Our Delta Waterfowl banquet was postponed last weekend, so we took the time and cleaned out our existing wood duck houses and put up 8 new ones out in eastern Wright County. We actually saw a few wood ducks out there too, so now is the time.
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Is there any special needs when putting these out? My dad is building me some and I do have the steel poles that they will be attached to. Do they need to be put at waters edge, out in the water, face a certain direction?
His plans hes going off say to have a 4 1/2″ hole. He made it 5″. I assume that’s not an issue? Thanks.
His plans hes going off say to have a 4 1/2″ hole. He made it 5″. I assume that’s not an issue? Thanks.
Wood ducks prefer oval openings approximately 4″ wide by 3″ high. Too large of an opening encourages and allows predators easy access to the inside of the nesting box, not a good thing.
We typically put them close to waters edge for a couple of reasons. One is, the sooner the ducklings can get to the water, the better (safety) and the other is, if you put them in the water, ice plays havoc and tips them over, requiring a lot more maintenance. As far as which way to face them, as long as there is plenty of room for the hen to have a clear shot flying in, it’s good. One good thing to remember is to have the house just slightly leaning forward making it easier for the little ones to climb out.
My grandsons built a couple houses for my back yard. I like your pole idea. Yesterday while out for a walk I saw a black gas pipe with a plate on top that attached to the bottom of the house. I liked this as it would be easy to pound in the poles but the pipe might be a little flimsy. Pictures of grand-kids hard a work and back yard they will be placed at.
Do you place predator rings on the poles?
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How do the little one get out ? Looks like the hole is a foot and a half from the bottom. Just curious no arguments 
Gino, check out the picture of the inside of the house. On the left you can see the wire mesh. The little ones use that as a ladder to climb out.
Gotcha 
Great info Super-do!!
I’ve put a lot of these out over the years.
Read super-dos directions and look at his pics carefully. Everything he’s done here has a purpose. These are nicely done!
Thanks Joe!
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