First coop build in Michigan - I should have done this years ago. Pics..

[John Smallberries]

Updates on my Coop - ALL GOOD NEWS this time. First up: we have our first eggs! Our brown duck, "Jemima", started laying a few days ago. We now have four nice white eggs. She is still trying to figure out where to lay. One was in the back of the "duck box" inside the run, one was on the floor of the run. We found two in a small "semi-nest" she made in the corner of my camo-lean-to structure to give them protection from hawks. We are trying a milk crate in the run to see if she likes that.

 

[John Smallberries]

My automatic watering system has given mixed results. My wifi sprinkler timer system is working well to send fresh water to the duck pond every morning, then blow out the line. That part is great. I also have a small heater in the pond. We haven't had a long stretch of very cold weather her in SE Michigan, but the pond is clear and the ducks love it.

What has been a failure is my roof collection rain barrel that feeds some poultry nipples. It has been a dry season so far. Also, the nipples can get stuck and dribble out for hours. The result is a frequently-low rain barrel that needs manual filling. At least my "low water" light system is working fine to let me know. The dribbling nipples have also created a muddy mess in the run. Here is the fix for that - a dribble-collection trough with external drain.

 

[John Smallberries]

Now to fix the water. I had a long 2-1/2" PVC pipe that I had used as an overflow for the first iteration duck pond. It is just long enough to stretch from the water barrel to the new duck pond. So - I cut an overflow hole at the top of the barrel and stuck in the drain pipe. I sealed it off with some JB Weld putty. I then re-routed the water feed from the duck pond to the barrel. It seems to be working great. The barrel will stay full and the ducks still get fresh water. Let's see if the overflow pipe freezes solid.....

 

[John Smallberries]

BTW: my netting has been working great. The chickens stay IN THE YARD and away from the dogs. I'm getting my system dialed in... Next up: when will the chickens start to lay?? It should be soon. I am very curious to see if they will use my fancy roll-away nesting box. I did a bit of surgery on my roosting bars to avoid the chickens pooping on the rail for the nesting box. That may help.