One of the most interesting waterfowl conservation projects is the ongoing deployment of “hen houses” created and put out by Delta Waterfowl. Each week this fall we will be profiling a different conservation project and this week we thought it would be fun to start with hen houses-just in time for the fall flight.
Delta Waterfowl Hen Houses are the most cost-effective tool to increase mallard production. Targeted to areas of the highest mallard breeding density, Hen Houses consistently boost nest success to more than 60 percent and commonly to 80 percent — in areas where ground-nesting mallards typically achieve nest success of less than 10 percent.
Delta Waterfowl’s research led to today’s efficiently designed “Supersites” — clusters of 100 or more Hen Houses installed in relatively small geographic areas with extremely high breeding mallard densities. Supersites send thousands of mallards into the fall flight, while reducing the cost of labor and fuel to produce ducks.
Delta maintains Hen Houses across the key breeding areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, North Dakota, Minnesota and Ontario. By 2022, Delta will have nearly 10,000 Hen Houses available for hens, with over 45,000 ducklings hatching in them annually. Delta volunteers also manage and maintain over 5,000 Hen Houses.
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