Space Requirement for Free Range Muscovy Night Coop

[Sosalty]

What shall I buy or build to provide nite housing for my 3 female Muscovy on those 5 - 10 icy nites each winter? Springtime is fair weather building time. [1st, these ladies are feisty, but tame, come up to 'ya asking to be petted for minutes at a time. Moby gets worked up and we play a game splashing each other some days.] When sub 20's and their pond is going to freeze over, they'll head right for their pen near the water's edge for a warm snooze in their small doghouse, all pressed against each other. Otherwise, they adeptly dive and/or fly to keep from being entrapped. All 3 shared and laid eggs in their doghouse thru Jan & Feb. Yes I know there's loads of predators. I know of no incentives and are wise to my tricks to get 'em in every nite.

Plan 1: Presently have a 6.5'X13' pen lined with straw bales, 7" straw flooring, a 2x4" perch, and a 7.5sq.ft. doghouse where they lay eggs and sleep. Of course, near predator proof. May further fortify and improve this structure. Cost additional $500-$600 and 20 hrs labor. They are familiar with this setup. Will install the larger 13sq.ft. doghouse within.

Plan 2: Adapt a 21sq.ft. chicken coop to house 'em from dusk to dawn. 21sq.ft. Coop Cost $450. It'll be a change and at least a slight ramp. There're 3 compartments if they need separation.

Plan 3: Place a 13sq.ft. slightly insulated doghouse (with bales around it to further insulate). Insulated 13sq.ft. Doghouse Cost $250. They'll need to share a confined space. Minimal ramp.

All with straw or wood shaving flooring and low wattage pet warmers.

I'd hate to tear down their present pen, invest in plan 2 or 3, just to have 'em refuse to use it. These 3 knew each other from when in a Metzer shipping box and are great friends, except when they think they are broody and even then will time share nests. I've exhaustively searched/read this forum, Pinterest, and googled what I can, but this topic seems elusive. So, I've come to the experts.

?Will they freak with a coop change and then refuse to accept close confines with each other as they do now?

 

[Jenbirdee]

they might, ducks are afraid of everything at first. but with time they get used to new things. square footage for a duck nighttime coop is minimum 4 sq feet per duck but with muskies I should think they need more than a regular duck perhaps as much as 6 sq ft or as a goose needs more like 8 ft.² per bird
but don’t quote me on that i don’t have muscovies . however @Miss Lydia does and also i think @Canadian Wind does too. it sure sounds like you care about them a lot you’ve put so much thought into this …. lucky duckies.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don't see why you can't just improve on plan 1 since I lost my drake to old age a few weeks ago i have made my Muscovy girls coop even smaller by using part of for storage of feed etc and they are plenty happy still. My girls have always like privacy when broody and can be bratty during those times and they grew up together but they still go into their coop every night to sleep and be protected from predators.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Agreed, don't fix what's not broken, but improving is good. Since they're females, their needs are similar to a domestic quacker. My coops have storage bins with holes in the side for them to use as nesting/sleeping boxes, as well as two levels. The additional levels gives them extra 'floor' space so to speak. They are actually converted garden sheds.

I don't use any sort of heat here. I keep litter deep in the winter. They are good at going to bed for me, for the most part. I herd them with two long sticks but usually they aren't needed.

 

[Sosalty]

Outstanding, and very prompt replies from 3 experts!

Canadian Wind; a 4th plan was as we discussed before, a set of 3 wooden nesting boxes such as the seasonal wild Woodies use, on a larger scale. My big girls have been perching atop the woodie box that has their wild broody hen friend inside this last week (out of curiosity?). Yet then the only way to enter them would be to fly up.

Gotta ask though, since you live up way up there north in cold cold Canada, are your ducks Muscovy? My ‘scovy stressed when we had ‘teens and single digit Fahrenheit weather. At night, after being gone that evening, fish netted petite little Ms Spats out of the ice to take her into the pen where her siblings slept. The nite before, all 3 denied their snack to avoid going into their pen. They looked pretty haggard after sleeping on the water in 11f and 1 was shivering. Once they went in the pen for their snacks after sunset, they'd fly up into chicken wire in the upper 2 foot of wall.

So, this spring, plan is to clean out the straw, set some big moma augers to keep the pen from taking off like a kite, strip off the tarp, sheet metal the top, drive in metal conduit to form up the bales along the walls, and replace the chicken wire with half in. hardwire cloth in the upper sections, retaining some of the open-air. As of now, the electric poly along with hardware cloth on the floor perimeter and initial 3’ of wall, keeps the predators at bay. Hopefully enclosing the pen with hardware cloth will keep ‘em from trying to find the sky thru chicken wire. However, a simple little enclosed coop would be less $$ and labor. Since they are stubborn about using their semi open-air pen 355 days of the year . . .

At this moment, they are sunning by the pond under a shelter close to each other. Would they prefer both a large box to sleep together and individual nesting boxes for when they get moody and broody (alas, there’s no drake)?

 

[Canadian Wind]

Outstanding, and very prompt replies from 3 experts!

Canadian Wind; a 4th plan was as we discussed before, a set of 3 wooden nesting boxes such as the seasonal wild Woodies use, on a larger scale. My big girls have been perching atop the woodie box that has their wild broody hen friend inside this last week (out of curiosity?). Yet then the only way to enter them would be to fly up.

Gotta ask though, since you live up way up there north in cold cold Canada, are your ducks Muscovy? My ‘scovy stressed when we had ‘teens and single digit Fahrenheit weather. At night, after being gone that evening, fish netted petite little Ms Spats out of the ice to take her into the pen where her siblings slept. The nite before, all 3 denied their snack to come into the pen. They looked pretty haggard after sleeping on the water in 11f and 1 was shivering. Once they went in the pen for their snacks after sunset, they'd fly up into chicken wire in the upper 2 foot of wall.

So, this spring, plan is to clean out the straw, set some big moma augers to keep the pen from taking off like a kite, strip off the tarp, sheet metal the top, drive in metal conduit to form up the bales along the walls, and replace the chicken wire with half in. hardwire cloth in the upper sections, retaining some of the open-air. As of now, the electric poly along with hardware cloth on the floor perimeter and initial 3’ of wall, keeps the predators at bay. Hopefully enclosing the pen with hardware cloth will keep ‘em from trying to find the sky thru the chicken wire. However, a simple little enclosed coop would be less $$ and labor. Since they are stubborn about using their semi open-air pen 355 days of the year . . .

At this moment, they are sunning by the pond under a shelter close to each other. Would they prefer both a large enclosure to sleep together and individual nesting boxes for when they get moody and broody (alas, there’s no drake)?

Funny you should say that! My quackers have no issues with the cold, but the scovies *hate* it! Some of them even bathed in the snow! But the Muscovy are more than happy to leave the cold behind.

When it gets really cold, I only allow them out to eat then back into the coop. I still got a bad case of frostbite on one of them, it (still cant figure out if large female or small male!) lost all webbing on their feet but is otherwise fine.

I'd love to see pictures of your set up once it's done. Sounds really nice!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have had 2 with frostbite on the flesh on their faces. When we had the siberian frigid cold that one week I used sweeter heaters in both my coops they have to actually sleep close to them for them to feel any warmth they aren't meant to heat a coop. But most of the time mine do fine in our winter temps.

 

[Sosalty]

Funny you should say that! My quackers have no issues with the cold, but the scovies *hate* it! Some of them even bathed in the snow! But the Muscovy are more than happy to leave the cold behind.

When it gets really cold, I only allow them out to eat then back into the coop. I still got a bad case of frostbite on one of them, it (still cant figure out if large female or small male!) lost all webbing on their feet but is otherwise fine.

I'd love to see pictures of your set up once it's done. Sounds really nice!

Helpful to have verification about Muscovy not so cold hardy.

Should be May to build up the pen with nests and a semi enclosed warm area. A smaller 14sq.ft. coop would still allow for a main compartment plus 2 nesting boxes. With pull-out trays I could clean a zone each day.

Pictures you shall have.

 

[ruthhope]

The current arrangement is "officially" too small, but your girls are happy with it.

My friends helped me build a new 5'x10' coop for my ducks in January. Very spacious compared with the prior 4'x8' coop. I currently have 3 muscovy drakes and a pekin drake. The pekin sleeps in a medium dog crate so that he is not bullied by the muscovy at night. The dog crate is smaller than your doghouse, @Sosalty, but its adequate for 1 small pekin. Here's the thing, two of the muscovy chose to sleep together on top of the dog crate -- that is officially just adequate for a much smaller pekin. They leave the new spacious duck house to just one boy! Daft ducks!!!

So I vote for upgrading your existing facilities, if needed. The price ticket seems a little steep. My new coop cost $400 although I did reuse all the wire supports, hardware cloth, and tarps from my original coop.

 

[Sosalty]

Ruth; "daft ducks" LOL As a retired teacher, we'd say, "once the 2yr old learns the idea of 'potato' in 10 various uses, he/she understands what it is." Far as I need to understand space requirements, you're the 4th and last expert needed, (other remarks are/can still be informative). Your example with pics, along with the others info, takes it from 'they should have,' to this works and that sometimes works. I'm a bit up in the air decision wise. OK, keep this orginal pen. I intend for them to have a warm doghouse or small coop where they can bunch together for warmth. Yet also have private areas for nests. There's 6+ftX10ft to work with, less, as likely at least 2 walls will have straw bales. Basic little coops on Amazon are 200-300 The

roofing is the same as our house and not cheap. Cost of metal for big augers has sky rocketed these last 4 yrs! Yeah, It’s evolved into having 2 goals; the pen as a 3 season spacious open air coop with nests, along with a small severe weather room for when a true cold snap hits. The lovely weather here in Northern Alabama, Friday we had 80 degrees. This Monday nite forecast; 19. Great pics, interesting that they can hop 2X's up maybe 9in to get on top of crate, love your drakes. I think your Blk Scovy drake is my hen Lu-roy's brother

Sorry for your drake loss Lydia. I've read your comments about him over the years and know he was a real friend.