Duck Boxes

[buckshot1224]

Got about 30 boxes made that some friends and I will be putting up over the next few weeks. Need some advice on a few things.

What if anything should I put in the bottom?

How far apart should they be?

Anybody got a template for the predator sheld? (not 100% sure on that cut)

I've got some post and most of the necessary hardware, any other ideas/suggestions?

[fro]

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/water...uck/index.html

Predator guards are on this doc.

[tsmart]

Got about 30 boxes made that some friends and I will be putting up over the next few weeks. Need some advice on a few things.

What if anything should I put in the bottom?

Pine Shavings - 2-3 inches think, no more than that.
Boxes with deeper shavings seem to hatch less eggs, I presume because the eggs sift to the bottom, and don't get enough heat from momma duck.

How far apart should they be?

300 feet, or at least out of sight. Anything closer, promotes "nest dumping".

Anybody got a template for the predator sheld? (not 100% sure on that cut)

http://www.woodducksociety.com/newes...ne%20guard.pdf

I've got some post and most of the necessary hardware, any other ideas/suggestions?

Add hardware cloth to the inside, or cut slits on the inside (below the exit hole), for the ducklings to use as a ladder.
Tilt the boxes slightly forward, to help the ducklings get out easier.

Have fun.

T.

[bid daddy]

use ceder shavings thet wont rot and they will deter mites. my h2o

[DB5]

use ceder shavings thet wont rot and they will deter mites.

X2

[tsmart]

Cedar may last longer, but you change shavings every year anyhow. Pine shavings won't rot in a year.

I avoid Cedar ships/shavings, because they are harmful to small animals.
Here's a study about Cedar....

"Written by Jeff Johnston (1996), doctoral candidate in epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Many pet owners, breeders and pet retailers favor wood chips as pet bedding for a variety of reasons. Most wood chips are inexpensive and depending on the wood used, wood chips can provide natural insecticidal, bactericidal or bacteriostatic properties. Such bedding can often kill or inhibit the spread of fleas, mites or other pests, and the resins and other aromatic chemicals emitted by the chips help to control pet odors. Wood from western red cedar (Thuja plicata) has one of the most potent insecticidal compounds, which accounts for its popularity to repel or kill clothes' moths. Although wood chips may provide a natural means of insect and odor control, "natural" does not always mean safe.These same chemicals can also damage the respiratory tract, causing chronic respiratory disease, and asthma, and some studies have found an association between exposure to some wood dusts and oral cancers.

The primary irritant in cedar is plicatic acid and western red cedar contains the highest concentrationsalthough eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) also contain it. Exposure to plicatic acid can cause or exacerbate asthma, rhinitis or conjunctivitis in humans and in animals, and the damage can be progressive."

T.

[willyworm]

Be sure to drill the holes in the bottom for drainage of any water that may make it in...

[BigBrother]

And please, please, please, please log the gps co-ordinates and send them to the bio for that region as an FYI also, most importantly, maintain them every year.

[ducks4SC]

you wants the ducklings to fall in the water rather than on land. So place boxes if you can on the edge of the water. and tilt them slightly to help them

[Summerduck]

If you have the option to place the boxes where they will get shade in the afternoon do so. Summer ducks will lay from February all the way through July. Most of the June and July eggs do not hatch because they overheat in the summer months but if they get shade production will be good. (Make sure what ever shade you place them in is not directly hanging over the box…predators can drop on the top of the box, negating the predator guard.)