FB Marketplace duck coop, concerns?

[Weeg]

Was flipping through FB Marketplace out of curiosity, and found this coop not to distant from me. I've been looking for an "instant" duck coop for a bit now, and I'm actually pretty excited about this find. The dimensions a 8' x 5' 10". A little small for 10 ducks, but if you say 5' 10" is almost 6", its about 48 sq. ft, which is only 2ft off. It looks well built, hardware cloth over the opening. Lots of ventilation. My only concern is the coop being wet with our crazy PNW Spring/Winter/Fall season. With that large hardware cloth side do you think that would be an issue with rain? Maybe building some kind of ventilated cover for the wet season? What does everyone else think?
I wouldn't take the hens. I don't need them nor have the space, and with ALV I don't want to expose them.
Thanks for any feedback!

 

[TwistedTayy]

We get crazy sideways rain where I’m at (I grew up in Vancouver, CAN) but I think where I’m at how is more wet. I had the issue of “dry vs ventilation” and finally settled on getting marine fabric and making “curtains”. They are attached loosely enough that air still easily can get in but it’s permeable fabric (unlike rain jacket material). It is water RESISTANT enough to keep out the big droplets of rain.

 

[Weeg]

We get crazy sideways rain where I’m at (I grew up in Vancouver, CAN) but I think where I’m at how is more wet. I had the issue of “dry vs ventilation” and finally settled on getting marine fabric and making “curtains”. They are attached loosely enough that air still easily can get in but it’s permeable fabric (unlike rain jacket material). It is water RESISTANT enough to keep out the big droplets of rain.

This is a good idea. I could probably makeshift something like that. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[tigger19687]

Too much $$ for what it is I THINK.

You could make that yourself. It's a hodge Podge of bits, cattle pen, metal roofing, old fence posts.
I bet if you can get a bunch of Pallets and the 1st two items listed above you could make it better

 

[StinkyAcres]

Too much $$ for what it is I THINK.

You could make that yourself. It's a hodge Podge of bits, cattle pen, metal roofing, old fence posts.
I bet if you can get a bunch of Pallets and the 1st two items listed above you could make it better

Maybe if you found the cattle panels and metal roofing secondhand it would be cheaper. 2 cattle panels plus 5 metal roof panels plus all that hardware cloth new is over $200.

But then there's the cost of traveling to pick it up and such...

 

[Banana01]

Its going to be a pain to move because of the metal roof. It's not a terrible structure. I never had to build my ducks a coop, they do well outside on their own day and night, but with lots of shade to hide under. My biggest challenge with the ducks was finding them nesting areas that stay dried in the rain. They ended up in various places around the outside of the house. We are in completely different climatic zones, but I never needed to build a coop because the ducks adapted to sleeping outside, under tarps, even behind a wheelbarrow and tool storage area.

 

[Weeg]

Maybe if you found the cattle panels and metal roofing secondhand it would be cheaper. 2 cattle panels plus 5 metal roof panels plus all that hardware cloth new is over $200.

But then there's the cost of traveling to pick it up and such...

My thoughts as well. Its a decent distance from us though. An hour plus. Probably more effort than its worth, I'm starting to think.
Might just just use the design as inspiration for my own coop. I think we do have most of those supplies lying around other than Hardware cloth.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Probably more effort than its worth, I'm starting to think.

Yeah, and after you get it home you'd have to clean it!

Might just just use the design as inspiration for my own coop. I think we do have most of those supplies lying around other than Hardware cloth.

I think that's a good idea. The design looks relatively simple (and cute!) and you can customize it to your needs.

 

[Tonyroo]

Looks like a very easy build, just have your measurements set and all materials available in the construction.

$200 is to much, and having to figure out how to move it, would be a bit of a headache.

 

[Ebony Rose]

While you're designing this, give yourself a little more roofing overhang over the front door and attach it so that it whisks water and/or snow toward the back side and doesn't bore a hole in the ground at the doorway. You can dig a trench in the back, filled with gravel to deal with water issues from the drainage in the back of the coop without it being inconvenient to walk on OR lay the gravel on the ground without a trench if digging one is too much like work. A flat roof (slanted towards the back) might be easier to build than this curved dome and would give you more play in how you set up the feed, water, roosts, nesting boxes etc. inside. Add a couple sheets of roofing on the sides to make walls; I like zinc as it tends to repair itself from small nicks and scratches through it's natural oxidization process.