opinions or suggestions for my duck coop

[heathr6913]

I have 2 almost 3 week old pekin ducklings and I'm not getting any more ducks, these are the only ones . I have a friend of the family who is going to build my duck coop starting this week. I have a good idea of what I want but would like some suggestions from those with more experience.
http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Hobby_Duck_House.html. hopefully its ok to post links on here. I'm on my phone and can't get the rules to come up. This with the run attached is loosely what I want built for my ducks I just basically need some suggestions on how big the run and house needs to be for maximum comfort (but not overly huge) I am making a few minor adjustments.. I'd like a hole in the floor of the house covered in hardware cloth for their waterer (but how big should this hole be?), I want one side of the roof hinged so it lifts up completely to make it easier to clean and I also want a strip cut out on each side of the house and covered in hardware cloth for more ventilation. the last thing I want done differently is have the bottom of the run covered with hardware cloth as well for maximum security...I've read that duck feet don't do well on metal but I figured that the grass will poke up through and pretty much keep their feet off the metal...is that true? Their pool will be a baby pool on the end opposite their house. Any comments or other suggestions would be great. Thank you!

 

[Amiga]

Nice ideas!

If the run is not movable, then a layer of a couple of inches of sand over the hardware cloth, then topped with sawdust that gets fluffed every day or three to keep it aerated should work nicely. Very cushy, very absorbent, and if fluffed, the sawdust absorbs nutrients and moisture for quite a while before it needs to be freshened up.

With Pekins, I think if it's just for nighttime, that 4 square feet each would work, but for a nice sized house, maybe a 3'x4', 12 sf house would be good. That seems it would be small enough that you could reach in with the hinged roof side and get at the whole house for cleaning and managing things.

I like the idea of the hardware cloth under the waterer . . . so the house would be a bit elevated? I would want a couple of feet so that moisture wouldn't build up too close under the floor. Funny, they are waterfowl, but can get sick in too damp an environment. Go figure.

I attach hardware cloth with screws through washers (the kind that are the size of old fifty cent coins, about an inch diameter, with small holes in the middle), about six inches apart, with a couple of poultry nails (the U shaped things) in between.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Sounds like you have some good ideas and Amiga has a few as well. I wanted to comment on the idea about putting hardware cloth on the bottom of the run. While it would be safer, I can guarantee that the ducks will eat the grass that comes through the wires. My two pekins love to eat on grass when they are playing outside! Amiga's idea of adding more cushy materials is a good one!