Duck run fall/winter set up for two mallard hens

[Lin97588]

Hi all! I have two sweet mallard hens that are just approaching 16 weeks. They are very bonded and love to fly to our backyard lake in the evenings. They even join us on our fishing boat when we are out. they are a hoot and we love having them around.

They currently are in a decent sized run and coop near our house on top of the hill. However, as time goes on, I’m interested in updating their run into something bigger for them to enjoy while they aren’t outside, and for me to walk into for easy cleaning haha. We live in the Midwest where it’s starting to get chilly. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Our current set up is under our deck, and surprisingly has been pretty clean all summer. Im out there daily tending to it because the run is on top of concrete and rubber chef mats. There are several outdoor cushions and cleaned towels for them to rest on. Inside the coop we started to use straw. They opt to sleep in the run every night vs the coop. Our backyard is fenced in, but they can see the lake from the run. Should we consider moving it closer to the water? What are some things we should consider for colder temps?

We usually get mallards around fall/winter. I’m curious if they will find mates and migrate or if they will stick around. We made a duck nesting tube near our dock just in case they get to the point where we can’t round them up. They seem like they want to stay out later and later these days

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[TheQueenOfDucks]

What we have is just a small dog house that sits on the edge of our pond, but I live in Texas, so the weather is a lot different. The duck barely if ever go in the houses now, opting to just stay outside.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Hi all! I have two sweet mallard hens that are just approaching 16 weeks. They are very bonded and love to fly to our backyard lake in the evenings. They even join us on our fishing boat when we are out. they are a hoot and we love having them around.

They currently are in a decent sized run and coop near our house on top of the hill. However, as time goes on, I’m interested in updating their run into something bigger for them to enjoy while they aren’t outside, and for me to walk into for easy cleaning haha. We live in the Midwest where it’s starting to get chilly. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Our current set up is under our deck, and surprisingly has been pretty clean all summer. Im out there daily tending to it because the run is on top of concrete and rubber chef mats. There are several outdoor cushions and cleaned towels for them to rest on. Inside the coop we started to use straw. They opt to sleep in the run every night vs the coop. Our backyard is fenced in, but they can see the lake from the run. Should we consider moving it closer to the water? What are some things we should consider for colder temps?

We usually get mallards around fall/winter. I’m curious if they will find mates and migrate or if they will stick around. We made a duck nesting tube near our dock just in case they get to the point where we can’t round them up. They seem like they want to stay out later and later these days

Any advice is appreciated.

did you raise them from hatch? if you want them to stay around i think you will have to clip their wings (properly) so they don’t fly away. I think if you decide to try to make them stay with you and clip their wings you might not want their house closer to the lake. to me it sounds like they are staying out waiting for their prince charming to take them away now lol