I'm a Slaven to the ducks...
I've spent the last 3 days working in the cold and rain to get my ducks in proper housing... and I think both they and I are thrilled with the results:
Well, not the best photo, but the new raised duck pen has a bazillion advantages when it comes to keeping the ducks clean and healthy. My main motivation to get their new raised pen done was the state of their old, somewhat temporary housing. Ducks + Water = Muddy, smelly mess
You can see my futile efforts to control some of the muddy mess with the addition of wood shavings, which the ducks most happily transfered into their water pool. They did amazing excavations throughout their enclosure, making duck coffee in every available divit created.
The new raised pen now allows their watery mess to fall through the wire floor to the woody mulch waiting below, which will (un-suffocated with mud) be able to compost quickly and make a great garden amendment. Also their new pen features a pool with a built in drain, so their sullied bath water can be easily drained and transfered to feed & water thirsty plants nearby. Here's the new pool & drain, complete with a little ramp to help the stubby-legged ducks get out of their pool:
Also, the duck pen features a separate nesting house, with a solid, well-bedded floor should they seek relief from standing on the wire all day. The nesting compartment has a drop down duck door. Should I need to catch any of the ducks, it will be easy to herd them into the nesting area, and shut the trap door behind them. Also, the nesting area has a clear roof to allow in lots of sunlight to encourage the girls to lay, and will be a nice secure area for brooding.
And finally, their pool area will be the main nutrient source for my future duckoponics/aquaponics project. I am placing some flood & drain trays above the pool area. I will soon invest in a solids- handling pump to push the duck water through the trays, which will be filled with gravel and planted with watercress and lettuces that will feed us and the ducks (and other critters too)! Other tanks will also be incorporated into the system, possibly a fish-raising tank, and a duck-weed raising tray.
Then the ducks will be slaven for me!
