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Message
School me on wood duck boxes
Posted on 1/17/26 at 11:24 am
Posted on 1/17/26 at 11:24 am
I just built 4 to put out at our farm and plan to put them out next weekend. Anything to know about placement? Any issue putting them in ponds we hunt?
I was planning to get some metal posts, 2x4, or 4x4s to mount them on instead of just putting them on trees. I read that helps with predators. Worth the extra effort? Also, does it matter how high the boxes are?
Appreciate any insight. Thanks OB.
I was planning to get some metal posts, 2x4, or 4x4s to mount them on instead of just putting them on trees. I read that helps with predators. Worth the extra effort? Also, does it matter how high the boxes are?
Appreciate any insight. Thanks OB.
9
Posted on 1/17/26 at 12:13 pm to bluemoons
Posted on 1/17/26 at 12:38 pm to bluemoons
One thing I remember from school was don’t put them within sight of each other. It lends itself to “dump boxing”. Multiple hens will lay in it and none will sit on the eggs.
Also, don’t use treated wood. Use cypress if you can. The chemicals in the treatment may harm the ducklings.
That’s all I got.
Also, don’t use treated wood. Use cypress if you can. The chemicals in the treatment may harm the ducklings.
That’s all I got.
Posted on 1/17/26 at 12:54 pm to bluemoons
the ones I see in manchac swamp are actually out in the water a few feet from the bank and about 4’ above the water. They also have an excluder mounted on the pole under the box which I assume is to keep predators from climbing the pole
Posted on 1/17/26 at 4:54 pm to REB BEER
Yeah, I think I have that issue. I put four out pretty close before knowing that. We still produce a bunch of babies. Oh and a certain cat squirrel is now on my smoker after trying to nest in one.
Posted on 1/17/26 at 5:42 pm to bluemoons
I’ve seen water snakes and rat snakes climb metal poles up and in box when the eggs are laid or babies born and they feast. Been doing this 25+ years and it’s a pain put them them over open water if you can, up at least 6 feet from water height and put the expensive and trouble predator guards on them. Or put many boxes up and play the odds. And clean out yearly before any day now. Also staple some screen on inside wall up to the opening so the babies can climb out. Use good specifications on dimensions etc.
Posted on 1/18/26 at 11:06 am to bluemoons
Attach an upside down cone below the box to keep snake out and other animals
Posted on 1/18/26 at 11:12 am to KRS
quote:
Attach an upside down cone below the box to keep snake out and other animals
Yeah. I forgot to mention that.
Posted on 1/18/26 at 11:18 am to Royalfishing
quote:
Also staple some screen on inside wall up to the opening so the babies can climb out.
Man, this is a damn good pointer!
Posted on 1/19/26 at 9:01 am to Spankum
The ones I have purchased have all had etched/grooved fronts for the climbing.
If you can't find the cones, you can buy angled flashing from home stores that fit great on 4x4s. Super easy to install and so far, nothing has breached that on mine. My biggest issue the last two years has been a red-bellied woodpecker.
If you can't find the cones, you can buy angled flashing from home stores that fit great on 4x4s. Super easy to install and so far, nothing has breached that on mine. My biggest issue the last two years has been a red-bellied woodpecker.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 9:42 am to bluemoons
I’ve had boxes out for over 25 years, some of these pointers are good. The best snake and coon guards I’ve found are made by a co called Duck hut .com. Expensive $39 but they are the best. You abosuly need good guards or you are just feeding snakes. I count shells in the boxes after the hatch to confirm. It doesn’t matter how high you place the box as I have had one successful hatch from an owl box that was up 25 foot. I live on a lake and there are way more hens looking for a box to lay in, so they will use a box when the other hen leaves to eat. I’ve had as many as 15 chicks hatch from one box. I get cedar shavings from tractor supply and put hardware screen below the entrance so the chicks can climb out.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 9:57 am to bluemoons
quote:
Anything to know about placement? Any issue putting them in ponds we hunt?
Don’t put them too close together. Birds will nest dump. In regards to putting them on ponds you hunt? That leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My last duck hunt was on a wooded pond in East Texas. We were loaded up on the pond at sunrise. All wood ducks. Because I’ve put out a bunch of nest boxes, I could not consider killing birds that might as well be pets given the refuge I provided them.
That man never asked me to hunt again. I would have blasted mallards though.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 10:26 am to bluemoons
Place on post on pond edge (3-4ft above water) or on trees about 10ft up (face toward water).
Make sure to notch the inside board that you put the hole in for the hen to enter. the notches/scratches give the ducklings something to grab onto when they finally decide to leave the nest.
Excluder (cone) if you decide to put them in a pond - to keep the water snakes out.
build out of old lumber not store bought pressure treated stuff.
Make sure to put some material in it to help the hen - we always but wood shaving that you use for rabbits and or shaving from when we cut oaks for fire wood.
also make the entry hole more oval/egg shape than a true circle. The hen when she enters comes in at 90 miles and hour and tucks her wings back. No idea how they dont kill themselves going in those boxes, but an oval entry hole seems to work better.
Make sure to notch the inside board that you put the hole in for the hen to enter. the notches/scratches give the ducklings something to grab onto when they finally decide to leave the nest.
Excluder (cone) if you decide to put them in a pond - to keep the water snakes out.
build out of old lumber not store bought pressure treated stuff.
Make sure to put some material in it to help the hen - we always but wood shaving that you use for rabbits and or shaving from when we cut oaks for fire wood.
also make the entry hole more oval/egg shape than a true circle. The hen when she enters comes in at 90 miles and hour and tucks her wings back. No idea how they dont kill themselves going in those boxes, but an oval entry hole seems to work better.
This post was edited on 1/19/26 at 10:27 am
Posted on 1/19/26 at 10:52 am to bluemoons
My uncle built 5 or 6, used old Cypress. He’s about 1/4 mile from the Mississippi River. The littles will drop out of the box, Mom will lead them across the levee to the river bar pits.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 4:56 pm to LSUDad
quote:
The littles will drop out of the box, Mom will lead them across the levee to the river bar pits
I was on my dock late one spring. A wood duck hen started to make some strange noises. And then I watched 13 drop out of the nest box one after the other and go into the lake. That’s why I could never hunt them. Like seven months later you are killing the birds you saw drop into the water and the reason you built the box in the first place.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:02 pm to aTmTexas Dillo
To be frank, I'm putting the boxes out on our property to hopefully increase the population of wood ducks in order to hunt them 
.
Duly noted though. Maybe I'll just place the boxes in other ponds on the property.
. Duly noted though. Maybe I'll just place the boxes in other ponds on the property.
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