How To Build A Duck Pen - Important Pointers For New Duck Owners

A good duck pen should be shaded, dry and secure enclosure for all your flock

. The pen should also be uncrowded, easy to clean and protected from weather elements. The main consideration should be to prevent foxes, raccoons, raptors and coyotes from accessing the birds. This article provides a step by step guideline on how to build a duck pen that is simple and safe for your ducks.

In order to learn how to build a duck pen, you will require four 4 x 4 wood posts of about 6.5-7.5 feet tall, 2 x 4 wood boards, 5/8 or inch plywood, heavy duty staples and staple gun, hardware cloth, wire mesh, vertical hinges, tamper-proof latch, cement block or large stones and straw bedding, cement, gravel, wheelbarrow and tarps.

The first step on how to build a duck pen is to select a spacious site close to the house with a good drainage and shade. Make sure you allow a space of about 1.25 square yards for every 3 ducks you intend to house. Build a gravel floor by placing a hardware cloth layer on the floor, cover with straw bedding and making sure you always change it regularly.

The next step on how to build a duck pen is to erect the 4 x 4 posts by sinking them about 1.5 feet in the ground allowing around 5-6 feet of the posts to be above the ground. Ensure the posts are placed slightly more than a yard apart. Then staple a strong wire mesh fencing to the posts, and sink the fencing inside the ground together with the buried support posts section. Burying the fence into the ground prevents predators from digging below the fencing to gain access to the ducks. You can leave a section between two posts to provide an allowance for a door if desired.

Then draw a line 3 feet at the bottom end of the fencing in the enclosure together with hardware cloth to make a good bedding for the ducks. Draw a line to the exterior perimeter using heavy stones or concrete blocks to prevent predators from digging to access the birds.

Construct a wooden 2 x 4 frame door and fit 90 degree angle flat braces on the back corner of the frame to provide extra stability making sure the height of the door equals that of the support posts. Staple wire mesh fencing on to the frame, and then hinge the door to allow it to swing outwards between the two support posts. Put a secure raccoon-proof latch on the pen door and place flat cement at the door side to prevent predators from digging.

The last step on how to build a duck pen is to construct a roof using the 2 x 4 boards and then use a hardware cloth or wire mesh to cover it. Connect the roof to the posts in a slanting position from the front side to the back side of the pen. This slight slope helps to prevent rain water from collecting on the roof. Fasten the tarps onto the roof in order to shield the ducks from bad weather or you can construct a wooden roof using or 5/8 inch plywood sheets ensuring that the roof is slanting and it meets with the mesh or sides of the walls.

by: Mary Louise

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