WINTER COOP CARE!

[RebinNH]

Hi! I am considering deep litter bedding of straw for my 2 ducks this winter. I was wondering what type of flooring this works with. I was thinking of putting something down that is H2O permiable (basically wood fibers - no glues) or another product that is water proof. I don't want the coop/shed wood floor to be wet all winter. At least with one of the other underlayments, I can remove it in the spring if need be.
Any thoughts? What have other duck parents done?
Also any info. on deep litter would be helpful.
Thanks,
Rebecca

 

[DukesDucks]

Some of your decision is going to based on what you winter conditions are. Please add your location to your profile so others can help based on similar conditions.
I am in Eastern Ontario, Canada, where winters are long, snowy, and with months of below freezing temperatures.
My coop is a wood shed, with windows for ventilation, and has a wood floor. In the past I tried lining the floor and part way up the walls with empty plastic feed bags, but my ducks continually ripped them up
Now I use a deep litter method using pine shavings. As late in the fall as I dare, I completely strip all shavings from coop, then add several inches of new shavings. Once freeze sets in, I try to keep up with the poop as it freezes but this becomes very difficult. At least weekly, I rake/fluff up what I can and add another bag of shavings especially in the areas where they sleep or poop.
As soon as I have a warm, sunny spring day, it all get shoveled out into the run.

 

[ruthhope]

I deep litter on a coop floor of hardware cloth over sandy soil. Its' perfect.

I also need to have some of my drakes in dogcrates, periodically. They have a plastic tray in the bottom [perhaps I should try and use them without.] The litter in the crates gets very wet overnight, and doesn't dry out even on hot dry days. I pile more litter on top but it is wet again the next morning. I will not do this in the winter when the drakes could get chilled overnight.

I suggest that deep litter works well -- and keeps ducks warm in winter -- but only if it drains well through the floor so that the top layer doesn't get sodden each night.

My eperience is in NE FLorida where the litter doesn't freeze

 

[RebinNH]

I am in New Hampshire. The floor of the coop/shed is wood. I stained it this spring and have not used it yet, as I too keep the 2 muscovy in a large dog crate with a hard plastic floor. It's pretty easy to keep clean. During the summer and now, I have had them in the outside area on a shelf in that wood shed and cover them at night with a large piece of cardboard. (all of this is inside the run built around it) They seem to like that. I want to use the enclosure (coop) during the winter, as it is insulated, I can add heat (lamp or something else) and control how much venting with the 2 windows. But I am thinking that they are starting to get too big to share the dog crate and will want to use the floor of the coop too. I know there will be days when it will be just too stormy and they will need to be inside during the day as well. So again, my main concern is how to protect the floor from getting too wet (less from a water bowl and more from their pee).
Anyway I saw some things that aren't too expensive - underlayments that are eco friendly (non toxic) and can either allow wetness to drain through or act as a shield for the wood floor. What you say Ruth, about drainage makes sense, so I am leaning toward the stuff (compressed wood fibers) that should drain (Steico). Here are the 2 links:
https://www.amazon.com/STEICO-Under...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

https://www.amazon.com/Eco-Cork-Foa...ayment&qid=1663527316&sprefix=,aps,122&sr=8-5

Don't know if after one winter either would need to be trashed or if I could get more winters out of them (preferable!).
RebinNH

 

[ruthhope]

I am in New Hampshire. The floor of the coop/shed is wood. I stained it this spring and have not used it yet, as I too keep the 2 muscovy in a large dog crate with a hard plastic floor. It's pretty easy to keep clean. During the summer and now, I have had them in the outside area on a shelf in that wood shed and cover them at night with a large piece of cardboard. (all of this is inside the run built around it) They seem to like that. I want to use the enclosure (coop) during the winter, as it is insulated, I can add heat (lamp or something else) and control how much venting with the 2 windows. But I am thinking that they are starting to get too big to share the dog crate and will want to use the floor of the coop too. I know there will be days when it will be just too stormy and they will need to be inside during the day as well. So again, my main concern is how to protect the floor from getting too wet (less from a water bowl and more from their pee).
Anyway I saw some things that aren't too expensive - underlayments that are eco friendly (non toxic) and can either allow wetness to drain through or act as a shield for the wood floor. What you say Ruth, about drainage makes sense, so I am leaning toward the stuff (compressed wood fibers) that should drain (Steico). Here are the 2 links:
https://www.amazon.com/STEICO-Underlayment-engineered-soundproofing-insulation/dp/B01LD0RC24/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1RIX85L75A5VE&keywords=steico+underlayment&qid=1663527359&sprefix=steico+,aps,132&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzOVQzRjk4SjhZMEc3JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDE3Mzc0Q1k2MDMwOFNHU0NaJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzODc3MDZYMzUzVjZFSFlPNiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

https://www.amazon.com/Eco-Cork-Foam-Underlayment-BUILT/dp/B00N16R6GQ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3019U9IXTYMTI&keywords=ecf+cork+underlayment&qid=1663527316&sprefix=,aps,122&sr=8-5

Don't know if after one winter either would need to be trashed or if I could get more winters out of them (preferable!).
RebinNH

I hope some of our norther duck keeping friends chime in on this as my experience is so limited to a warmer climate. I know many northern duck keepers like deep litter to keep thie ducks warm in the winter and they must have answers for you on drainage. I suspect no water in the coop -- my ducks all have individual food bowls and deep pots of water over night. My muscovy dont drin so much and don't get the litter anythng like as wet as my pekins, by the way.

I will be interested in your experience with one of the floor coverings beneath the deep litter.

 

[RebinNH]

I'll keep you posted and hope that some of the northerners have suggestions!

 

[Canadian Wind]

Why do I feel targeted? LOL!

I messed up royally last year with mine. I did the deep litter thing, one full bag of shavings, then straw, then shavings, but gave them water and food in the coop when it was too cold out. And I admit, the coop was probably a bit on the small size...

I've learned a lot and will be doing things differently this year. Not that I can fit all the ducks in one coop anymore, crowder or not.

 

[RebinNH]

Please tell me what you WILL do!
I can feed them in the small run and not the coop. They only get a unspillable small dog stainless steel deep bowl of water (hangs on the side of the crate) now at night - I may need to stop that from what you're saying. But how long is reasonable for a duck to go without drinking water? I read somewhere but can't remember. I don't want them to get dehydrated and since they go to bed at dark (which will be 4ish before too long) and I'll be damned if I'll get up at the crack dawn in the cold winter to haul water, I need to plan for this. Perhaps a auto chicken door into the run. Hope they are big enough for a large muscovy male.

 

[DukesDucks]

Winter temperature where I am lasts from December through March. Average day time highs are -5c/23F and lows of -10c/14F. We did have a week of -40 which was rough. Average snow fall is 177cm/70in.
I have chickens, Muscovy ducks, and peacocks, each with their own coop and run. No group gets supplemental heat. What is essential is that they are able to choose whether to be in their run or inside their coop. If the sun is shining their preference is to be outside. Quite a sight to see the peacocks stomping through fresh snow to perch on their high roosts.
The biggest issue is water. Containers need to be bought in each night to thaw, and on really cold days, fresh water needs to be provided by mid-day.
For the ducks, I use large gravity feed water bowls designed for large dogs. The bowls are deep enough for them to completely submerse their heads. No kiddie pools during winter months. They never have water inside the coop at any time of year.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Please tell me what you WILL do!

Get up at the crack of dawn (which is around 8 am at that time of the year) and haul water! It's what I did last year, even when I had to go through snow up to my waist.

BUT, they will have a MUCH larger coop, and I plan on keeping things a bit tidier this year... >.>

DukesDucks is from the same area as me, and will be going along those lines.