HELP! Our duck kennel caved in from the snow

[amanda_rimo]

We need some help from anyone that can help. We discovered our duck kennel that is around their coop roof caved in overnight. Thankfully they were in their coop and they are safe! We made a support beam for the meantime so they were able to come out, but we want to make a new roof, or come up with an idea to keep the snow and water from getting stuck on the cover. I will attach pictures of the before and after. If anyone has any ideas or can post suggestions from what their coops and covers look like that would be helpful. We live on land that is wide open and get very heavy winds, so we need something that is going to withstand the crazy wind we get. Any and all help would be greatly appreciate. We just want them safe and dry.

 

[Jenbirdee]

To me, it looks like you did a great job with the support beam. Ive seen similar "cave-ins" with these type structures , even just with heavy rains.
You could do something like what I did with my greenhouse. My husband bought me a greenhouse kit from Harbor freight about years ago, it wasnt cheap ~ ~ cost about 1k ~ but it still wasnt very windproof , and we had panels fly out a few times. So ,
I built a wood frame structure around it, attached to it on every side and used a big tarp over top. It has held together all these years because of the wood. ETA pic .. there is wood across the roof section under the tarp too if u look close u can see the outine

 

[DukesDucks]

The picture of your support beam is exactly what I have in my biggest run. We get heavy snows where I live. I try to keep the tarp tied tightly so keep as much angle as possible. I also use a roof snow rake to clear any accumulation every time it snows. The biggest problem I still end up with is those days with freezing rain or just enough sun to melt some snow which freezes at night time. The weight of ice on the roof has to be removed.

 

[amanda_rimo]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions! I appreciate it! We are just so grateful our babies are safe and happy! Maybe we can figure out how to tighten up this cover so it’s not sagging anymore to help the snow slide off. It was definitely the rain the day before that froze and then it snowed so it was just so heavy.

 

[ruthhope]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions! I appreciate it! We are just so grateful our babies are safe and happy! Maybe we can figure out how to tighten up this cover so it’s not sagging anymore to help the snow slide off. It was definitely the rain the day before that froze and then it snowed so it was just so heavy.

I have been looking at buying exactly that design of kennel for my ducks. They are in Florida, and so I won't have the weight of snow but could have pooled water. I decided that I would put chicken wire over the top as Racoons could get through a tarp -- Raccoons are currently my ducks main predator at night. But we also have foxes in the neighborhood and there is also a bobcat that has been seen about 3 miles away.

I will use mason ladders [ I have them in my current duck coop that needs replacing] making an arched roof with chicken wire, which is what I have now, and put a tarp over.

I think your current solution will stop snow piling but will not keep out predators

 

[aart]

I will use mason ladders .......making an arched roof

A curved ladder @ruthhope ?
Got pics?

 

[DukesDucks]

Please be safe and never try knocking the snow off from inside of run.

 

[amanda_rimo]

I have been looking at buying exactly that design of kennel for my ducks. They are in Florida, and so I won't have the weight of snow but could have pooled water. I decided that I would put chicken wire over the top as Racoons could get through a tarp -- Raccoons are currently my ducks main predator at night. But we also have foxes in the neighborhood and there is also a bobcat that has been seen about 3 miles away.

I will use mason ladders [ I have them in my current duck coop that needs replacing] making an arched roof with chicken wire, which is what I have now, and put a tarp over.

I think your current solution will stop snow piling but will not keep out predators

They are locked up in their coop with the door closed at night. They don’t have free range of that whole area at night when the predators are out

 

[ruthhope]

A curved ladder @ruthhope ?
Got pics?

You might also use a stock panel. They are expensive at Home Depot where I bought my mason ladders. Mason ladders are strengthening for concrete poured into narrow ditches. However, I have since found much cheaper and perfectly adequate stock panels at Tractor Supply.

My current coop has mason ladders covered in chicken wire and the lowest 3' also has quarter inch hardware cloth over the chicken wire -- there is mason cloth attached to the frame under the floor to keep out burrowing predators. However, the door frame has rotted -- the 2x4s are eaten away, I think by carpenter ants at the bottom even though the wood was painted. So, I must replace. I thought I would use a dog kennel as my entrance is a little low and the dog kennels from Tractor Supply or Amazon are much taller and don't have wood to get eaten by carpenter ants and rot.

If I made the same type of duck coop again, I would use stock panels now that I know that there are affordable ones at TSL. However, my son has a duck tractor and I used mason ladders to make a domed roof for it. He initially used two corrugated plastic sheets and they were not sloped so pooled rain water and cracked under the weight. I would use mason ladders just to make a dome [My son doesn't appreciate his ol' Mom but his ducks do!]

 

[aart]

Mason ladders are strengthening for concrete poured into narrow ditches.

Ahhhh, OK, Thanks.

However, I have since found much cheaper and perfectly adequate stock panels at Tractor Supply.

and probably stronger.