got 2 done. one of them deployed and already has a hen using it. Got 3 more to go. She’s been waiting on me for a week and I finally got around to cleaning the ones out from last year and grassing a couple up. Welded 2 more up last night hopefully will get them Deployed this weekend. Wood duck boxes are all set. Last year March 1st seemed to be the magic date I guess we will have some early ones again and hope the weather doesn’t affect them. These are all floating tubes because I have to much rock to drive a post into the ground. They have worked for years so I’m hoping for another successful spring.
Nesting season has begun
- Thread starter bbfky
- Start date
got 2 done. one of them deployed and already has a hen using it. Got 3 more to go. She’s been waiting on me for a week and I finally got around to cleaning the ones out from last year and grassing a couple up. Welded 2 more up last night hopefully will get them Deployed this weekend. Wood duck boxes are all set. Last year March 1st seemed to be the magic date I guess we will have some early ones again and hope the weather doesn’t affect them. These are all floating tubes because I have to much rock to drive a post into the ground. They have worked for years so I’m hoping for another successful spring.
JFG
Elite Refuge Member
My woodie boxes are still void, save for a couple of screech owls. Damn those things are hard to remove! Anyway, I usually have 2-3 boxes in use now but not seeing hadly any birds around. Do have a pair of mallards using the impoundment regularly and am sure they’d nest but I’ll be drawing down in a few weeks so it’s a no go. Do like those nesting cages.
creedsduckman
Elite Refuge Member
I saw the first wood ducks in the ditch where my boxes are on Feb 11. To my knowledge none of the boxes are occupied yet though.
Wood ducks and hooded mergansers are looking now here in TN. This mild weather moved them north early.
Can you provide more details on the floating tubes and how to build them. I have never seen them up north. Our hen houses on posts don’t get used by ducks much. Other random birds have nested in them. I wonder if floating hen houses would have better usage rates.
I have been meaning to build a loon nesting pad to anchor out from the house and put up a couple wood duck houses. Maybe this is the year I’ll get to it. We have several wood duck houses at the duck shack. We still have three feet of snow and a couple feet of ice so I’ve got some time yet.
I have been meaning to build a loon nesting pad to anchor out from the house and put up a couple wood duck houses. Maybe this is the year I’ll get to it. We have several wood duck houses at the duck shack. We still have three feet of snow and a couple feet of ice so I’ve got some time yet.
Feathers,
Sure thing So first I start with a little direction from Delta waterfowl's hen houses https://deltawaterfowl.org/hen-houses/
It's hard to find the exact fencing material so I improvise a little. I buy a couple rolls of 14 Gauge Welded Wire Fence with 2 in. x 4 in. If you can find 1 inch x 2 inch squares it will hold the nesting material in place better. If not, I like using the inner tube 14 ga welded wire as the main tube and then I attach 6-7 ft of chicken wire the the orignal tube. I attach the chicken wire with hog rings. You can also use hog rings to create the 30-36 inch diameter tube When I bored I like to weld the wire although it is so thin a lot of times I'll burn through it. You can use the 2x4 inch wire that makes the original tube and just add another 6 ft to it before cutting it. A good cut off wheel will go through that roll of wire in seconds. I have a battery powered dewalt.
So you start with it laid on the ground and start spreading the hay, flax hay is recommended we can't get it in Ky so I use wheat straw, rye straw or any kind of grass hay and start rolling the tube up with plenty of hay in it This creates the barrier to keep rain etc out for the hen. When you have rolled it all up use hog rings and clamp them several places so it doesn't unravel.
This is still the basics of any hen house whether it's on a stand or floating
Next step pick up a sheet of 2 inch foam board from Lowe's,Menards or homedepot
Don't use anything smaller than 2 inch because it won't be enough to support the weight and you want it to be stable
Next step decide what you want to use as a wooden base whether it be part of a pallet or a a couple 2x6s you want enough to support the entire tube and at this point it is easily 4ft in diameter. Cut the styrofoam board with an 6 inches to a foot to add stability wider than your duck tube .
Next step is to attach your wooden platform to the foam board. I use deck stew with fender washers and screw from the bottom of the foam board into the wood. Usually one on each corner works fine so 4 maybe 5 with one in the middle
Next step attach the duck tube to the wooden structure on the foam board. I use metal roofing straps that you can put 3 or 4 screws through to attach the wire to the wooden platform. I put a strip on each entrance side of the the tube.
At this point your tube is attached to your platform Next fill with nesting material inside the tube straw hay etc the hen will use this to make her nest and you can't put too much in there I always leave just enough space so I can barely see through to the other side The hen will flatten it out.
Next step drill a hole in opposite corners of the foam board to attach your ropes and weights. I usually use 1/2 cement block or a full cement block with extra line.
Tie the weights to the platform and grab your boat in my case a John boat and I start paddling and dragging the platform to where I want to ancor it. I try to ancor it facing east to west where the broadside of the tube takes the brunt of the weather like storms and I ancor them so they have very little movement side to side in the water.
I think that's it. I've been during it for years and have had excellent success The tubes keep the hens protected from predators as well as the eggs. We have a lot of owls so before I started building the tubes the owls would typically kill the hen at night because she was nesting on the ground. Haven't lost any since except we did lose one ducking last year to an owl but that's just nature
If anyone has any other questions feel free to post them up or pm me. I will say the geese will try and figure out how to use the tubes but they can't fit and that is why the heavier duty wire is used to create the initial tube so it can withstand two geese standing on it.
What's cool is at least on my pond after the ducklings hatch and start growing up they routinely climb up on these tubes all summer long and when we do get a migration the ducks tends to perch on the tubes as well so I leave them out all season
Sure thing So first I start with a little direction from Delta waterfowl's hen houses https://deltawaterfowl.org/hen-houses/
It's hard to find the exact fencing material so I improvise a little. I buy a couple rolls of 14 Gauge Welded Wire Fence with 2 in. x 4 in. If you can find 1 inch x 2 inch squares it will hold the nesting material in place better. If not, I like using the inner tube 14 ga welded wire as the main tube and then I attach 6-7 ft of chicken wire the the orignal tube. I attach the chicken wire with hog rings. You can also use hog rings to create the 30-36 inch diameter tube When I bored I like to weld the wire although it is so thin a lot of times I'll burn through it. You can use the 2x4 inch wire that makes the original tube and just add another 6 ft to it before cutting it. A good cut off wheel will go through that roll of wire in seconds. I have a battery powered dewalt.
So you start with it laid on the ground and start spreading the hay, flax hay is recommended we can't get it in Ky so I use wheat straw, rye straw or any kind of grass hay and start rolling the tube up with plenty of hay in it This creates the barrier to keep rain etc out for the hen. When you have rolled it all up use hog rings and clamp them several places so it doesn't unravel.
This is still the basics of any hen house whether it's on a stand or floating
Next step pick up a sheet of 2 inch foam board from Lowe's,Menards or homedepot
Don't use anything smaller than 2 inch because it won't be enough to support the weight and you want it to be stable
Next step decide what you want to use as a wooden base whether it be part of a pallet or a a couple 2x6s you want enough to support the entire tube and at this point it is easily 4ft in diameter. Cut the styrofoam board with an 6 inches to a foot to add stability wider than your duck tube .
Next step is to attach your wooden platform to the foam board. I use deck stew with fender washers and screw from the bottom of the foam board into the wood. Usually one on each corner works fine so 4 maybe 5 with one in the middle
Next step attach the duck tube to the wooden structure on the foam board. I use metal roofing straps that you can put 3 or 4 screws through to attach the wire to the wooden platform. I put a strip on each entrance side of the the tube.
At this point your tube is attached to your platform Next fill with nesting material inside the tube straw hay etc the hen will use this to make her nest and you can't put too much in there I always leave just enough space so I can barely see through to the other side The hen will flatten it out.
Next step drill a hole in opposite corners of the foam board to attach your ropes and weights. I usually use 1/2 cement block or a full cement block with extra line.
Tie the weights to the platform and grab your boat in my case a John boat and I start paddling and dragging the platform to where I want to ancor it. I try to ancor it facing east to west where the broadside of the tube takes the brunt of the weather like storms and I ancor them so they have very little movement side to side in the water.
I think that's it. I've been during it for years and have had excellent success The tubes keep the hens protected from predators as well as the eggs. We have a lot of owls so before I started building the tubes the owls would typically kill the hen at night because she was nesting on the ground. Haven't lost any since except we did lose one ducking last year to an owl but that's just nature
If anyone has any other questions feel free to post them up or pm me. I will say the geese will try and figure out how to use the tubes but they can't fit and that is why the heavier duty wire is used to create the initial tube so it can withstand two geese standing on it.
What's cool is at least on my pond after the ducklings hatch and start growing up they routinely climb up on these tubes all summer long and when we do get a migration the ducks tends to perch on the tubes as well so I leave them out all season
rtcbob
Refuge Member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2023
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I took care of spring maintenance on my hen houses and woody boxes yesterday. I have 3 of each out.
3 hen houses were unused last year. I need try figure out why. One of the 3 has been used pretty much every year for well over 10 years, however that one is in a completely different location than the other 2. The other 2 have been out for about 5 years and never used. Maybe I need to adjust inside diameter?
All woody boxes were used last year. I used to have 4 out, maybe I'll put together another one quick to replace the one I took down, but I never seemed to be able to keep squirrels, owls and finally honey bees from taking that one over. Finally used it for a taxidermy mount.
3 hen houses were unused last year. I need try figure out why. One of the 3 has been used pretty much every year for well over 10 years, however that one is in a completely different location than the other 2. The other 2 have been out for about 5 years and never used. Maybe I need to adjust inside diameter?
All woody boxes were used last year. I used to have 4 out, maybe I'll put together another one quick to replace the one I took down, but I never seemed to be able to keep squirrels, owls and finally honey bees from taking that one over. Finally used it for a taxidermy mount.
Thanks so much for the thorough reply bb. Do these work on lakes or just smaller water? I live on a small lake but it’s a lot bigger than your pond. It’s a small enough lake that we don’t get big waves but the wind can whip up something fierce. Just wondering if a storm would wreck havoc.
