Indoor Duck Pen - Need Recommendations!!

[tofukiwi]

I have two fast growing Pekin ducks, and I feel like the current place that they sleep in (I have a plastic bin in which they sleep in currently to keep their poop in one place over night) is getting extremely cramped, to the point where it is difficult for them to move). I want to create a closed off indoor area for them that can be easily cleaned and also affordable (as I am still in school with no income due to COVID). I'd also like to add that once morning comes, they are put outside in the backyard to walk around freely, I just want to change their sleeping environment to make it more comfortable for them.

I also need toy recommendations as I sadly do not have any current toys for them and I am extremely worried that they will go depressed because they have no source of entertainment currently other than myself.

Any recommendations or reference photos for indoor pens are highly appreciated!

 

[BantyChooks]

What sort of size are you looking for? A portable enclosure, or something more permanent?
As far as toys go, in my experience ducks are best occupied by a lump of sod and some worms. They don't interact with toys in the same way dogs do.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

will they sleep inside even when fully grown? or just as babies? i’m not sure if you are looking for brooder ideas or adult pen ideas?

toys - zippy paws has amazing burrow (dog) toys that my flock loves. they also love to cuddle with stuffed animals at night. mirrors! ducks like to look at themselves in the mirror.

 

[LT71689]

i moved my two pekins out of their plastic tote and into a bigger pen around 1.5-2 weeks because yeah, they grow fast, and beyond that, they need space to spread all that poop out or you'll never keep the bedding dry and clean.

I threw this together with some of the cheapest pine boards I could find, an MDF floor to keep it lightweight, couple dowels and some chicken wire. There was a thick plastic painters tarp stapled to the floor to keep it water proofed if I needed to take it outside and hose it out (but never did, it stayed pretty clean with a few inches of pine shavings). I eventually added about another 1/3 onto one end of it. In hindsight I would have made it wider so they could stretch their wings real good when they got big, they could do it if they stood facing the long sides but they didnt always realize thats what they needed to do. The original was about 28 inches x 6 feet, the addition brought it to 9 or 10 feet.

i chose to use the dowels to attach the wire caging so that I could lift the whole thing off for portability, but if you dont need to move it around or wash it out like I thought I might, then you could just attach permanent uprights to make it easier. The base has holes drilled into it that the dowels sit snug inside of like ikea furniture (I'm fairly crafty and had all the proper tools, it would have been tougher without a drill press and I probably would have gone for a permanent cage attachment.

When they outgrew their baby waterer I cut the side of a plastic jug far up enough that they could dunk their heads in (melted the sharp edges down with a lighter) and put it inside a shallow baking dish to catch the splashes. Eventually replaced the baking dish with one of these and zip-tied the handle of the jug to the chicken wire to keep it from sliding. https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/nordicware-oven-bacon-pan/6000197237374 I kept enough shavings in the cage that I could sort of nestle the pan down in them so it was the same height as the shavings.

I used a cat litter scoop to sift out their poops when I let them out of their pen in the mornings, and sometimes before I went to bed at night if they were put in early/I was up late. If you're diligent with scooping and turning over and fluffing the bedding it stays clean/dry fairly long, especially if they/re only in there to sleep

 

[LT71689]

Oh and for toys? Their favorite thing in the world was a couple microfiber towels hung by their loop tags off one of the dowels - loved burying their heads in between them and nibbling. (they'd chew on the dishtowel and apron they could reach hanging in the kitchen and the sides of the bedsheets also)


They also really liked those "spoons" in the water jug picture, they rattled a bit and they liked nibbling on them https://www.petsmart.ca/bird/toys-p...hanging-spoon-bird-toy-43523.html?cgid=400208

I also tried these two but they were less well-received. Basically aimed for anything without strings or bits that seemed easily bitten off.
https://www.petsmart.ca/bird/toys-p...parrot-bungie-bird-toy-54066.html?cgid=400208

https://www.petsmart.ca/small-pet/t...tric-small-animal-chew-42851.html?cgid=600208


A lot of folks also do mirrors - they liked to check themselves out in the bathroom from time to time

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

Oh and for toys? Their favorite thing in the world was a couple microfiber towels hung by their loop tags off one of the dowels - loved burying their heads in between them and nibbling. (they'd chew on the dishtowel and apron they could reach hanging in the kitchen and the sides of the bedsheets also)
View attachment 2296630

They also really liked those "spoons" in the water jug picture, they rattled a bit and they liked nibbling on them https://www.petsmart.ca/bird/toys-p...hanging-spoon-bird-toy-43523.html?cgid=400208

I also tried these two but they were less well-received. Basically aimed for anything without strings or bits that seemed easily bitten off.
https://www.petsmart.ca/bird/toys-p...parrot-bungie-bird-toy-54066.html?cgid=400208

https://www.petsmart.ca/small-pet/t...tric-small-animal-chew-42851.html?cgid=600208


A lot of folks also do mirrors - they liked to check themselves out in the bathroom from time to time

do you still have them?

 

[LT71689]

do you still have them?

The ducks, or the toys?

they both moved to their forever farm last week, I was just fostering for 9 weeks

 

[aart]

it would have been tougher without a drill press

Probably impossible without the drill press, nice job.

loved burying their heads in between them and nibbling.

Were they drying off their faces?

 

[LT71689]

Probably impossible without the drill press, nice job.

Were they drying off their faces?

If you’re really careful to hold the drill straight you can do it with a hand-held. The dowel I chose was like an 1/8th smaller than the thickness of the board and I had the press so I made use of it. Could have gone with smaller dowels and winged it by hand, And I only needed the additional framing on the wire cage because I had a really crappy staple gun that couldn’t get the staples into the dowels - my original plan was just the dowels and wire. The frame came in when I couldn’t get the wire attached. Wound up breaking the staple gun and buying a new one halfway through and that one got the staples into the dowels just fine. The birds aren’t pushing on it or trying to break out so it didn’t need to be super sturdy, just needs to stay upright

I always said they were digging for treasures - I’d give them a big laundry pile to nose around in and they’d be happy for at least an hour. never told me if they found anything good though. They also loved to pick pockets