Reggie’s nighttime coop

[Mill_Pickles]

Hey all! Friends of ours are building my duck, Reggie, a nighttime coop. She has a cage/run currently for times when we are gone for an hour or so, and she sleeps in the garage temporarily. Does anyone have any suggestions to make her coop/house super predator proof and comfy?

 

[DuckyDonna]

hardware cloth!

 

[Mill_Pickles]

hardware cloth!

 

[DuckyDonna]

We constructed ours under the roof of our barn that had a big opening that we're guessing was for parking a trailer of something.

One of the pens was supposed to be a rabbit pen but that all got changed when we got the ducks. It's a pen that is too short and I cannot stand up in it so I'm always hitting my head. I would suggest, to make things easier on yourself, make it so you can stand up in it and clean up won't be awful.

The other pen was built later. It's nice and tall, easy to clean and now there is lighting in each pen and in the middle which is so much nicer than trying to hold a flashlight and clean up. After we finish with the duck run construction we are going to put an extension of the big pen in the middle somehow. But that is for much later.

I have a 1/2 divider thing in each pen and the ducks love it. I think it makes them feel safe and cozy especially in the winter. Gives the girls some privacy when they want to lay their eggs too. It's also a handy shelf to put their food buckets on at night. I don't normally put water in their pen at night unless it's super hot which apparently it was when I took this picture.

 

[Mill_Pickles]

We constructed ours under the roof of our barn that had a big opening that we're guessing was for parking a trailer of something.

One of the pens was supposed to be a rabbit pen but that all got changed when we got the ducks. It's a pen that is too short and I cannot stand up in it so I'm always hitting my head. I would suggest, to make things easier on yourself, make it so you can stand up in it and clean up won't be awful.

The other pen was built later. It's nice and tall, easy to clean and now there is lighting in each pen and in the middle which is so much nicer than trying to hold a flashlight and clean up. After we finish with the duck run construction we are going to put an extension of the big pen in the middle somehow. But that is for much later.
View attachment 1910243I have a 1/2 divider thing in each pen and the ducks love it. I think it makes them feel safe and cozy especially in the winter. Gives the girls some privacy when they want to lay their eggs too. It's also a handy shelf to put their food buckets on at night. I don't normally put water in their pen at night unless it's super hot which apparently it was when I took this picture.
View attachment 1910260

Thank you for all the great info and pictures! I will definitely take your word in these addition!

 

[Runner duck mom]

I also regret not making their coop tall enough to stand up in, always hitting my head or getting dirty when cleaning up in there. It's a must have for our next coop.
Our ducks like having a divider as well.
For now our ducks are also in the garage at night. It was supposed to be an emergency pen for really bad weather or cold days but they have a bunch of room in there and really seem to like it...plus I know they are safe from predators at night. We have a dog door attached to the pen so they can get in and out to their run during the day.
The girls like to lay their eggs in the straw area and plenty of room to move around at night. Just needs to be cleaned every morning.