Partitions and gates

[xke4]

I have been asked by a few people to post pictures of the inside of my duck coop as I have 3 drakes that would like nothing more than to kill each other over my single female (all rescues....not by choice). I found it impossible to take a picture that really showed it well but hope that it helps. The coops are basic pine garden sheds joined together by a secure outside pen. The duck coop (on the left) and the pen are partitioned off with 4'gates/fences lined with plastic chicken wire/hardware cloth. This has withstood 3 years of extreme temperatures and shows no sign of breaking down. Of course, I would never use it on an exterior wall, it is a pleasure to work with and does the job very well.

I line the walls and roof in the late fall with heavy grade plastic to extend the use into the winter. Have to keep a close eye on the snow load tho.

This is the model of water warmer I use. I have used them safely for 5 years...found the Little Giant models to be way too hot. Seems to me, these came from Iowa....but if anyone is interested, I can look it up. You can safely put the flat of your hand on the surface whereas the Little Giants were actually hot.

I put a full jug of water in each bowl to discourage swimming and to reduce the number of jugs I have to haul up to the coop in the winter. Bricks beside the water warmers as step-ups

 

[warmwater]

Your layout is really well planned. Your coops look so natural in your yard. Your rescued "bad boys" are so lucky. Not many people would of built seperate pens....they would of had "duck" dinners.

I know how you feel. My DH made me a seperate coop for our 4 roos that our broody hen hatched (first and last time hatching eggs)..I just couldn't give them to someone to be their "chicken" dinner. If they fight when they get older....I'll just have my DH do something like you did.

Thanks for sharing your kind heartedness and your problem solving idea.

 

[xke4]

Thank you for your kind words. I would have made a horrible farmer. Even when my hens were producing eggs, I bought mine at the A&P. Couldn't bring myself to eat them so dining on a bird with a name would be out of the question. I can eat chicken....just not my own. Never duck tho.

 

[kathyinmo]

Thank you for posting the photos. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. You will give many people ideas, just from looking at the photos.
Lovely area you have there! Thanks again!