pen like this one. However, it will include a larger pond using a 80-100 gallon stock tank. Also, the house will be divided into four sections: three of those sections will be nest boxes. The forth section will contain a feeder. This new pen will house 2 to 3 mandarin pairs. I still need to paint the first pen barn red to match the adjacent chicken house.
New Duck Pen During Construction
October 4th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Scott,
What a great-looking pen this is shaping up to be! I would say you’re going to have some very spoiled call ducks! Are you going to be posting your building plans for the pen once it’s completed?
October 5th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I agree with LeAnne… someone is spoiling his various forms of fowl! But I can see how this type of design would be much easier to keep clean. Not only will that make the pen area itself more pleasant, but it should help keep the ducks themselves from getting messy, too.
February 24th, 2010 at 1:10 am
I’m currently working on another pen with similar design; however, it will be modified for my mandarins. The house section will be two story with the upper story consisting of four nestboxes.