Duck Pen Flooring?

[NewDuckMama23]

Mine free-range in the grassy garden all day. But, the coop they are locked in at night is deep liter with shavings I add to every once in a while, as needed. Inside the house is shavings topped with hay. My girls are great about laying in the house but rarely pooping in it. As a result, my cleaning is minimal and my eggs are usually clean.
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This setup is awesome my husband would probably like to do something similar to this because I don’t think he wants them ALLL over the yard lol but we have a decent size backyard where they can have a good space like this, how big is their area? Also if you don’t mind where did you get the coop? Only problem for me is we don’t have grass it’s just a dirt floor & for your deep litter is it just shavings only? Or two other bases on the bottom ?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

This setup is awesome my husband would probably like to do something similar to this because I don’t think he wants them ALLL over the yard lol but we have a decent size backyard where they can have a good space like this, how big is their area? Also if you don’t mind where did you get the coop? Only problem for me is we don’t have grass it’s just a dirt floor & for your deep litter is it just shavings only? Or two other bases on the bottom ?

Thank you! Mine used to be all over the yard. I got ducks instead of chickens because the neighbors chickens kept drowning in her pool and we have a pool. Then, my sneaky ducks discovered our pool. They knew I did not want them in it but would post a lookout and jump in anyway. So, I built the fence.

My garden is about 25" by 50" minus the raised garden beds and the coop. I bought the coop plans off of etsy for $30: https://www.etsy.com/listing/181650783/the-garden-coop-walk-in-chicken-coop?click_key=d06ec3c05ecfe6a183c1f63ffa556b64a82c9970:181650783&click_sum=a7b98ad7&ref=search2_top_narrowing_intent_modules_etsys_pick-1&sts=1
They were really good. I am a 57 year old woman and I built the coop all by myself with limited building skills. If you decide to use them, I will be happy to explain how I adapted the plans to change it from a chicken coop to a duck coop . Oh, it is just shavings. Because the mesh goes into the ground, the water runs out of the mesh drying it quickly. It rained really hard last night and blew into the coop. The shavings were wet this morning. By afternoon they were mostly dry. I doubt I add anything tonight.

 

[NewDuckMama23]

Thank you! Mine used to be all over the yard. I got ducks instead of chickens because the neighbors chickens kept drowning in her pool and we have a pool. Then, my sneaky ducks discovered our pool. They knew I did not want them in it but would post a lookout and jump in anyway. So, I built the fence.
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My garden is about 25" by 50" minus the raised garden beds and the coop. I bought the coop plans off of etsy for $30: https://www.etsy.com/listing/181650783/the-garden-coop-walk-in-chicken-coop?click_key=d06ec3c05ecfe6a183c1f63ffa556b64a82c9970:181650783&click_sum=a7b98ad7&ref=search2_top_narrowing_intent_modules_etsys_pick-1&sts=1
They were really good. I am a 57 year old woman and I built the coop all by myself with limited building skills. If you decide to use them, I will be happy to explain how I adapted the plans to change it from a chicken coop to a duck coop . Oh, it is just shavings. Because the mesh goes into the ground, the water runs out of the mesh drying it quickly. It rained really hard last night and blew into the coop. The shavings were wet this morning. By afternoon they were mostly dry. I doubt I add anything tonight.
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Oh my gosh that’s crazy you really did need that fence for those little sneaky ducks and it’s so nice I love it!! And ok just shavings is it a thick layer of shavings like 2-3 inches thick? And what kinda mesh is it underneath? Mine is just dirt rite now so I may need to add some grass & it’s such a beautiful coop!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

This setup is awesome my husband would probably like to do something similar to this because I don’t think he wants them ALLL over the yard lol but we have a decent size backyard where they can have a good space like this, how big is their area? Also if you don’t mind where did you get the coop? Only problem for me is we don’t have grass it’s just a dirt floor & for your deep litter is it just shavings only? Or two other bases on the bottom ?

Thank you! Mine used to be all over the yard. I got ducks instead of chickens because the neighbors chickens kept drowning in her pool and we have a pool. Then, my sneaky ducks discovered our pool. They knew I did not want them in it but would post a lookout and jump in anyway.
View attachment 3548822
My garden is about

Oh my gosh that’s crazy you really did need that fence for those little sneaky ducks and it’s so nice I love it!! And ok just shavings is it a thick layer of shavings like 2-3 inches thick? And what kinda mesh is it underneath? Mine is just dirt rite now so I may need to add some grass & it’s such a beautiful coop!

The shavings are 6-10” thick. You might be able to see it better in this photo. There is nothing underneath just dirt. I finished the coop in December and have only added more shavings on top. I plan to dig some out in the fall.
The hardware cloth walls run down into the dirt. When you build it you dig a trench around it and extend the hardware cloth down. It is supposed to go down 12” but we have clay soil and the place where I put the coop was uneven so I do not go down that deep all the way around.