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Noone ever told me that ducks were messy!! Urgh

Ok, I have them in my garage right now. I put them outside in a fenced area when I am at home, but when I leave i put them in my garage. The smell in my garage is awful. I am currently turning our shed into a duck house. But I am running into the problem of when it gets to be too hot outside or during winter months. I am in Northwest Ohio.

What do you all give your ducks to keep them from overheating during summer and freezing during the winter months?

I have a kiddy pool, but man does that get dirty fast. I think I refil it three times a day. I was thinking and wondering if straw would be able to keep them warm during the winter months

Erin

we had a terribly cold winter here and we ended up building small heaters for inside of our duck house. they were simple to make and although they didnt get hot they did keep the ducks warm enough. as for shavings, hay and all that.we put shavings down and then hay on top. this does add insulation. but can be difficult to clean if it freezes. on that occaasion we would add a layer over it and wiat for a warmer day. i would also when the ducks were out clean out there house with boiling water to remove what was frozen. our duck house is 2 feet off the ground and have doors that are weather sealed and windows that are weater sealed so we can clos eit up in the winter. in the summers they are removed. we have pools for the ducks and change them once a day. we have already had a few 80 and 90 degree days but we built our house in the back where there are 2 very large trees that give them shade. we also put roofing on the house just like you would for your own house - tarred shingles etc.. helps for insulation and keeping it cooler. having the house off the ground keep the cold and snow out although we did get a blizzard of 4 feet this year. but when it is hot or rainy and the ducks are outside they can go under it for protection. how many ducks do you have and what size?

oh to add to the last message . yeah ducks sure are messy. i clean out our house every morning. removing all the shavings and hay then hose the house out.

Welcome to ducky land! Yes, ducks are stinky to raise, but I have found that raising their bedding with a metal rack of some kind helps the smell. I think half the smell is from the grass sitting in spilled water. Ducks are pretty tough, they wont always go into an enclosure because they typically like to see around them (safety) so I build a 3 sided shelter with the opening away from prevailing winds. Then place hay inside. Good luck!