Pre-fab night-house for Pekins?

[Ashley80]

So I've been the proud owner of some Pekin ducklings for 3 weeks now and I'm quickly realising my housing plans for them need to be reviewed. I really underestimated how quickly they dirty up their living space!

Currently we've got 8 ducklings but once they are old enough to sex I'll only be keeping a group of 4 adults. Originally I was going to divide our old 6ft x 6ft garden shed in half, giving them half the space for night quarters and keeping half for feed and bedding storage.

Now I'm thinking a smaller night house that can be moved around the yard (1/4 acre) will be a better option. I'm also wondering if a slightly raised floor with drainage/airflow holes drilled in it will be better than putting their bedding directly on the ground.

So, since my darling husband is very time poor at the moment I'm looking at a pre-fab option and wondering what the wisdom of the internet think of this to house 4 adults?

Also, once they're grown up do they actually need access to feed and water overnight? Because keeping that out of the night house is really going to make a difference to our cleaning routine!

TIA

 

[Sfraker]

I have a pre-fab coop from that same company. It was super easy to put together and has withstood the elements without any issues this summer. The only thing that happened to it is the bottom of the ramp rotted due to my ducks choosing to poo on it every night. Without the poo it would have been fine.

Mine was meant for 4 chickens and I ended up with 5 large ducks so it became too small quickly. We just recently built a 6' x 10' coop that we can store feed in.

I found it difficult to clean because it was so little. It was awkward to get a pitchfork, shovel, etc... into it. Also, it did not have a bottom, so I just put the straw down on the dirt. I would add a fresh layer of straw daily then on the weekends I would strip all the straw out and put down some crushed limestone to try to soak up all the wet and smell. I would leave it without straw during the day to give it more time to dry then start the straw layering just before we tucked them in.

Most of my troubles were due to the size. I recomend going bigger than what you think you need. My new coop is fantastic because of the size. I store my straw bales and feed along one wall so everything is in one place right where I need it.

For the day, my ducks have a chain link dog kennel, stock tank for swimming and access into the coop if they want.

 

[Sfraker]

This is the old coop, right after we enlarged their daytime pen. Also, they still had their kiddie pool here. I'll have to take a picture with the new coop and the big stock tank.

 

[Ashley80]

Thanks for the response, good to know they last ok. Is that a duck watching chair in the middle of their run?

 

[Going Quackers]

The floor in that is completely wrong for ducks, they won't roost(especially bulky pekin lol) and the metal tray will be slippery causing leg problems, my measurements converting is terrible so i cannot tell you the size but pekin are BIG and even four will need pretty decent room.

My 6 are kept in a small stall in my duck barn.. i'd have to measure it...

what else can you get? i do understand the need for prebuilt, i just don't think that is the one... IMO you'd be better off with a secure pen and a large doghouse vs that.

 

[Ashley80]

Sorry, I should have made myself clearer, I wasn't planning to install the roosts or the dividers in the nesting boxes and I'd be using hay or wood shavings over that base for bedding. The main area is about 4ft square (excluding nesting boxes).

Currently they're using my grow-out cage for a night house, they've only been there one week, they are on hay bedding directly on the ground in what's usually a very dry part of the yard. Their bedding get's soaked really quickly and the surrounding area is already getting soggy so I was really hoping that having it raised slightly and being able to move it regularly (we'd add a pair of handles on each side) would help with those problems.

 

[Ashley80]

The same place has much simpler dog house style ones too with a wooden floor rather than metal... looking again tonight though I'm wondering if an adult pekin will even fit through the door of any of them though :-/ back to the drawing board maybe.

 

[Sfraker]

Thanks for the response, good to know they last ok. Is that a duck watching chair in the middle of their run?

Maybe

If you go to my YouTube channel tonight you can see the coop we built. I couldn't post this AM as the video was taking forever to finalize! The videos currently up show the beginning of the new coop

https://www.youtube.com/user/whatamasterpiece/

We have never built anything in the past but this worked out pretty well. It cost about $400 in supplies and took a total of three days to build. It could have been done quicker but we decided to go slow and triple check everything before we cut any wood or put anything together.

 

[Ashley80]

Thanks for that. We decided this morning that it's silly to buy something when we've got an unused shed sitting there so we moved it down into their run this morning, I still need to pop some slabs down inside and add some vents and a 'duck door' but it was much easier to move than I anticipated. It's about 6ft x 6ft so plenty of room for their night house and storage too.

 

[needlessjunk]

Thanks for that.  We decided this morning that it's silly to buy something when we've got an unused shed sitting there so we moved it down into their run this morning, I still need to pop some slabs down inside and add some vents and a 'duck door' but it was much easier to move than I anticipated.  It's about 6ft x 6ft so plenty of room for their night house and storage too.

That sounds much better. Pekins aren't small and having more room is better especially if they have to be locked up for extended periods of time. I'm in TX so I can away with some designs that people in colder climates can't. There really isn't any day that my ducks wouldn't be able to go outside due to the weather.