HI everyone,
I've been planning a brand new indoor duck pen for a few months now and have been having trouble getting a contractor to come out and built it for me. I finally found two different companies willing to put a bid in for the project, so it might actualy get built within the next month! So exciting! Our ducks need a new spacious home with plenty of room to run around and play. I re-did the design a bit to make it easier to build, a little more cost effective, and to give the maximum amount of floor space, running area, and coop space per duck. All together, the ducks should have about 120 sq feet of space, about 20 sq feet per duck. I've also made a lovely little 3D drawing of the room it's going in, so it can be better imagined...
top view of the room.... followed by two other views of the room (3rd bedroom of the 2nd story of my townhouse in Chicago)
Here's what the pen will look like inside of the room!
Here's a bird's eye of the pen-
The front wall/doors of the pen.
the sides and back- (the back will have a window to let light in)
The Food center, Drawer area, and Nest box...
what I call the "Food Center" (in purple) which is where we will place the duck's food and water. The food and water have to be placed far apart so the ducks do not wet their food. The dishes for their food and water will sit on top of the mesh (1/2in vinyl coated poultry netting/mesh). Anything they drip or drop will be able to fall through the mesh and land into a plastic container in the "drawer area" for easy cleaning. Our current pen has a similar design that has worked well for us. The walls of this area help keep the ducks from jumping or falling off the edges, thus preventing injury. The drawer area will need a partially open back to allow for easy cleaning and ventilation. Directly underneath the drawer area is an enclosed space called the "Nest Box" (gray area) where the ducks will lay their eggs and go for privacy. The nest box should have two separate entrances to avoid crowding.
This next part shows the upper level of the pen (in yellow), along with the ramp (in red). The upper level will need a "banister" wall to keep the ducks from falling off the ledge. The ledge is only about 30" above the floor, but they can jump or fall and hurt themselves. The ramp is designed to be at a 30 degree angle, which seems to be the steepest a duck can handle. The ramp is to have 1/2round placed about ever 4" to provide traction for their feet. The Orange area underneath is what I call the "Chimney". This is simply a structure around the air vent in the floor to redirect the air flow into the pen itself. I'm not sure what to use to cover the hole yet. I'm hoping to find an actual air register vent cover that will fit, if not, a small screen with a wooden frame will do.
Crazy huh? Keep your fingers crossed for me that we finally get this built!!!
The poor ducks have been living in pen that has been expanded three times now to make more room. Most of the pen is temporary, made using old bookcases, planks or wood, duct tape, tarps, etc.... It'll be nice to have a nice "real" pen/run/coop for our ducks. I know it will make them happy!
I've been planning a brand new indoor duck pen for a few months now and have been having trouble getting a contractor to come out and built it for me. I finally found two different companies willing to put a bid in for the project, so it might actualy get built within the next month! So exciting! Our ducks need a new spacious home with plenty of room to run around and play. I re-did the design a bit to make it easier to build, a little more cost effective, and to give the maximum amount of floor space, running area, and coop space per duck. All together, the ducks should have about 120 sq feet of space, about 20 sq feet per duck. I've also made a lovely little 3D drawing of the room it's going in, so it can be better imagined...
top view of the room.... followed by two other views of the room (3rd bedroom of the 2nd story of my townhouse in Chicago)
Here's what the pen will look like inside of the room!
Here's a bird's eye of the pen-
The front wall/doors of the pen.
the sides and back- (the back will have a window to let light in)
The Food center, Drawer area, and Nest box...
what I call the "Food Center" (in purple) which is where we will place the duck's food and water. The food and water have to be placed far apart so the ducks do not wet their food. The dishes for their food and water will sit on top of the mesh (1/2in vinyl coated poultry netting/mesh). Anything they drip or drop will be able to fall through the mesh and land into a plastic container in the "drawer area" for easy cleaning. Our current pen has a similar design that has worked well for us. The walls of this area help keep the ducks from jumping or falling off the edges, thus preventing injury. The drawer area will need a partially open back to allow for easy cleaning and ventilation. Directly underneath the drawer area is an enclosed space called the "Nest Box" (gray area) where the ducks will lay their eggs and go for privacy. The nest box should have two separate entrances to avoid crowding.
This next part shows the upper level of the pen (in yellow), along with the ramp (in red). The upper level will need a "banister" wall to keep the ducks from falling off the ledge. The ledge is only about 30" above the floor, but they can jump or fall and hurt themselves. The ramp is designed to be at a 30 degree angle, which seems to be the steepest a duck can handle. The ramp is to have 1/2round placed about ever 4" to provide traction for their feet. The Orange area underneath is what I call the "Chimney". This is simply a structure around the air vent in the floor to redirect the air flow into the pen itself. I'm not sure what to use to cover the hole yet. I'm hoping to find an actual air register vent cover that will fit, if not, a small screen with a wooden frame will do.
Crazy huh? Keep your fingers crossed for me that we finally get this built!!!
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