Quack-shack

[TSOWOATNKC]

If you can’t do the floor drain idea above, make sure your doors are wide enough to get absolutely everything swept out without any raised thresholds. That was our largest frustration was we didn’t account for the thresholds keeping us from fully cleaning it out.

The door threshold basically made the inside an enclosed “pool” when we hosed, so I had to use a squeegee to push the water out, which didn’t work that well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

He is using pea gravel will he have to completely take it out of his coop?

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

He’s using pea in the run, not the nesting boxes. The nesting boxes have to be cleaned at some point.

I personally wouldn’t use pea. I’d do pavers, drainage mats, then put straw on top of that and change it out. That pea is never going to be clean again once it’s used. The poo will dry out and some will drain, but the majority of the poo will stay.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Nesting boxes why even have them? mine just lay in the deep shavings in their houses. I was thinking pea gravel would probably end up smelling eventually.. Build a floor of pavers rubber mats on top then straw. Or a wooden floor with inexpensive vinyl that is what we did. But we don't have one side of our houses open since we're not in Texas. So that won't work unless using treated wood.

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

We don’t have nesting boxes either. But the house in the OP video does. I have to say I love our paver floor, and drainage mats would just make it better.

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

My biggest struggle (beyond living on a wetland) is that the entire bird yard was lined with landscaping cloth and we didn’t think it would be an issue so we didn’t remove it before we put the birds in there. I need to get that out of there for better drainage and so the birds don’t eat it. This fall/winter/spring is going to be wet as every year is, I need to make sure it isn’t too wet.

 

[Miss Lydia]

easier on the feet too with mats. True the pic shows nesting box. But OP hasn't built them onto his house yet. So might be something to think about. My Runners and Buffs and Muscovy's just have little cubbies where they like to lay.

 

[Enigmius]

He’s using pea in the run, not the nesting boxes. The nesting boxes have to be cleaned at some point.

I personally wouldn’t use pea. I’d do pavers, drainage mats, then put straw on top of that and change it out. That pea is never going to be clean again once it’s used. The poo will dry out and some will drain, but the majority of the poo will stay.

Right the nesting-box area was just going to have straw in it. The run which is most of the design will have pea gravel in it.

 

[Lil Drake40]

If your Runners are anything like mine they like to back their lil butts right up against the wall so I put vinyl up around their laying area so it would be easier to clean

 

[Enigmius]

Nesting boxes why even have them? mine just lay in the deep shavings in their houses. I was thinking pea gravel would probably end up smelling eventually.. Build a floor of pavers rubber mats on top then straw. Or a wooden floor with inexpensive vinyl that is what we did. But we don't have one side of our houses open since we're not in Texas. So that won't work unless using treated wood.

Well I guess I don't have to have the nesting box area. The reason I was leaning to gravel is that I read somewhere that if the ground is sloped everything would drain if one raked the gravel weekly. I didn't want to have to mess with replacing large amounts of straw all the time, let alone store it. But I also don't want my neighbors to complain about smell either. We are hot and humid here, so I don't think sand would work either.