Floor ideas for small spaces

[FunintheRun]

I use pine pellets in my coop and then have a metal cat litter scoop that I spot clean with once a day. There is no smell and it's always clean.

Thanks for the idea. I'm not even sure what pine pellets are. I will look into it though. Any ideas are welcomed!

 

[TomCahalan]

Why have a separate coop? My coop is an octogon 7 feet across, 8 feet tall, and with a roof on top. All of the walls and door are hardware cloth. The whole thing is just a big cage. By combining your pen and coop into one big cage you effectively give your birds more space. By not having walls, you massively increase airflow and thus evaporation of water and ammonia.

You say that you live somewhere very cold, but I have seen people from subtropical areas say that. Just yesterday someone from the chilly (but not cold) part of Australia referred to his climate as very cold. Please put your location in your profile so that we can help you better. I live in Ohio and an enclosed coop is not required for my climate.

 

[LT71689]

Oops just reread your response. Grass clippings work in the pen? I accept that the ground won't be pretty in a stationary pen. Do the grass clippings just help to keep it dry-ish?

Once you get down to bare dirt and you know you cant try to re-grow the grass, you can toss grass or leaves in as a layer that you just scoop out and discard when they get mucky (or leave and let compost under a new layer in the same deep litter sense)

But as another poster indicated, it doesnt work for everybody. I think these things depend a lot on your climate and your pen positioning (are you living in washington where its constantly raining and your pen is never getting enough sunlight to dry and air out vs you're living in arizona where its hot and dry and airy all day every day) It could be a trial and error situation for sure.

I think for a lot of folks, they just accept the inevitability of the mud patch. Luckily duck poo is pretty loose and easy to spray away/mix into the dirt, but again giving them a bigger pen also means its more spread out and you've got less of a covering of poo to deal with as it washes away in the rain on its own

 

[LT71689]

Thank you for the reply. You're confirming what I knew all along deep inside. My ducks need more space. I wish I had done more research before getting them! I asked my husband to help me build something. He seemed reluctant (he though the ducks would be a little less maintenance) but he's willing to help.

So let's say a 4 sq. ft. per duck coop, and a bigger (walk in!) pen/run, can happen. Deep litter method would be more attainable in the coop, and what do you recommend for the pen?

Could I just spray off/down the poop? I've heard just about every flooring possible is bad for their feet or a lot of work or money or all of the above.

Thank you again!

The good news is ducks arent picky or need anything fancy. A properly ventilated plain box that shelters them from the wind and rain and predators is good enough. They dont roost, they dont need nesting boxes. Just a boring roof, floor, and four walls makes them happy, its a pretty easy build. Or if you want to be able to get in the coop too, some people just use sheds they cut some vents into.

Is there something in particular that hooked you on deep litter? I know some people swear by it while many others have tried and had trouble with it/didnt like it - just wondering what sold you on it.

 

[FunintheRun]

Why have a separate coop? My coop is an octogon 7 feet across, 8 feet tall, and with a roof on top. All of the walls and door are hardware cloth. The whole thing is just a big cage. By combining your pen and coop into one big cage you effectively give your birds more space. By not having walls, you massively increase airflow and thus evaporation of water and ammonia.

You say that you live somewhere very cold, but I have seen people from subtropical areas say that. Just yesterday someone from the chilly (but not cold) part of Australia referred to his climate as very cold. Please put your location in your profile so that we can help you better. I live in Ohio and an enclosed coop is not required for my climate.

So helpful! Thank you! I didn't realize I had a profile to update but I will. I live in eastern Washington state. We definitely get lots of snow and freezing temps late fall to early spring. Although, I do remember learning ducks are pretty weather proof.

I guess I just thought ducks needed a coop? I like the idea of one space, but do you at least recommend a wall or a corner maybe that's not just wire for relief from cold winds? Ohio is definitely cold. Do you have a picture of your set up I could see by chance?

Thank you!

 

[LT71689]

They would absolutely need a wind and rain/snow shelter. Merely surviving the winter isnt the same thing as actually being comfortable.

 

[Dcb]

I had switched to deep litter method a few weeks ago for my 22 chickens and two geese. I thought it sounded like a healthy way to go. Now my gander has respiratory congestion and one thought is the deep litter combined with me closing the coop up too much at night left poor air quality in the coop. Hopefully some antibiotic along with opening up the coop more at night and getting rid of the deep litter bedding will make everyone healthy and happy. Good luck with your ducks!

 

[FunintheRun]

I had switched to deep litter method a few weeks ago for my 22 chickens and two geese. I thought it sounded like a healthy way to go. Now my gander has respiratory congestion and one thought is the deep litter combined with me closing the coop up too much at night left poor air quality in the coop. Hopefully some antibiotic along with opening up the coop more at night and getting rid of the deep litter bedding will make everyone healthy and happy. Good luck with your ducks!

I'm sorry I missed this reply! Thanks for your feedback, hope your guy is better! May I ask what you do instead of deep litter method? It's probably hard for many of us to find what's right for our own flocks since everyone's situation is so different!

 

[FunintheRun]

The good news is ducks arent picky or need anything fancy. A properly ventilated plain box that shelters them from the wind and rain and predators is good enough. They dont roost, they dont need nesting boxes. Just a boring roof, floor, and four walls makes them happy, its a pretty easy build. Or if you want to be able to get in the coop too, some people just use sheds they cut some vents into.

Is there something in particular that hooked you on deep litter? I know some people swear by it while many others have tried and had trouble with it/didnt like it - just wondering what sold you on it.

I do appreciate that ducks have pretty simple taste. We plan on building something simple, but still brainstorming. The deep litter method seemed to be all the rage but I'm unsure what will work for me. I'm starting to try to compost used bedding and just wanting to know all the options so I can pick what's easiest to maintain. I like the idea of just hosing things off, but that's not going to work in the winter.

 

[FunintheRun]

Once you get down to bare dirt and you know you cant try to re-grow the grass, you can toss grass or leaves in as a layer that you just scoop out and discard when they get mucky (or leave and let compost under a new layer in the same deep litter sense)

But as another poster indicated, it doesnt work for everybody. I think these things depend a lot on your climate and your pen positioning (are you living in washington where its constantly raining and your pen is never getting enough sunlight to dry and air out vs you're living in arizona where its hot and dry and airy all day every day) It could be a trial and error situation for sure.

I think for a lot of folks, they just accept the inevitability of the mud patch. Luckily duck poo is pretty loose and easy to spray away/mix into the dirt, but again giving them a bigger pen also means its more spread out and you've got less of a covering of poo to deal with as it washes away in the rain on its own

Climate is definitely a factor. I live in eastern Washington, so wetter than the desert but not raining constantly. I love the idea of hosing things off, but that won't work in winter!