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From: Sasha (da003d0516.sjc-ca.osd.concentric.net)
Subject: Well, the wild ones do fine with some kind of shelter...
Date: December 3, 2002 at 6:48 am PST

In Reply to: Mallard Ducks posted by Meg on September 7, 2002 at 2:44 pm:

they use bushes, rushes ect. but a box with one open side would do...
you can try closing off the other side, but they might not go in if you do. Make the three sides solid, so there are no drafts. Hm, it doesn't have to be very big if they are free to go outside at anytime... maybe 4 ft x 6 or 8 ft. if I remember right... a book about poultry would have more dependable dimensions. And just high enough for them to stretch up, maybe 3 or 4 ft. any higher will let the heat they generate float up away from them.

It will be a lot warmer if you stack a bale of hay on each side of it (cheaper and more enivronmentally sound than plastic isulation)... and if it was up 6 inches or so off the ground with insulation between the floor and the ground (or just make the sides taller and the floor out of a couple of thicknesses of flakes of hay).

Water is the hardest thing to provide... unless you have a fast flowing river right there, and they will go in it. You will have to either get out and break the ice out of the bowl and refill it at least twice a day, or else get some kind of water bowl heater (check chicken supply catalogues).

And food of course, but that is easy.

Ducks are messy with their food and water, so keep that outside their box, maybe in a lean to off one side or something to keep the snow off it.

I know this is really old, but it was fun thinking it through.
Post what you did, if you ever check back here.

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