How far apart do you put wood duck boxes?

Proper wood duck box placement is important so that hens find and utilize the structure during nesting season. You can erect multiple boxes in close proximity, but be sure to keep them around 50 feet apart. This will simply decrease the chances of hens coming into conflict over nesting locations.

When should you put up wood duck boxes?

Installation can be performed annually, but nesting season occurs February through June. Boxes can be installed in wetlands, swamps, creeks, ponds, oxbows, or lakes. Placing boxes in a wooded landscape will provide a natural setting.

How do I attract wood ducks to my property?

3 Ways to Attract More Ducks to Your Pond

1. Increase water clarity. Clear water encourages aquatic plants, aquatic snails and several aquatic insects, which are primary foods of migratory ducks.
2. Reduce disturbance. Human activity near a pond can scare away ducks, causing them to relocate elsewhere.
3. Add duck food plants.

How do you keep raccoons out of wood duck boxes?

A predator guard will help to improve the chance of a successful hatch by preventing egg-eating raccoons and other predators from entering your nest box. Your nesting box should include a predator guard to help ensure nest success!

How many wood duck boxes do I need for a pond?

Optimal nesting habitat contains up to five suitable cavities per acre in close proximity to brood-rearing habitat; however, since most natural cavities are not suitable for use by nesting wood ducks, these conditions frequently require that 50 or 60 natural cavities per acre exist.

Which direction should a wood duck box face?

Helpful Tips

1. Mount the box so that it leans forward slightly to shed rain.
2. Boxes can be installed on posts or poles in the water, at least 3 feet above the high water mark, facing south or west.
3. If installing on land, choose a site within 100 feet from the water with no branches around the entrance hole.

Do you have to clean out wood duck boxes?

Spring cleaning A successful wood duck nest box program requires annual inspection sometime in January and March. This annual cleaning needs to be a part of your long-term maintenance commitment once you place your nest box.

What is the best direction to face a wood duck house?

Helpful Tips. Mount the box so that it leans forward slightly to shed rain. Boxes can be installed on posts or poles in the water, at least 3 feet above the high water mark, facing south or west. If installing on land, choose a site within 100 feet from the water with no branches around the entrance hole.

Which way should a wood duck box face?

The entrance hole to the box should face the water. You can tip the box forward a little bit to help the ducklings reach the entrance. Ducklings prefer privacy. Don’t mount boxes close to human disturbance or close to other nest boxes.

How do you keep predators out of wood duck boxes?

The Society recommends placing the boxes on posts instead of trees, and to use a galvanized sheet metal cone to turn back predators that attempt to climb up to the boxes. Contrary to popular belief, higher is not better when it comes to placing wood duck nesting boxes.

What month do wood ducks nest?

Wood ducks pair up in late winter and begin breeding in early spring. The males attract females with their call and attractive, colorful breeding plumage. After the pair breed, they build a nest in the cavity of a tree.

Do wood duck boxes need to be cleaned out?

A successful wood duck nest box program requires annual inspection sometime in January and March. This annual cleaning needs to be a part of your long-term maintenance commitment once you place your nest box.

How do you keep starlings out of wood duck boxes?

Traps, specifically designed to fit inside a wood duck house, have been found to be effective. George Wellenkotter lives in a serious Wisconsin starling belt. He developed an in-box trap for his own use which utilizes a spring mechanism to close a trapdoor, effectively capturing the starling inside the box.

Do wood duck houses need a perch?

Highly developed toes and claws allow wood ducks to perch on tree branches or on top of your box.

What time of year do wood ducks nest?

spring
Wood ducks pair up in late winter and begin breeding in early spring. The males attract females with their call and attractive, colorful breeding plumage. After the pair breed, they build a nest in the cavity of a tree. The cavity can be natural or a hole abandoned by a woodpecker.

What kind of bedding do you put in a wood duck house?

Cedar shavings
Cedar shavings are the best bedding material, do not use sawdust! It is important to supply bedding because the hen wood duck is unable to bring bedding into the box herself. 3 to 4 inches of bedding is sufficient.

How do you keep snakes out of wood duck boxes?

To prevent varmints and snakes from defeating the predator guard by dropping down from above, make sure to remove low hanging limbs nearby the top of the box. Wood ducks like to fly directly into the box on the wing, so keep a clear flight path for them.