Nesting boxes that ducks actually like

Nest suggestions?
Sorry if I ramble a bit, I'm starting to get REALLY upset with my ducks inability to lay in a nesting box.
Last year I only had three ducks (ordered 16, but only 3 made it here), and they happily laid in my small "rooster/special chicken coop" nesting boxes. This year we added 40 more ducks, and built a new coop to house our chickens, ducks, and geese (all in different sections). I've had chickens for years and know how to build effective nests for them, and I've managed to get my geese to lay inside... but not my ducks. This year has been full of updating and designing poultry housing, so I haven't been able to make a "permanent" nest for them yet, and I'm at a loss as to what to make them. I've tried several different things to try and find a consistent nest that they ALL like, but haven't been successful.
A couple laid in a cardboard box for a while, but aren't laying there any more. They don't have access to the original nests the first three liked, and I haven't managed to build anything like it that they will lay in. Besides that, I haven't been able to find where anyone else is laying, and it's getting pretty frustrating.
I've been free ranging them (that will hopefully become part time this winter), so who knows where they could all be laying. I've done research online, and can't find any great ideas for nesting boxes.
What do your ducks like to lay in? How can I encourage them to lay there once it's in place?
I do know how to sex them, so I know I don't just have drakes.

I use a variety of nest boxes. Ducks are still inconsistent, but my best results have been either a Rubbermaid tote with an entrance hole cut in it, or a quarter barrel with a wooden panel at the front with a hole to one side.



I've had Noisy ducks use this 1/4 barrel version, but I originally made them for the Muscovy. That said, recently, all seem to prefer the Rubbermaid tote version.


A "fake egg" or golf ball may help.

My experience with Noisy ducks is that they normally lay very early in the morning and I don't let them out before then, because "like" and "reliably use" are two different concepts, neither of which seems to be a strong characteristics of Noisy ducks.

I just place cinder blocks on the floor along a wall of their night time housing, leaving a gap of about 14 inches between each block.  The ducks gather up pine shavings and make a nest in those nooks. I originally put a golf ball in each spot to get them started, but that is no longer necessary. I still find an occasional egg elsewhere, but 95% of them end up between the blocks.  If you're building a nest box, you might be over doing it.

Jake Esselstyn wrote:I just place cinder blocks on the floor along a wall of their night time housing, leaving a gap of about 14 inches between each block.  

Great idea for a fairly permanent shelter, but many of my shelters are portable ones that move frequently, so I'm always thinking in terms of light-weight.

I use my Muscovy to hatch out my Khaki-Campbell ducks, so I also need nest boxes that can be used through a hatching cycle and then cleaned easily and sun-sterilized for another go. This year my Muscovy were pretty much going broody every time there was a nest box available to set in, and then a couple of Hubby's industrial chickens went broody as well and I had to haul out dog crates for them. I generally use dog crates for setting rather than as nest boxes, but that's another "upcycling" option for some situations.

Elena Sparks wrote:

What do your ducks like to lay in?

I was just talking to my lovely wife about this.

To answer the above question, I find a 50/50 mixture of wood chips and duck poop seems to be our ducks favorite place to lay... sorry I'm no help, just here for the ideas as well. BUT I'm rooting for you!

Chris Vee wrote:

Elena Sparks wrote:
What do your ducks like to lay in?

I was just talking to my lovely wife about this.

To answer the above question, I find a 50/50 mixture of wood chips and duck poop seems to be our ducks favorite place to lay... sorry I'm no help, just here for the ideas as well. BUT I'm rooting for you!

To be fair, I've found a lot of chickens seem to like that kind of laying medium, too. Their favorite places tend to get very quickly soiled, one way I can tell it's a favorite place!

I'm here to get ideas for my geese - I haven't found a structure that would allow them protection while still keeping the chickens away. Given a preference, they move into the A-frame where I keep my nesting boxes and drive the chickens out.

"Kristine Keeley

I find letting the geese have their own shed/shelter works best. They can get very territorial when they start feeling broody and hurt other animals trying to maintain their privacy.
I had a pair of Embdens given to me because they were trying to nest in the round bale of hay and were attacking the horse. They actually ended up attacking the poor horse so severly the vet needed to be called out to stich the horse up.
Blah blah blah
Ok, once they have their own place to shelter, you can just us a 2x6 to create an angle and attach it to an inside corner. 2'x2' seems to be about right. Put some clean straw or wood chips in it, set one of their eggs in it and show her.
Mine took right to it and use it every year.

Hi Liz,

Welcome to Permies.

This is my first year raising Muscovy ducks but mine seem to like secluded, half hidden spots. I've built some "boxes" out of grass and straw bales by putting some bales about 2 feet apart parallel to each other. I then put one against the back to make a wall and then put a couple across the top to form the roof. I've done this outside and also inside their 3 sided shelter. I also just put some bales in the shelter about 2 feet from the back wall. The one outside was taken first, then the space between the bales and wall, and last the bale house inside the shelter. The nest outside is about a week away from hatching so I'm excited and hopeful to see some new ducklings soon! Hope some of these ideas help.

Jay Angler wrote:

Jake Esselstyn wrote:I just place cinder blocks on the floor along a wall of their night time housing, leaving a gap of about 14 inches between each block.  

Great idea for a fairly permanent shelter, but many of my shelters are portable ones that move frequently, so I'm always thinking in terms of light-weight.

I use my Muscovy to hatch out my Khaki-Campbell ducks, so I also need nest boxes that can be used through a hatching cycle and then cleaned easily and sun-sterilized for another go. This year my Muscovy were pretty much going broody every time there was a nest box available to set in, and then a couple of Hubby's industrial chickens went broody as well and I had to haul out dog crates for them. I generally use dog crates for setting rather than as nest boxes, but that's another "upcycling" option for some situations.

The "duck tractor" that my sister had here when I inherited the property had a nest box built on the wheel end close to the ground so that they could get in and out and the top opened to remove the eggs.  The tractors are 4 feet wide and 12 feet long so one end could be rotated through the shallow ponds in the field.

Thanks, Liz!
Anything would be better than what poor Ginger, my broody African Goose, is currently doing. I really need to get her something she might appreciate.

Thank you for the idea! Welcome to Permies! (It's only been 7 months, that's not long at all!)

Duck porn - sorry, couldn't resist. This is Venus Fly Trap who just hatched out three goslings for me. She hadn't yet taken them off the nest. Today they are much bigger and had their first day out in the field.

I'm jealous! My goslings are to the point where they are half-sized geese.
My broody goose doesn't have a good track record, but I'm hopeful.

Venus Fly Trap did a great job! Congratulations to the new Mom and family!

I have noticed that my ducks prefer a dark space away from the other ducks to lay their eggs. I use wooden boxes, but even a cheap rabbit hutch or a 5 gallon bucket on its side could work. Mine also wont lay in the boxes if they´re dirty, which is silly considering how messy ducks are. I put nesting pads in them and they rearrange them to make it nest shaped and I also like to add herbs. They may or may not care about the herbs, but I enjoy it at least!

Kristine Ellis wrote:...a 5 gallon bucket on its side could work.

I have tried the bucket on its side at least twice many years apart but for chickens, and if given a choice, they rejected the option. I think that they're too slippery and the curved bottom seems unpopular.

However, we recently got a few of the "flat backed" buckets, and they might do the trick, at least for bantams or small breeds.

When we received our 3 piebald muscovys from our friend, it was kind of out of the blue, and we were ill-prepared. So, my hubby propped one side of a 48x48" board on a pair of cinder blocks, to give them some temporary shelter - and they promptly began nesting under it! Unfortunately, when they'd try to sit on the nest, they'd break the eggs, but these ladies are a determined pair, and their super-protective, very sweet, shared baby-daddy won't let anyone near the nest they decided on, out in the open.

By the next round, I'm hoping to cut a food-safe barrel into quarters, and lay flat-cut sides down, with straw bedding, for them.

Here he is, spelling mama, so she can get a drink and stretch her legs, for a few minutes.

Finally getting khaki ducks. This book will be my go-to even if I don’t win it. I like the chicken sized eggs they lay and the fact that they are not as noisy as other species. Can hardly wait for them to arrive.

Kristine Ellis wrote:I have noticed that my ducks prefer a dark space away from the other ducks to lay their eggs.

When my mom kept ducks, at least one of them picked the crawl space under the external chimney. It was not a spot where we could easily reach in. These were Rouen -- the ones that look like mallards, but huge.

Liz,
I'm having trouble picturing what you mean. Do you mean use 2- 2 foot 2x6's to create a square in a corner of the shed?

Thanks!
Theresa

Ok, once they have their own place to shelter, you can just us a 2x6 to create an angle and attach it to an inside corner. 2'x2' seems to be about right. Put some clean straw or wood chips in it, set one of their eggs in it and show her.
Mine took right to it and use it every year.

This year, I'm taking the plunge.
He he he [I could not resist: Get it? Ducks? plunge? groan. Anyway...]:
I've had Pekins for meat, not for eggs. This year, I'm planning to keep ducks for eggs over the winter, [ yes, in Wisconsin] and I'd like to have them raise their own, and if not, incubate some of their eggs to have a continuous supply.
Reading that they do not lay in boxes is a problem, but hey, I'm in for a challenge. Jake Esselstyn mentioned that he uses 2 cinder blocks along a wall and that works. I think that would mean that they don't like to have to climb UP into the box.
At 5ft2, I am vertically challenged and I can see that with their very short legs, it might be tough. My white Pekins had trouble going over a 4" barrier [A 2" X 4" propped on its narrow side!] so I think that perhaps Jake has the right idea: Don't ask them to climb. Last year, no knowing what I wanted to do, I had bought some black plastic boxes at the Home Depot. I used them for my chickens and they worked great, but the boxes were too big: they were more like communal nests: 2' deep by 3' wide.
They stack but the front only has a lip. If I were to use them for my ducks, I'd have to make sure there is plenty of woodchips on the outside and then some straw on the inside, making sure they don't have to climb up in them.
Also, checking how my chickens prefer privacy, I think I'd try to provide them with some privacy and a cover. I made a metal roof over the 2 long edges of the pond so that the rain would fall in the pond. The shelter is about 2.5 Ft. high. Because the pond sticks out of the ground, they can't go directly in the water from the shelter. I could add some privacy by adding tall grass along the high side of the shelter, or some sort of privacy anyway. Next year, I'll let you know how that went.

We built a greenhouse for our Ladies. They have a few particular places they will lay. Inside the metal bin, under the straw bales (sitting on buckets to keep mice out of them), between the straw bales and the plant racks, and under the plant racks. The also made a couple nests near one wall, and sometimes we fine random eggs near (or in)  the pond or around the outdoor pen. We initially used some 2 inch Teflon balls to simulate eggs to get them to lay where we intended.