Muscovies and roosts

[Nightmare Ducks]

My new muscovy ducklings arrive next week, and I’m finishing up their run and coop.

I was going to install a shelf in the coop for them, will they use that? We made it tall enough I can stand in it, so theoretically I could put a few rows in. If they’ll use it, how deep should it be?

Also, for the enclosure, if I rig up logs and such to create perching spots, will they use those? I’ve read they like to roost in trees, which I could try to replicate for them.

I come from a parrot background so domesticated ducks are alien creatures to me.

 

[nuthatched]

Ducks generally do not roost.

 

[Zenmonkey]

I have a trio of muscovies.

During the day they insist, all three of them, in sitting on my rabbit food bin (about 30" or 70cm high). And of course they p00p all over the lid. At night they seem to prefer roosting on the floor of the coop.

Last summer I had them outdoors in a pen and they would roost at night on their shelter, maybe 12" or 30cm off the ground. During the day they would only be in the ground. Unless I let them out, in which case the hens would gladly roost on any of my animal pens (6 to 7 feet off the ground, or ballpark of 2 meters). The drake seemed disinclined to do that though.

If you're specifically looking to make then a roost, I'd use a 2x4 (actually about 3.5x1.5) mounted in such a way as to allow them to perch on the wide side. Say maybe 2 feet off the floor would be about right, more or less according to what seems like it works best in your coop.