Coop Design
Designing a chicken or duck coop is so much fun. But it can also feel rather overwhelming! There are a few key things to consider for a chicken coop or a duck area.
General Tips for Chicken & Ducks Areas:
Build as big as is reasonable for your space, or as large as you can afford. I assure you, you WILL end up with more birds than you think and the last thing you want to run into is messy, overcrowded areas.
Ease of cleaning should be high on your list of priorities. I have extra large doors on each end of my chicken coop so that I can reach in from 2 sides.
If your floor is plywood, plan on covering it with something waterproof for ease of cleaning and longer lasting materials. I used cheap vinyl tiles in all of my coops.
Do not expect to mix chickens and ducks in the same enclosed space. Our birds share access to a run, but the chickens go into their own private coop at night. Chickens need dry conditions and ducks are always sloppy wet.
Chicken wire keeps birds in, it does not keep predators out. This is a big, common mistake in coop and run design. Chicken wire is not meant to be predator proof. Any vents, windows or open air spaces should be covered with hardware cloth and ideally, buried in an L-shape out from the perimeter to prevent digging.
Plan for the inevitability of occasional separation. Even if you only have a few birds, injured, broody or sick birds need to have a quiet safe space to be alone. It’s super helpful to have an area ready to go.
Chicken Coop Tips:
Chicken coops need proper ventilation near the roof for any excess moisture to escape. Otherwise, the coop walls should be tight and draft-free. Vents can be fully or partially covered with plastic as needed in the winter.
Chickens sleep on roosting bars. Chickens instinctively seek high roosts to avoid predators and huddle together for warmth. You can add a variety of bars or large branches to your coop to see which areas they like best. Or create one ladder like roosting area and install a dropping board underneath.
Plan for nesting boxes to be raised up at least a foot or two off the ground. Hens have an instinct to nest above the ground and it will keep the areas cleaner and more desirable.
Don’t add too much light. Unless you have curtains for your nesting boxes, chickens prefer a dark, private space to lay their eggs.
Duck Coop Tips:
Have a plan for drainage or water management if you have water inside the coop. Ducks do not absolutely need water overnight, but they do lay more consistently if they have 24/7 access. In the corner of our run, we created a gravel pit. We put our watering dishes there on top of a wood pallet for optimal drainage.
Duck poop is different than chicken poop and it tends to go everywhere, especially on walls. Used feed bags work great for lining interior coop walls. I just staple them up and change out as needed.
Ducks need easy access to the coop as they do not climb well like chickens. Plan on building on the ground or as low to the ground as possible.
Training ducks to go in to the coop at night does require some initial coaxing and consistency. Plan on herding ducks in at night for the first few weeks in a new space and consider ease of herding when mapping out the location of your coop.
