New brooder/coop for the ducks

[TheRealTimShady]

Ok so the ducks grew a lot faster then I actually had time for so repairs to the coop, mainly the roof, didn’t get accomplished.

But on a good note they are in their permenant structure. The 4x4x8 are not permanent as they will be the framework for the run. I gave them 5x more space then they had in the 2x6x2 galvanized tub they were in while still inside out house. I also setup temperature controls for heaters that are outside the bedding area since we are still getting freezing temperatures.

Temp controls maintain the shed at 70 degrees for now till they get a little older. I’ll be lowering the temp 5 degrees every week until it gets to normal temps. Everything is controlled and I have a plan for using a gutter as a water trough for the ducks and chickens.

Any advice or suggestions is always welcome. It ain’t fancy but it works for now.

 

[Debbie292d]

We're actually getting a pair of ducklings in a few days after not having any for 40 years. We're going to have a hutch-type coop for them, like a doghouse, but with a latched roof so we can get in there and clean it. That'll be inside of the current 5'x20' dog kennel next to the chicken coop, so at night they can be secure, but not quite as secure as the chickens in the coop. We've got solar motion lights all over that area though and two dogs that watch over the poultry. We'll put 1/2" hardware cloth around the outside of it just to be safer.

Otherwise, there are many elaborate ones I've seen, but as you have already determined, they're messy, so whatever it's going to be, make it so you can easily clean it when needed.

For food and water, I'd seen on BYC somewhere someone had an ingenious idea of using plastic pails and the lids had a couple of holes a little bigger than the ducks heads. They could reach in to drink and dunk their heads to clean their nares, but can't splash it all over the place, same with the feed. I think I'd put rocks in the bottom as when they got older, they'd probably knock those over.

Here's a short thread on duck coops, from the Duck Forum. Here's another one. And one more. There's probably several more ideas in there.