Finally, my ducks are in their new pen.   Pretty exciting except that I had to clean up the old pen. A little gross, but my garden will love the poop straw!

If you want to build a quick duck pen in your backyard, then do I have an idea for you!

We started out with a FREE Little Tikes house from my favorite website, http://www.craigslist.org  Just plug in your state and city and start searching.  Find the FREE tab and check it all the time! 

Ducks don’t need to roost like a chicken, so all you’re looking for is shelter.  In our town, the run needs to have a 3 sq. ft. area per duck.  That should be good rule of thumb if you are wondering what kind of space your ducks need.

I have a heat lamp hanging from the center, which I will move when the weather warms and the ducks are a bit older.  The food and water are inside mostly so the grain doesn’t get wet.  Notice that the waterer is setting on a brick.  This way the ducks won’t try to play in it, they’ll just drink it!

My husband decided to make the pen out of 1″ PVC pipe so it would be lightweight and movable.   He used zip ties to attach the fencing to the PVC.  I don’t know if you can see them or not, but he attached some utility type clips, like you use to hang a broom, onto the house.  This way we can move the house and the pen separately and then re-clamp it together.  Cool, huh!!

It’s a good idea to put fencing over the top to keep predators out and so you can sleep at night ;-)  And by the way, there is no floor except a PVC piece to keep the pen sturdy.  I will put straw down for bedding and change it every few days.

The door is really cool because he made it hinge with a 90 degree elbow.  Then we just use a chain to keep the door shut.  You could even use a lock if you needed real security.

However, if you live in the country, this may not be secure enough.  Anything that can dig can go right under your pen, so think on those things. 

Locked in and ready for the night, actually for the big storms we are having right now.  I just looked out the window and in the lightning I could see them all playing in the tub of water.  Crazy ducks!

Remember earlier this week I asked you to guess what this funky looking thing might be?  BTW, good guess Kendall, http://www.lonelilly.com/ 

Drum roll PLEASE!!!……..

Do you recognize these mushrooms?  It’s a SHITAKE block!  How cool is that?  I got it at our Farmers Market last weekend for a whole $2.50.  We have some folks here that grow mushrooms and they have created these mushroom blocks.  All you do is submerge in water for a day, then set it in a damp, dark place.  I put mine in the backyard on the northwest side of a big tree.  I took some great pictures of the other mushrooms just to show you how spectacular they really are!

I should be able to get 2 or 3 growths on each log and then they fall apart.  The base is made of wood shavings so I assume it will just go to my garden compost pile. 

AND, as you can see, I have all my ducks in a row. . . . . .

That’s what it probably seems like to ducks! Reminds me of drinking from the hose when you’re a kid. Enjoy!

Well that’s what it looks like!  This is hilarious to watch because when I fill up the pool or get out the hose, they all try to eat the water.  I’ll have to work on a YOUTUBE video so you can enjoy it too!