How bout these as duck coops? (PICS)

[vfem]

My ducks are getting an open bottom chicken tractor so I can just move them around the pond for the ducks. They can freerange with the chickens all they want as my chickens will be raising my ducks. I just don't think the ducks will do well in the coop when they want to walk down the ladder to the run.... will be way too complicated for a duck.

Besides, something easy to clean with how messy I hear they are would be best.

 

[houndit]

That should work just fine. We house them in any thing we have. Open chicken tractors ,insulated hen house, net yards, etc. They are some of the most easy to house creatures. They are almost always content, as long as they are out of the wind. We are in missouri. The first three ducks we had lived in a very small portable pen year round and did fine. Now that we have a bigger operation most of them live in the hen house. They sometimes spend the entire day on the frosen lagoon in a snow storm . Your coops look very nice. They are messier than chickens but our hen house has a wire floor and we feed and water them inside all year. Yor coops look very nice and should work fine. Congratulations on gettingducks. I like them better than chickens. They have so much more prsonality. Runners especially are fun.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

I haven't gone through the winter yet with my ducks so I'm no expert but here are my thoughts.

Is that a board at the top of the ramp? I've seen my guys trip on stuff like so maybe you want to change that.

It may be difficult to train them to go up that ramp, it's pretty long and steep. Maybe try with ducklings you hand raise and be very patient, or you may just have to lower the houses and shovel paths through the snow. When do you plan to make the switch to ducks?

Seems like a lot of space for three campbells, you could add more hens, your drakes will love that and you will have more eggs.

On the whole I think you will have some lucky ducks!

 

[chickens4jojo]

That's nice~~and I have to say this: I love how much wonderful land you have!

Think of all the animals one could have.

 

[NYREDS]

They look great to me!!! The only thing I'd [strongly] suggest is that you water the ducks outside. They are VERY MESSY & that's probably where the cleaning concerns are coming from. Also all that water will quickly take a toll on the wood floors. The ducks would rather be outside where they can make mud anyway.
Couldn't answer your PM-your mailbox is full.
BTW-your hens look wonderfully healthy & well cared for!

 

[jmc]

I'll have to see about lowering the coop and dumping the ramp. Some duck raisers have said they use ramps; but I haven't shown them mine........ Having the coop up high is a back saver (when you're 6'4"), PLUS it leaves all that space on the ground still available as shade area, feeding area, etc.

The wood floors are actually going to be cut out, and over the floor joists will be laid 1/2 x 1 inch welded wire. This will let all the watery poop flow/pass right out to ground--more or less. No bedding at all.

Someone I know has been raising ducks on this very type of floor for THIRTY YEARS--so it clearly works and works very well in all four seasons, and does no harm to the ducks at all.

The ducks will have access to a pool of water, I think, but it will be in an area other than their 1300 sq. ft. running area-- to keep the wet messies elsewhere.

That trip board will definitely be removed, as one of you observed. It is there to keep my very busy girls from throwing ALL the bedding out of the coop when they scratch.

All the chickens are going this week; and we will be getting Khaki Campbell ducklings at beg. of May--if the world hasn't been destroyed by then and the economy hasn't completely collapsed AND if the wicked NAIS hasn't taken away our basic rights..........Sorry to be so sarcastic.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Don't you want to have those chicken eggs through the winter, especially in light of the economy and possible food delivery problems, etc. (and so true about NIAS!).

About your 30 year duck raising friend with the wire floor, are his duck houses raised up? I guess it must be to some degree so he can clean underneath. I just wonder about how that would affect the temperature in there.

Also for the same reason wondering about the large vents, especially on the north side. My understanding is hens will lay more eggs and eat less food if they are warmer overnight. Insulation on their shelters helps too.

Those are just things I've read and wondered about, may not be too important. You are gonna love having ducks!

 

[Katy]

My ducks very rarely go in their shelter no matter the weather, but they do like having some hay/straw in their pen to nestle down in when it's cold out. It's going to be pretty cold for them if they're in raised coops with wire bottoms with nothing to keep the cold wind from blowing through and up under them. Just because someone has done it that way for 30 years doesn't mean it's the best situation for the ducks.

 

[jmc]

Katy of Kansas!

Yes, I share your concern over the wire floor thing. Yes, the woman who has done it this way has her coops close to ground, like on cinder blocks or similar. She has only a need to clean underneath maybe once a year, or so.

But I do have concern about an open wire floor in the wide open, field-like environment my coops will be in (the lady is in the woods where she is) where there could be more of the underdraft thing.

That's why I have aired her practice here. I find it attractive, BUT.......I have some misgivings about just cutting out a whole wood floor. I think I might just leave the coops as they are and just see if moisture is a real problem. I WILL be watering the birds outside all the time. I'll just have to see how it goes and learn by doing.........and possibly by erring........

 

[purr]

try putting linoleum on the floor. We put it on the floor of our chicken coops and it keeps the wood floors from getting wet and makes it real easy to sweep out the litter