Acona ducks - coop question

[Cbrock2]

So we got three little baby acona's today, and are planning to build them a coop,
Any suggestions on dimensions on the coop? They will be running free most the time, just for night time.

 

[wordgirl]

So we got three little baby acona's today, and are planning to build them a coop,
Any suggestions on dimensions on the coop? They will be running free most the time, just for night time.

Oh, they are precious! I have Anconas,too, and I love them so much!

If they'll be able to be outside during the day, they'll need about 2-6 sq. ft. per bird of space inside - and ducks poop a LOT so the more space you can give them the happier you (and they) will be.

 

[Amiga]

I agree with wordgirl, I would go with a minimum of nine square feet (3x3), but 3x4 or even 4x6 would be good. I try to remember that plans change, and there may be a duck or two that needs to be rescued, or the ducks need to be kept indoors for a full day for some reason . . . . . so I would not scrimp on the elbow room in the duck house.

and oh, are they not the most lovely little ducklings!!!

 

[Cbrock2]

thank you, we are planning the house 3x4 with an attached 6x3 run, if we have to be gone during the day... oh and how high should it be? heard the don't get very tall, but would 3 feet be tall enough?

 

[Amiga]

Three feet would be tall enough for the ducks, based on my experience.

Please think about how you are going to clean out and maintain the duck house, reach in for an injured or ill duck, find eggs, etc.

The Duck Inn is 4 feet high, and the Veranda is about 5 feet high. I am 5'3" (used to be 5'4") so that is a fine height for me. The Day Pen is about a meter high, and 10'x16', so I have to duck walk when I work in there, or open the 4'x4' hatch to be able to stand up and reach around with a rake or cultivator. Usually I just duckwalk. I'm pretty limber for my age.

Something else to think about is giving yourself the height to be able to use a deep litter, which is what I do. So my 4' high Duck Inn is effectively 3 feet high with a foot of wood shavings. I love how easy that is to keep nice.

 

[Cbrock2]

ok, after talking about it i think we well do a little bigger, planning on having a big door on the back for cleaning and rescuing/harvesting eggs. So have been hearing about this deep littering, how does that work?

And is 80 degrees hot enough now for the 2 week olds?

 

[wordgirl]

ok, after talking about it i think we well do a little bigger, planning on having a big door on the back for cleaning and rescuing/harvesting eggs. So have been hearing about this deep littering, how does that work?

And is 80 degrees hot enough now for the 2 week olds?

If they're two weeks old, yep, about 80 degrees is good - they might even want it a few degrees cooler. Watch them and see if they feel comfortable - if they're huddling under the lamp and peeping, they're too cold, and if they're staying to the edge of the brooder or panting, they're too warm.

Those ducklings look a little younger than 2 weeks though - is that possible?

 

[Amiga]

ok, after talking about it i think we well do a little bigger, planning on having a big door on the back for cleaning and rescuing/harvesting eggs. So have been hearing about this deep littering, how does that work?

And is 80 degrees hot enough now for the 2 week olds?

Ditto wordgirl on the temperature, though I have heard of some silly ducklings staying under a lamp when they are too hot.

I think there is some variety in the ways people do deep litter. My method is putting in about a foot of pine shavings, and mixing in about a half gallon container's worth of dry peat moss to raise pH and reduce risk of ammonia forming. I put a few inches of straw on top of that. Every couple of days, I pull the little bit of straw out and put it on the compost or garden, and stir the wood shavings. That moves the more moist top layer with fresh poop in with the dry material and it rapidly dries out. Just smells a little earthy after a while. And it lasts for months and months. From time to time I add an inch or so of fresh shavings. Then once in a great while, I pull it all out . . . it is still dry, just has some dried poop in it, and compost that and start over.

 

[Cbrock2]

Yes it is possible, we got them from a store, they are probably from boondockers. And he said around 2 weeks