Mallard hen houses-advice needed

[BLACKJACK]

My project for this weekend is to make some mallard hen houses, the rolled up wire kind on a post in the water, I went out to deltawaterfowl dot org and got their plans. Anybody that has put some of these out, can you give me some advice? Where do you put them so the ice doesn't take them out? How long of a pipe is long enough? 8'? 10'? I'm thinking 2 foot of water, 4 foot of muck, 4 foot above the water, a person better have a 10 foot pipe. Have you had luck putting two wire rolls on one poll? Any other tips? Lastly, what percent of your houses have you had success in?

[B. Amish]

you could try emailing the USFWS office in fergus falls, they have a template they use to make their hen houses, and they put them out on a lot of their WPA's. i know they could answer a lot of your questions about them.

[Mark Christianson]

I put out 10 last spring. Get them out before ice out. MUCH EASIER to install. Bring an auger, and pound it in.

I used posts that were 8 or 10 ft. I cant remember for sure, but it all depends on where you are putting them.

I lost one at ice out, but all the rest were fine. Just make sure to put them on smaller water, or in a protected area, so the ice doesnt harm it.

I spaced them at least 100yds apart, and even more than that.

Success? Not one of them had a hen nest in it. dump. But they are there for this spring, and I have 8 more going in soon.

[ChuckN]

I put out 8, I believe I lost 2. 1 to a floating bog and another to floating ice. Put them in protected bays and areas that ice will not get them.

I have 3-4' of water in the sloughand the stakes were about 8' long. I think my duck houses are too high, 2-3' above the water. I couldn't pound them too far. Definitely install these before ice out, MUCH easier!!

Not one mallard used any of the houses last year. Sad. All the wood duck houses were full and what a hatch! WOW!

[B. Amish]

you have to make sure that they are full of grass for the hens to nest in, since ducks don't bring anything to build their own nests, all they use is their own feathers

stuff them full of grass and then wire it down so it doesn't blow away

[Mark Christianson]

Chucks and my housese are loaded with grass.

No luck. Yet...

[Farley]

can a guy just use dead reeds and cattails from the slough for inside the house?

I read this thread on Friday knowing I was going to work on the duck blinds Saturday so I decided to build at least one of these hen houses. I took a 8 foot pc. of 2" stainless tubing (.188 wall) and welded a plate on top of that with two 3/8 holes drilled for mounting the actuall house. Well, got all that done, tried drilling the hole, and the auger was out of gas. Went into town to get gas, drilled the hole, and the pole was too short. I didnt even feel resistance untill the plate was about 2 feet over the ice. I guess I'll have to weld an extension on the pipe and cap that end.

[ChuckN]

I wouldn't use cattails, too much mass. I don't think the ducks would like to cuddle in cattails. I would find something like field grass and stuff it inside the tubes. Change it every year too.

[BLACKJACK]

Farley, I'm also a little worried about how much pipe to use. Too little and you end up not being solid, too much and you're a long ways out of the water. And since I plan on drilling holes in the end to mount an 'L' bracket on (I don't have a welder), I can't just cut it off. Debating on whether I could use U clamps to attach the L bracket to the pipe, then I could cut it off if necessary.

I also plan on putting a predator guard onto the pole, so I'll need some extra pipe for that. Have you guys put predator guards on your poles?

[Mark Christianson]

I didnt. Mainly because just having them over water deters a lot of the predator activity. Cant hurt though.

[Farley]

I'd just bolt that L bracket right to the pole and use 10 feet of pole at the least. Then bolt a 2X6 to the l-bracket using the holes on top so your BFH can take care of getting it to the right height., just make sure you hit over the pipe so it doesnt bend your L-bracket. If it is too long, cant you cut it off the end that goes in the mud? You'll know before you drive it too far in if it is long enough or not. Like I said before, I didnt even feel any resistance untill the plate was a couple feet over the water, so I know I need at least 4 more feet.

[BLACKJACK]

I put out four hen houses this weekend, with two more to go. What I found was that a pipe from 9 - 14' would work. The spots I picked were at the edges of small wetlands, I don't want the ice taking them out. By the time I drilled thru two feet of ice, the mud was coming up in my hand auger. On that one, the 9 foot pipe worked. Another spot that was deeper, I used the 14 footer, and had to use a stepladder when I started. A post driver worked great, I can't imagine trying to do it with a maul. I ended up getting the rolled hay about 36-50 inches above the water, because I also put on a predator guard. Now I just need some willing hen mallards!!

[grizwald]

I haven't put up hen houses before and I have been doing some research about them. I plan on making and putting up a few over Easter weekend. I have read that flax straw should be used and if that is not available then wild marsh grass would work. What is flax straw and where can you get it? I plan on using marsh grass for the houses, but if flax straw is available I might put it in one of the houses to see if it makes a difference or not. Thanks

[BLACKJACK]

Flax straw is straw made from the stems of flax, but since none is grown around here, you'll have a tough time finding it. Just find some grassy hay - horse hay - and use that. Or regular straw should work. You want something where the stems are not too course, the hen can round out a depression and add some feathers and down. If you have access to a variety, try different things and see what they like.