Duck house and getting them to use it

[Redneck_Randy]

A couple questions please

The duck house is on the shore and not floating in the pond.

Does it need to be floating in the pond ?

Are there any tricks to get the ducks to start using a duck house ? We already tried putting food in the house. No luck.

I'm helping a friend out.

Thanks
Randy

 

[jimmyj]

If it's on the shore you will have varmints raiding it. Put it on a floating platform with enough space outside the house for the ducks to sit and sun. They'll use it in time. Food is a good idea as an enticer though provided the ducks take food. If they are domestic, should be easy. Or, is this for wild ducks? Different ducks nest in different ways - do you know what type they are?

 

[MarkV]

Some ducks are also very picky about the house and how it is built. Wood ducks for example want a certain size oval entry.

MarkV

 

[scgargoyle]

We did the whole duck house thing many years ago. We bought some ducklings, and I built them a great gambrel duck roof house down near the water's edge. I kept them in there until they had hard feathers, and once I let them out, they NEVER went near it again! When they were old enough to hatch their own eggs, they raised their babies in the swamp, and had 'em out on the pond from Day One. We lost a few to turtles and fish, but more survived than died. All was good until the weasels found them- wiped out the whole flock in a matter of days. Weasels are nasty- they eat the head, neck, and innards, but leave an otherwise intact duck sitting there. It's not til you go out in the morning and see what happened do you know anything is wrong. Even the geese didn't hear the weasels coming.

 

[charlz]

I feed my ducks cracked corn. When I need to reduce the flock some I slowly start moving the bowl into a side yard where the gate can be closed. Takes a couple days but they are comfortable going there for food after a while.

Everything I have read about ducks is they will not use a nesting box or even lay eggs in one spot unless you lock them in at night. You might try feeding them for a while and then slowly move the food into the duck house and lock them in.

I have had situations where most of the ducks come running for food but some hang back. Makes it tougher to pen them all up.