This resource has been fully reviewed and updatedA member of The Open Sanctuary Project’s staff has given this resource a full review and provided updates where necessary. by a member of The Open Sanctuary Project. It was originally published on April 13, 2018.

Cleaning and maintenance of living spaces are important aspects of caring for ducksUnless explicitly mentioned, we are referring to domesticated duck breeds, not wild ducks, who may have unique needs not covered by this resource.. Between their very wet droppings and their love of splashing water everywhere, duckUnless explicitly mentioned, we are referring to domesticated duck breeds, not wild ducks, who may have unique needs not covered by this resource. living spaces will become a soggy (and stinky) mess without proper cleaning protocols. Providing a clean, dry living spaceThe indoor or outdoor area where an animal resident lives, eats, and rests. is essential to promoting resident health, and regular maintenance will keep the space safe for both the duck residents and their human caregivers.

Create And Maintain A Cleaning Schedule

As with so many aspects of animal care, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to keeping duck living spaces clean. What works for one sanctuary may not work for you, and if you care for multiple duck flocks, you may find that what works for one group or living space does not work for the others. This is because factors specific to the space and the residents living there have an impact on how often a space will need to be cleaned. Additionally, the weather can play a significant role in how often a space may need to be cleaned, either directly (because precipitation has blown into the space, making it wet) or indirectly (if it affects how much time your residents typically spend indoors). 

Oftentimes, caregivers will find that living spaces do not become uniformly dirty. Certain areas may stay clean for days, while others may require daily cleaning to maintain sanitary conditions. Because of this, it can be helpful to break cleaning tasks into different categories based on the frequency they must be done. One way to do this is through daily spot cleaning, regularly scheduled full cleaning, and the occasional deep cleaning. When spot cleaning, you focus only on the areas that need attention rather than cleaning the entire space. Some spaces may need a full clean each day, but if the space is mostly clean, spot cleaning can save time and resources without sacrificing cleaning standards. Full cleanings are what most folks probably picture when thinking about habitat cleaning, and deep cleanings take things a step further to clean the space more thoroughly and tackle areas that aren’t routinely addressed during regular cleanings (think of this as spring cleaning for resident housing).

Depending on the specifics of your sanctuary and who is responsible for cleaning, it may be helpful to create a (semi-) set schedule to make sure folks know what cleaning tasks are due each day and that your daily schedule is not overbooked. A schedule also helps ensure that less frequent deep cleanings don’t get skipped. To create a cleaning schedule, you need to have a sense of how quickly the space or certain areas within the space get dirty. If you don’t already know this, we recommend spending a few weeks tracking what cleaning tasks need to be done each day. After a few weeks of doing this, look back over this information for trends. What areas need to be addressed daily, every other day, weekly, etc? How many days can you reasonably go between full cleanings while maintaining your cleaning standards? With this information, you can create a cleaning schedule and budget time accordingly. Be sure to think about other cleaning tasks that should be done on a semi-regular basis and add those to your schedule as well. For example, you may determine that so long as the areas around water units and where residents nest are cleaned daily, you can do full cleanings every 3-4 days and deep cleanings in the spring and fall. If you can’t detect a pattern or if you prefer to tailor your daily cleaning schedule based on exact needs, you can continue checking the space daily and cleaning as needed, but be sure to schedule in time for deep cleanings so those tasks don’t get missed.

Bathing And Swimming Water
Ducks should have access to water sources for bathing and swimming, which must be kept clean as well. Small kiddie pools, buckets, and other smaller vessels get dirty quickly and usually need to be cleaned daily. Larger tubs or tanks may be able to go longer between cleanings, but in hot, sunny weather, they’ll turn green quickly, necessitating more frequent cleaning (perhaps every day). Depending on aeration and filtration, man-made ponds may also require cleanings a few times a year.

Be sure to create a cleaning schedule for these water sources based on how quickly they become dirty (which will likely change throughout the year if you live in an area where temperatures fluctuate seasonally). We’ll include the cleaning of these water sources in our descriptions of spot cleaning, full cleaning, and deep cleaning, but please note that you may need a different schedule for these water sources than what works for living spaces. In addition to determining how often these water sources must be cleaned, be sure to think about where the old water will go. While dumping a bucket of water in a grassy area may be just fine, dumping a large quantity of water or repeatedly dumping water in the same area could turn the space into a mud pit. Ducks love puddles, but you don’t want their entire space to be one!

When establishing cleaning schedules, keep the following in mind: 

• Since weather conditions can impact how much time your residents spend indoors, you may find you need to adjust your cleaning schedule as the seasons change. Similarly, you may need to make temporary changes during periods of extreme weather.
• If daily responsibilities are split up between multiple shifts, be sure to consider which specific tasks are part of the shift responsible for cleaning living spaces. For example, if one shift is in charge of providing food and water and another is responsible for cleaning living spaces, be clear about who needs to ensure water and food dishes are cleaned daily. 
• Regardless of your cleaning schedule, if bedding becomes wet or dirty, it must be replaced. Common causes of bedding becoming wet between scheduled cleanings include precipitation blowing into the space and spilled or leaking water vessels.
• Just as wet bedding must be addressed daily, so too should any spilled food. Whether it is indoors or outside, spilled food will attract rodents and other wildlife. Rats can cause serious, and even fatal, injury to birds, so you must avoid practices that will attract them (and take steps to deter them).

Adjust As Needed!
Set schedules can be super helpful when determining how to best divvy up daily responsibilities and schedule less frequent tasks without overloading anyone. However, it’s important to remain flexible. As various factors change, you may find you need to adjust the schedule, and there may be times when something unexpected happens, causing the space to need more attention than you planned.

Spot Cleaning

When spot cleaning, you focus on the dirty areas of the living space only, which is typically most effective if you’ve determined that at least half the space can do without cleaning (otherwise, a full cleaning may be the best use of your time). By taking the time to tackle areas that need the most attention, you can maintain cleaning standards between full cleanings. During spot cleaning, you should also check for and address unexpected areas that need to be cleaned. 

In duck living spaces, spot cleaning may entail addressing the following areas:

• Roosts – If you have Muscovy residents who roost, remove and replace soiled bedding from the top of roosts and/or from underneath roosting areas. Use a stall deodorizer as needed. 
• Nesting Areas – Check all nesting nooks. Collect eggs and remove any soiled bedding, replacing with fresh as needed. If you find a broken egg, remove all bedding, thoroughly clean surfaces, and fill with new bedding. Especially in warm weather, it’s also a good idea to check your residents to make sure no one is coated in egg, which could attract flies. 
• Around Drinking Water – Ducks tend to be messy drinkers, leading to wet areas around water vessels. In addition to cleaning drinking water vessels daily, be sure to remove and replace any wet bedding around waters. In some cases, the top layer of bedding may appear dry, but further inspection reveals soaked bedding below. We recommend using your foot or a cleaning tool to move bedding and look for wetness. Wet bedding can lead to foot issues and create unhealthy humidity levels, so it’s important to address wet areas as soon as possible. If you notice more wetness than usual, be sure to investigate the water vessel to see if there is an issue. Of particular note, gravity-fed units may leak if they are not level. 
• Entrances – During wet weather, check around doors and windows for wetness from precipitation blowing into the space. Remove and replace any wet bedding.
• Kiddie Pools – If your residents have access to small kiddie pools or similarly sized swimming/bathing areas, these typically need to be cleaned out daily to remove biofilms and avoid algae growth. Larger swimming pools may be able to go longer between changes. As a side note, it’s typically best to keep these water sources outside so the indoor space has a better chance of staying dry.
• Address Other Areas As Needed – If there are other areas of the living space that have been identified as needing more frequent cleaning, be sure to address these. Then do a quick visual inspection of the rest of the space and address any other areas that are particularly dirty, even if they don’t typically need frequent cleaning. 

Full/Total Cleaning

Spot cleanings have their place, but they’re not a replacement for full cleanings. To maintain cleaning standards, be sure to clean out the entire living space regularly (for example, weekly). 

When fully cleaning duck living spaces, be sure to:

• Remove all bedding, apply a stall deodorizer, and add fresh bedding. Depending on the type of bedding you use and the substrate in the space, you may need to sweep up dust and small bits of bedding and/or use a scraper tool to remove caked-on droppings from the floor. 
• Clean all nesting and roosting areas.
• If you are using stall mats, remove and clean under them regularly.
• If you use straw bales for nesting or roosting areas, move them regularly to ensure rodents aren’t nesting in/under them. Replace as needed.
• Dust fans, ledges, and other surfaces to promote healthier air quality (this is best done after putting down fresh bedding). 
• As part of your fire prevention strategies, remove dust, cobwebs, and other debris that may accumulate on electrical appliances (including but not limited to heating devices), lights, and outlets.
• The cleaning process can result in bedding ending up in water sources, so even if cleaning drinking water is not part of your living space cleaning responsibilities, be sure to check waters and remove bedding or dump and refill water as needed. 
• Thoroughly clean all swimming pools regularly.
• While it’s not typically feasible or necessary to clean large, grassy, outdoor spaces, if your residents spend time in smaller spaces or spend a lot of time in dirt areas, regularly removing droppings from these areas may be necessary.

Further Reading
Wondering what to do with all that poop? Check out our introductions to manure management and composting for more information.

Deep Cleaning

In addition to routine cleaning, be sure to schedule a few deep cleanings each year. This is the time to clean the entire space even more thoroughly, which may include the following:

• Dusting and removing cobwebs in hard-to-reach areas that are difficult to do regularly (this includes using a compressed air blow gun to remove dust from appliances with many nooks and crannies if necessary).
• If the space has nestboxes that are not routinely moved during regular cleaning (perhaps because they are secured to the wall), remove these to thoroughly clean and disinfect and to clean behind them (this is also a good time to check for developing breaches that may be concealed by the nest boxes).
• Cleaning windows and screens.
• Wiping down doors.
• Disinfecting surfaces.
• Cleaning larger swimming areas that are not cleaned more regularly.

Keep The Weather In Mind When Scheduling Cleaning And Maintenance
Avoid projects that require locking residents out of their indoor spaces during uncomfortable weather. This may mean scheduling projects for early morning, before temperatures heat up in the summer, or finding a way to clean spaces without restricting your residents’ access to the space during cold, blustery weather.

Cleaning Supplies

Suggested supplies for living space cleaning include:

• Pitchfork, rake, and/or shovel to remove bedding. 
• Broom and dustpan to sweep up dust and small bits of bedding. A broom can also come in handy when cobweb dusting hard-to-reach corners.
• Non-toxic stall deodorizer. Avoid using hydrated lime as a stall deodorizer – it’s not safe for you or your residents to breathe it in, and it can also cause skin and eye irritation.
• Large buckets to hold old/soiled bedding.
• Long-handled duster to dust circulation fans, exhaust fans, and other electrical devices.
• Animal-safe disinfectant or cleaner, such as dilute chlorhexidine or Bac-Out, to clean non-porous surfaces.
• Cloth rags to wipe down ledges, window sills, fans, etc.
• Paint scraper or putty knife to scrape droppings from hard surfaces such as walls or ledges.
• Bucket to collect eggs.
• Face masks to prevent dust inhalation.

For more helpful supplies to consider keeping on hand, check out our supply checklist resource here!

Maintenance

You should always be on the lookout for areas of the habitat in need of maintenance so you can address issues promptly, but some maintenance issues are most apparent when bedding is removed, so be sure to closely examine the living space during regular and deep cleanings. While this should not be the only time you look for damage that could lead to a breach in the space’s predator-proofing, you may be able to detect issues when bedding is removed that you otherwise would not see. Be sure to keep predator protection in mind when looking for maintenance issues. Any issues that could allow predators into the space (or residents to leave the space) must be addressed immediately.

While there are a variety of things that can break or otherwise require maintenance, the following are of particular note:

• Floors should be inspected for damage. Wood floors should be checked for signs of warping, rot, or damage from chewing. To ensure continued predator protection, these issues must be addressed immediately. If you have dirt floors or a layer of dirt over concrete, watch for developing divots or the dirt becoming so firmly packed that it no longer provides adequate cushioning. Fill divots in with new dirt and top hard-packed dirt floors with fresh dirt to restore cushioning.
• Look for anything that could cause damage to delicate foot webbing. Of particular note, make sure thresholds and ramps, if used, do not have sharp or raised areas that a resident could catch their foot on. Similarly, make sure the edges of swimming pools do not have any damage that could hurt residents.
• Check nesting areas and roosts, if present, for signs of damage. As mentioned above, you should also check for breaches underneath or behind nest boxes and roosts.
• Check swimming pools, tanks, man-made pools, etc., for damage or leaks. If you have an aeration and/or filtration system, be sure to clean and maintain it per the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Inspect any heating and cooling systems prior to the time at which you typically need them (i.e., inspect all circulating fans before the warm weather hits). This will allow you to fix or replace devices as needed and ensure that you are able to keep residents comfortable. Check these regularly for signs of damage or issues and repair/replace as needed.
• Before cold weather hits, be sure to check the living space for gaps that could create a draft. Also, be sure to check any exhaust fans to ensure the shutters close properly to keep cold air out when not in use. 
• Most wood siding will need to be repainted or restained to keep it protected and prolong its life. Be sure to use paints and stains that are safe to use around animals.
• If the structure has metal siding, be aware that this can develop sharp edges when damaged, which will need to be addressed in order to prevent injury.
• Check fencing and other physical infrastructure (such as aviary netting) for signs of damage and repair as needed. In addition to scheduling time to check fences regularly, be sure to inspect them after storms that have the potential to cause damage to them.
• To maintain outdoor vegetation for residents, reseed or replant as needed.

Now that you’ve got an idea of the cleaning and maintenance required, be sure to come up with a plan to keep on top of these tasks. Doing so will help in maintaining your duck residents’ health, comfort, and safety!

SOURCE:

Duck And GooseUnless explicitly mentioned, we are referring to domesticated goose breeds, not wild geese, who may have unique needs not covered by this resource. Care | Farm Sanctuary