Wood duck boxes

[hog_down]

I built a few wood duck boxes for my buddies place outside of Centerville, TX. This is a first for both of us, so wanting to get some suggestions as to where to put them, and how to support them. I was thinking a galvanized 2" pole or something close to that, driven by t post driver in the water. One pond pretty deep, and the others are pretty shallow. Any advice? The boxes are pretty heavy, and we don't want any snakes/coons getting to the nest, so that's why we thought about putting them in the pond. Running a bolt through the pipe would let the box rest, and we could lift it off to clean and check once a year. Last year, we saw one woodie hen with her clutch, and there are a few resident woodies. What say you, green screen?

[quackadikt]

Make sure you can get inside them(hinge the top) so you can clean them out.

Put them on the edge of the pond facing into the water.

Make sure you build a predator guard(galvanized cone), or you're just wasting time and duck eggs.

[quackadikt]

Good quick read.

https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/waterfowl/four-keys-to-successful-wood-duck-boxes

[HeyMikey]

Following, as I'm interested in putting a couple out by my pond.

[AntlerCollector]

I have some that look exactly like yours. I have a wire mesh on the inside front so the ducklings can climb out easier. I also have mine where they can open to clean out. I mounted them on a 2” pipe with U-bolts

[Etxnoodler]

Galvanized pole with a predator guard is a must. Wire mesh on inside leading to hole as stated earlier. Also a lot of people put them on pond with no good brood rearing habitat and doom the chicks to death. You really need a lot of aquatic vegetation, submerged and emergent to provide adequate food and cover for chicks.

[CTR0022]

In as I'll be doing this for next year

[unclefish]

Good looking boxes!

I went ahead and bought 5 of these duck hut boxes. Very easy to change out the wood shavings and supposedly very UV resistant and lasts many years.

Instead of a predator guard I used a substance called Tanglefoot. It's a very sticky substance that last for years and works very well against predators, snakes, etc... That stuff is amazing.

I have two boxes out now and will get the others out within the month.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Leon County Slayer]

My son and I made one yesterday too. They suggest grooves cut inside the front board so the chicks have something to grab to climb up to the hole. Fun project and we plan to screw it to a tree on the water with a sort of predator guard.

[Etxnoodler]

Good looking boxes!

I went ahead and bought 5 of these duck hut boxes. Very easy to change out the wood shavings and supposedly very UV resistant and lasts many years.

Instead of a predator guard I used a substance called Tanglefoot. It's a very sticky substance that last for years and works very well against predators, snakes, etc... That stuff is amazing.

I have two boxes out now and will get the others out within the month.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Can’t tell from picture, but only boxes made out of wood can be placed in full sunlight. Synthetic boxes will be to hot for eggs to survive.

[3DW5]

Kinda funny, I put out 4 on our pond in Centerville about 3 months ago, not sure if the wood ducks are using them but they are certainly on the pond. I put them on trees that are right on the pond....

[unclefish]

Can’t tell from picture, but only boxes made out of wood can be placed in full sunlight. Synthetic boxes will be to hot for eggs to survive.

Not true of the duck hut boxes. They did a temperature study and they outperformed wood boxes.....they developed these boxes with a great blend of insulation and ventilation.

[sandbill]

I just put up my first duck box. No pics, but I did a couple of things to hopefully keep predators at bay. First, I put 1.5 inch PVC pipe over the entire length of my t-post. For a baffle, on this box and my blue bird houses, I turned 5 gallon buckets upside down, and mounted them on the t-post, between the top of the PVC and bottom of the box/house.

[CTR0022]

The daughter and I made 2 of these today.

Easy instructions on ducks unlimited website

https://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-research-science/build-a-wood-duck-box

[unclefish]

Those look great and a good project for the quarantine!

The daughter and I made 2 of these today.

Easy instructions on ducks unlimited website

https://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-research-science/build-a-wood-duck-box