have some questions on duck coops

[showjumper_girl2002]

i'm new to ducks and have two 2 month old scovy's that i've had since they've hatched. right now they're in a temporary set up. i want to build something permanent soon and i was wondering what is a good flooring for a duck coop in order for easy cleaning to help keep flies down and make it nice for my little duckies? i was thinking a wire (with small holes) floor lifted off the ground but what to put under to make it easy to clean? so any and all info on both flooring and even coop designs would be greatly appreciated! i've never built one before and want to do it right and make it nice for my little duckies.

 

[tdgill]

I like these secure duck houses. I will make sure to find a shady spot for summertime, because I don't think I want any windows, just vents up high. I think my ducks were getting scared by predators sniffing at the wire windows in my old duck house.

 

[conny63malies]

Muscovies are heavy ducks, so wire is a no-go for them. I lived in NE Ohio when i owned some mine lived in a covered are outside on dirtfloor covered with a heavy layer of straw. A larger dog house would do too. As soon as it got warmer they stopped sleeping in the shelter and slept in the yard. THe one momma actually made a nest under the back steps and the other follwed two weeks later.

 

[Hunter0704]

I have a coop and run for my chicks and ducklings. On the floor of the coop I have tried sand...no way! It stays too wet. Straw/hay also gets wet and is a real mess plus it smells. Am using Equine Pellets and think they are great! No smell, it absorbs water so the coop stays dry, I use a large holed kitchen strainer to remove poop...it dries quickly since the pellets absorbs all the moisture. It also absorbs all the water mess the ducks make. It keeps the coop clean for all my babies. This spring when they are large enough to leave the raised coop and head down into the run, the ground is covered with pea gravel that's easy to hose down and remove poop. Also, going to give the ducks something to swim in inside the run...again, water will be no problem as it will run off. Pea gravel is always dry on top. Hope this gives you some ideas!

 

[Hunter0704]

I forgot to tell you the floor of the coop is covered in linoleum flooring so the wood underneath won't get wet. The pellets are on top of the flooring.

 

[LaNaeMarie]

I line my coop with the sheet linoleum, I can open the side, sweep out wood shavings, spray down and wipe off the flooring. Takes a total of 10 minutes to clean

 

[ruthhope]

showjumper_girl2002, I note that you are in Florida, as I am. Are you on sandy soil?

I am on sandy soil and both my son and I have hardware cloth under our coops, lying directly on the sandy soil. We use deep layer bedding on top of the hardware cloth. The hardware cloth [which is attached to the coop walls] prevents predators burrowing under the coop. Predators have twice tried to dig under my son's coop in the last year [fortunately, none have so far tried to burrow under mine.]

For deep layer bedding, we both started with a layer of oak leaves as they are in ready supply in my neighborhood. Then we added a layer of pine shavings. That ensures the ducks feet don't get injured by the hardware cloth. When the bedding gets wet or soiled, we add more pine shavings on top. Every now and then we add another layer of oak leaves which make a good barrier to stop wet from the shavings rising. In the winter we used pine straw for the ducks [I have two muscovy and two pekins; my son has two pekins and one muscovy] to snuggle in to keep warm. Some people use straw, but pine needles compost well. The deep layer bedding is warm in the winter months and gets dug out around now. It makes good mulch for the garden or can be composted a little longer [the lower layers will already have started to compost -- the process that keeps the ducks warm in the winter.]

I don't like the small duck houses: I think the coop needs to provide a minimum of 4sq ft per duck although ours offer them 8sq ft each.

 

[tdgill]

showjumper_girl2002, I note that you are in Florida, as I am. Are you on sandy soil?

I am on sandy soil and both my son and I have hardware cloth under our coops, lying directly on the sandy soil. We use deep layer bedding on top of the hardware cloth. The hardware cloth [which is attached to the coop walls] prevents predators burrowing under the coop. Predators have twice tried to dig under my son's coop in the last year [fortunately, none have so far tried to burrow under mine.]

For deep layer bedding, we both started with a layer of oak leaves as they are in ready supply in my neighborhood. Then we added a layer of pine shavings. That ensures the ducks feet don't get injured by the hardware cloth. When the bedding gets wet or soiled, we add more pine shavings on top. Every now and then we add another layer of oak leaves which make a good barrier to stop wet from the shavings rising. In the winter we used pine straw for the ducks [I have two muscovy and two pekins; my son has two pekins and one muscovy] to snuggle in to keep warm. Some people use straw, but pine needles compost well. The deep layer bedding is warm in the winter months and gets dug out around now. It makes good mulch for the garden or can be composted a little longer [the lower layers will already have started to compost -- the process that keeps the ducks warm in the winter.]

I don't like the small duck houses: I think the coop needs to provide a minimum of 4sq ft per duck although ours offer them 8sq ft each.

I understand your concern with size per ducks.

my folks have oak leaves that I always wanted to use but there's some kinda seeds with sharp hooky things always mixed in, so I don't.

right now I have 3 ducks in a half of a 16x20 foot shed lol and the mower parked in the driveway

 

[tdgill]

no, but I would worry about them too.. lol. I've stepped on those myself, ouch!

 

[LaNaeMarie]

i'm new to ducks and have two 2 month old scovy's that i've had since they've hatched. right now they're in a temporary set up. i want to build something permanent soon and i was wondering what is a good flooring for a duck coop in order for easy cleaning to help keep flies down and make it nice for my little duckies? i was thinking a wire (with small holes) floor lifted off the ground but what to put under to make it easy to clean? so any and all info on both flooring and even coop designs would be greatly appreciated! i've never built one before and want to do it right and make it nice for my little duckies.

I like my coop with linoleum. It makes clean up a breeze I open the door I sleep out the wood shavings into a bucket I spray and wipe down the linoleum and put new wood shavings in. It takes me all of 10 minutes.