In need of some Duck coop help!

[Sammbalina]

I am trying to decide how to do my permanent duck/goose coop. Right now we use a mobile coop but it gets gross and nasty so quickly! My original plan was a lean-to style building with pavers for the floor, with a drain along one wall so that we can spray it out when changing out the bedding. I don't want dirt, for obvious reasons, and sand doesn't seem like a good idea either. I've heard people use it so they can scoop out old bedding and poop easier, but to me it seems it wouldn't really be very uncleanable. A pitchfork wouldn't be able to get everything. What do you do, go behind the pitchfork with a cat litter scoop? Just seems like eventually it would still get gross and the sand would eventually have to be completely replaced... I also don't want a huge slab of concrete in the middle of my orchard, which is where the ducks roam... I've even considered plastic snap together decking, but I'm not sure how well that would hold up to ducks and geese, or how easy it would be to clean...

I also may have thought of some issues with the coop itself... I was originally planning on building it from wood, but how will a wooden structure hold up to being sprayed out regularly? will the wood be rotting away in a year or two, making me have to build again? My idea for that was metal sheeting on the walls inside the coop, then I started considering a 3 sided metal carport to save some time, and just building the fourth wall with horse panels a few feet into the carport to keep out most rainwater, but my mom is concerned that won't last either because of rusting...

Help!!!

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

Personally, I ended up making the choice to use Eglu Cube coops for my ducks.

I have converted them - built them so they would be directly on the ground (on plastic grattings) :

They are movable, easy to clean, don't rot... and they are not cheap, but if you think at the money you eventually do NOT need to waste to treat or replace wooden coops along the years...?

 

[Sammbalina]

Hi.

Personally, I ended up making the choice to use Eglu Cube coops for my ducks.

I have converted them - built them so they would be directly on the ground (on plastic grattings) :

View attachment 4085591

They are movable, easy to clean, don't rot... and they are not cheap, but if you think at the money you eventually do NOT need to waste to treat or replace wooden coops along the years...?

Maybe I should have mentioned I have 30+ ducks and 9 geese I'd need way too many of them, and I'd be in the same boat, they make the ground so gross so quickly and they would still have to be moved frequently. We have huge bare patches from moving our current coop, before too long we aren't going to have any grass left in our orchard, which is one reason why I want a stationary coop... Yeah, we'd instead be cleaning it out, but at least cleaning out bedding gives us the added bonus of Compost material for our garden... Not to mention that separating the flock into several smaller pods every night would be a pain in the butt.

 

[Papaye]

Maybe I should have mentioned I have 30+ ducks and 9 geese

Ah, ah!
Yeah : you should have precised so...

I'd need way too many of them, and I'd be in the same boat, they make the ground so gross so quickly and they would still have to be moved frequently. We have huge bare patches from moving our current coop, before too long we aren't going to have any grass left in our orchard, which is one reason why I want a stationary coop... Yeah, we'd instead be cleaning it out, but at least cleaning out bedding gives us the added bonus of Compost material for our garden...

So - you are searching for a coop that :
• is big enough for 40+ birds;
• is easy to clean;
• is not susceptible to rot or rust.

...Have you tried looking at (plastic) calf hutches?
You could buy a big one, put it on plastic grattings or something, and enclose it in a secure run to protect your birds from predators during the nights...?

 

[Sammbalina]

I'm not sure about those as a full time coop, though you may be onto something for the breeding coops for my geese when I split them off during the spring.... I've got 2 pairs this year with a trio still in with the ducks. They aren't split off because I didn't have enough smaller coops for them, but those may work for that purpose in the future!

 

[Papaye]

I'm not sure about those as a full time coop,

I know there are people who use them as coops for their geese... all year round!

...I have looked at the temperatures you have in ALABAMA, and from what I have found, your winters are "warm" enough to not have a need for a thicker coop...?
(Or do you own ducks that can't stand cold temperatures?)

I don't know if you could find a better solution than these kind of shelters, honestly...?

You could always buy several Eglu Cube or Eglu Pro, but it would cost a lot of money...

Or look at "plastic goat shelter" on Google Image : you could find some ideas by looking at the pictures...?

In any case : good luck!

 

[ruthhope]

@Sammbalina, I use a galvanized metal dog kennel from Tractor Supply. Mine is 8' x 4', and 6 feet tall, which is ample for 8 ducks to sleep in. My son has different galvanized panels from Tractor Supply -- a little like Longfence but better quality. His is 10' x 20' and also 6 ft tall. He uses his as a run, with his ducks sleeping in an 8'x4' shelter inside the run. At 4sq ft per duck, his run is big enough for 50 ducks to sleep in if appropriately finished.

My duck house has half inch hardware cloth round the sides and door to 3 foot high, and under the floor, to stop raccoons and other predators reaching in or digging under. I used mason's ladders, from Home Depot, to make a curved roof which is covered in chickenwire. The curve roof survived from my previous woodframed duck coop that succumbed to carpenter ants after 3 years. So the mason's ladders and chickenwire are now in great shape after more than 5 years use!
I have 6 foot tarps fitted round the walls (attached with zip ties) and a huge tarp over the roof and down the back and sides. It is held down with nylon rope and bungee cords. The frame is held to the ground with 8 long rebar hooks that I bought on line (from Temu). It survived hurricane Milton, last year, although I had brought the ducks inside the house until the storm passed. My duck house is in a very sheltered place at the side of my house sheltered by native trees that do well in storms. The photograph is taken after Milton, when I was relived to find no damage

The question about the floor indicates to me that you are not deep layering. I am on sandy soil, which helps. I used a good 4 inch layer of dry leaves as the first layer. Here in the South our live oaks shed small dry leaves in March, and I collect sacks of clean dry leaves from the road side. The next layer is pine shavings. I then just add pine shavings as needed. No food and water in the duck house limits the mess. I sprinkle on more pine shavings as needed.

My previous duck house got dug out six times: once each spring and each early fall for three years--mainly because as the floor raised the rather low roof meant I had to stoop to get inside. I did give the ducks food and water in that coop and needed to add more pine shavings and occasional layers of dry leaves because of the mess. The lower layers of bedding started to compost and was warm--great for keeping ducks warm in winter. Dug out, it went onto my compost pile for a couple of months and then on to my veggie garden. It made wonderful compost!

My present duck house hasn't been dug out in more than 2 years as I haven't needed to add so much pine shavings and leaves since I stopped giving feed and water in the duck house. My son's shelter inside his run, is dug out twice a year. He does give food and water inside and he has to add layers to keep the floor dry.

If you are not on well drained sandy soil like we are, you might consider using large rubber mats from Tractor Supply. I think they are called horse mats. Expensive but durable. Make sure your floor slopes slightly to one side so that it will drain if it gets wet. Do your deep layering of bedding on top of the mats.

The key to keeping the duck house clean and dry is no feed and water inside!!

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

Mine is an A frame 8x8, i put expanded mesh down on the floor joists and lined it with stall mats. They don’t foster bacteria growth or support bugs. Easy to shovel the shavings off and if you need to hose them they dry quickly, but I never have had to.

 

[davez]

Pea gravel. You can hose it off and the waste will just sink below it. Pavers or concrete of any sort will be hard on webbed feet. It will increase the possibility of getting bumblefoot (not assured - but increase it). If you dig out an area and add a drain pipe underneath it will be even bettter.
*I am close to stopping giving them water in the duck house at night. But so far I do and it makes it pretty messy.

 

[Sammbalina]

I know there are people who use them as coops for their geese... all year round!

...I have looked at the temperatures you have in ALABAMA, and from what I have found, your winters are "warm" enough to not have a need for a thicker coop...?
(Or do you own ducks that can't stand cold temperatures?)

I don't know if you could find a better solution than these kind of shelters, honestly...?

You could always buy several Eglu Cube or Eglu Pro, but it would cost a lot of money...

Or look at "plastic goat shelter" on Google Image : you could find some ideas by looking at the pictures...?

In any case : good luck!

Problem is those don't look like they can really be fastened to the ground? Tornado alley has shifted and unfortunately now includes my area. We've already had 2 major storm systems hit us this year, one we vacated and went to Florida to avoid. I'm not sure they would hold up to the straight-line winds we've been getting. Summers here get HOT, and they look like they could have some major greenhouse effect, as they are semi-transparent, and by the time we got out to collect eggs, if they even lay in them due to the heat, the eggs would be cooked during the hottest part of the year. I would also still need several of them, as for the number of birds I have I need something like a 12'x24' coop. The largest one I've found is nowhere near that and I'd need at least 4 if not more to have enough space for them. For my main coop needs that just doesn't seem to me like they'd work...