About

As an outlet for my interest - okay, my obsession - with domestic ducks and agrarian living, the Duckstead web site has arrived! This site is the hub for musings about the ducks, their role in the interconnected, Permaculture-inspired design of our little plot of land, and a source for books, merchandise, podcasts, e-books and videos on related topics. My first book, "Carmella, Where Is Your Quack?" is intended to be for reading aloud to young children, or for young readers (or adults who just want an easy read about sweet ducks). It is available from three different sources. You could order it through Amazon. You could order it through Createspace, where you need a free login. Please see my blog post on the Down on the Duckstead page for the urls to use to get to the Createspace and Amazon pages for the book.

Recap of Duck House I

I have copied a very brief description of our first duck house for a fellow duck keeper, and thought readers here may be interested: Main living area is 4' high, 4' wide, 8' long. Dutch door makes for easy access for people (one can open the top door and keep the ducks easily inside. There is a sliding door on the right side into the Veranda, a porch covered top bottom and sides with half inch metal hardware cloth. There is a drop ceiling with 3 sliding polycarbonate panels to control ventilation and keep more warm air in, in winter. The roof is polycarbonate. The shelter is double-walled, filled with a mix of vermiculite and perlite. Those have decent R value for insulation and do not mold. The floor is vinyl sheet flooring, that goes several inches up the sides, and is attached at the edge with 1"x3" furring strips to keep poop and dust from getting under the edge of the sheeting. The flooring makes the rarely needed mop-out a snap. I used a foot and a half of shavings as a base for the bedding, and topped it with a little straw - the bedding was spot-picked daily, and stirred lightly. A bucket of peat moss was stirred into the shavings to prevent ammonia formation. Oh, and it easily accommodated eleven Runner ducks.