Coop troubles

[Acre4Me]

Ok thanks so much!!! We are located in Michigan. Yeah thanks!! I'll definitely have to look into the cattle-panel hoop coop! Thanks!

Yoo-hoo, @aart - you are MI, correct? Help a new chicken owner out!

 

[picklestheduck]

I couldnt get dimensions right now, but I did get pictures! And warning, our property is a mess with stuff everywhere......and its also VERY muddy!!

And thats how far off the ground it is.

This is our very small run area. They started out in this but are pretty much just free range right now. I keep my 2 sick ducks in there right now. Also I know the inside of the coop is dirty, I need to clean it, but like I said I really sick right now on my fifth day of fever. I did clean the smaller side for the sick ducks yesterday but even that was a lot for me. On top of all this I'm dealing with a hand injury so THATS fun. Anyways here is the coop.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

You might consider rehoming your birds and starting over next spring. I know that's drastic but that's what I did once when we had a rat problem and winter was coming on and my toddler was taking up all my energy-i just found my girls new homes and sorted it out the following spring.

 

[picklestheduck]

This was our quarantine coop for the two sick ducks which I now its too small, but thats all we could do for them at the moment. The barn (well more like a large shed) is on the right and our plastic shed is on left. The barn is packed full of hay and horse tack so we cant use that.. and the shed is full of bikes and gardening stuff. I mean there might be a small possibility that we could build off the barn but I'm afraid it would stink up the inside and our hay in there. Plus the barn is not very sturdy....the roof leaks in places and there are gaps everywhere....its very old.... Again we had planned to upgrade the barn and the coop but the house issues took priority.We are trying to fix them, but idk that we can. We had also held off on making a new cop cause we probably need to move. Not sure yet though.

 

[Acre4Me]

Not bad, but needs some improvement.

first, a metal roof can be ok, but in your climate you need it to have an underlayment of plywood or similar. The metal will get condensation and drip water in. So, remove roof , add spacers to get upper ventilation and raise the roof a bit. Lay down plywood or similar, replace metal roof.

elevation: if possible, elevate it further. This will take some effort, but you can buy concrete footers that you can put 2x4s into to create a frame…you can put coop on top if that. More airflow to dry out that coop floor.

I agree with other poster above - sometimes starting over in better weather can be beneficial. We don’t know your whole situation (which is fine), but you do… can you manage this winter with a few improvements (such as redoing the roof with a plywood underlayment and upper ventilation as I describe)? However, if you can manage now, I’d keep the current flock bc having multi ages of birds is beneficial in a flock - we have much better behavior in the flock now than when we first began with same age chicks.

I hope you begin to feel better soon!

 

[3KillerBs]

First thing,

Is that a top-hinged vent across the front of the coop in the first picture?

If yes, open it up and leave it open. It may not be enough ventilation, but it's in the optimum position at the top of the coop.

You want at least 1 square foot of 24/7/365 ventilation PER BIRD (I don't know if ducks need the same but I suspect that they do since they're about the same size). Ventilation is one of the major keys to good health.

I think that a hoop coop is going to be the fastest and easiest overall fix for you.

Can you rig something like my Outdoor Broody Breaker or my integration pen for your sick ducks instead of that airless, little box?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/outdoor-broody-breaker.76592/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mini-coop-or-integration-pen-from-a-large-dog-crate.76593/

 

[picklestheduck]

Thank you for the opinions! The roof does lift up, it has to be propped up with a post but I can. Yes we have noticed the condensation. We can try to rig some quarantine things up but I'm worried about it being too drafty since they get cold and predators getting them. I guess thats also a concern for a hoop coop. I'm afraid of it being drafty. Plus we usually get a LOT of snow and rain.....so I dont want that going in the coops. Thanks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh mercy, you are having a rough go! Wishing you health and strength going forward. You have a very full plate right now.

I may have missed it, but I didn't see any roosts for the chickens?

 

[picklestheduck]

Also if I WERE to do a hoop coop, how would I left it off the ground? Or wouldn't I? Also I would be afraid of predators getting into the hoop coop. No we dont currently have any roosts in there. I had a few in there a while back but there is no good way to secure them. I just stuck a few sticks through the wire and balanced them on the board across from it. I had taken them out when cleaning one time and then just forgot to put them back in. Another thing that worries me is the ducks will go running full speed into the coop and then faceplant into the roosts.....not very smart..... I'm just afraid they will hurt themselves too. But they have to learn I guess. I'll try to get some help lifting that roof and propping it open, and then putting some roosts up. I have a few roost like things I put up in their little run outside but nothing too fancy.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you for the opinions! The roof does lift up, it has to be propped up with a post but I can. Yes we have noticed the condensation. We can try to rig some quarantine things up but I'm worried about it being too drafty since they get cold and predators getting them. I guess thats also a concern for a hoop coop. I'm afraid of it being drafty. Plus we usually get a LOT of snow and rain.....so I dont want that going in the coops. Thanks!

Draft-free doesn't mean no air movement at all. It means that there's no breeze strong enough to ruffle the birds' feathers when they're sitting on the roost.

Look at my brooder, where I raise chicks -- it's 4x8 with 16 square feet of permanent ventilation and another 10 square feet of supplemental ventilation. There are no drafts in it at bird height.

For the hoop coops, if you set it up with the uncovered end downwind that allows ventilation without drafts. If necessary you can add some straw bales to make a half-wall inside.

For runs and for coops that are right down on the ground you use an anti-dig apron to keep them from burrowing under. That's 18-24" of wire -- I used hardware cloth because we have weasels in this area but some people use 2x4 wire -- laid flat on the ground and pinned with landscape staples.