Since we have moved out into the country, we would really like to get some farm animals. Starting off with egg producing ducks and chickens. But they need shelter, and protection from predators. The 30x30 foot enclosure they have will help with that. But their home will be where they rest and lay their eggs.
We decided to build one from scratch instead of buying a kit. This is because the kits come with an enclosure built into the coop. And since we already had one constructed we just needed the house for them.
The structure was built in sections, first the foundation, then the floors and now the walls. These 14 foot 2x6 planks will make one of the walls. We made one of the walls taller than the other so rain will go into one of the gutters we plan on adding.
Adding supports every few feet gives us something to screw the metal wall and roof paneling into. The above wall is the back side of the house.
After constructed we place them up so they are out of the way.
The front side of the wall has more openings, a door, and two nesting boxes.
The door that we will enter to collect eggs and to do cleaning.
Securing the foundation:
Using these drill in ground anchors we will tie down the structure.. Similar to how you stake down a tent.
Our drill was a little under powered for this, but we did not have wired power for a long way so we had to make due.
Using 550 paracord it should be strong and hold down the structure.
With the foundation tied down we brought over the rubberized plywood boards.
The coating on this wood will keep the mess ducks and chickens may make from soaking into the wood. So we can just clean it off when it comes time to getting the house cleaned up.
With all the walls mounted its time to start adding the paneling.
We used 8 foot metal roof sheeting and cut it to size.
The back wall was easy but the door sections require is to cut out special sections.
We put in a water access door, something we can easily open to just change out their water.
With the paneling coming along we need to wrap up on building the nesting boxes. These will fit on the wall of the structure and give the chickens and ducks enough space to lay eggs comfortably without taking up space inside the coop structure.
We tested out the automatic door as well, seems to be working. Will build a ramp for them to walk up to get in and out.
Nesting boxes for the ducks and chickens:
We have two sizes for the chickens and ducks. The bigger ones are for ducks and the smaller ones are for chickens. We will partition each into three or four nesting areas.
The chicken nesting box is 12 inches squared once we partition it. And the duck nesting box is 24 inches tall, 12 inches deep, and 18 inches wide.
We cut rubberized plywood for the walls, so if they make a mess in the nesting boxes it is easier to clean out. Will also provide a little insulation from the cold.
I close off three out of the four sides.
My foreman makes the cuts and I screw it all down onto the nesting boxes.
They all fit pretty good, any gaps we will paint and then cover with the same material we did for the walls of the duck and chicken house.
What's next?
We used up all of our rubberized plywood, so we need to make some more. This requires us to coat some plywood in a liquid rubber and let it cure for two weeks. So we may need to pause building to wait for that. But we can finish up one nesting box hopefully. So far we have used four sheets of 8x4 foot boards. I think we need at least one more.
Soon it will be time to find some ducks and chickens. We want ones that are already sexed so we only get females. So getting babies is probably not the direction we want to go. We may try to find a duck and chicken rescue if there is such a thing near by. And get some adult female ducks and chickens. We want around 3 of each to start with and go from there.
When getting chicken be sure to get young ones, they do not produce eggs after 3 or 4 years old, and ducks around 7 to 9 years. I had to google it because I could not remember the ages.
Oh okay, I had no idea.. thanks for letting me know about that.
I am glad I could help.
Wow! This looks amazing! So beautiful. It is better to do the shelter yourself if you know how to do it because you will do it exactly how you want it . And you made it just perfectly well. It's beautiful.
Ah thank you, its been a lot of work but well worth it I think. Something about building it myself makes the whole process more enjoyable.
Let the chicken feel comfortable in this spacious and pleasurable house! have some !BEER after the job is done. ☘️
Hehe yeah they should have quite the home when its all done..
thanks for the tokens.
View or trade
BEER.Hey @solominer, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @qwerrie for you. Enjoy it!Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your
BEER.looks awesome bro!
thanks bud
Keep up the enthusiasm, friends, in making duck or pet cages.That's an extraordinary activity for friends to do.Greetings to friends. Wish the best to friends.
Thank you, will do an update on when they are all done.
Yes, friend. Always the best for friends
I love the process of it. It looks awesome and the chicks and ducks gonna love it ♥
Thanks much, yeah I do hope so.
Thats some work.
It sure is, but well worth it i think.
Neat job on the build. Sounds like a fun project to DIY.
Yeah its been a lot of fun, cutting the sheet metal kinda sucks but the rest is honestly fun.
One more step has been taken. That was fun to read, man. I'm very curious about the stage when you get the fry and start feeding them. By the way, you weren't at the show last week but I hope you'll be with us next week. It is a pleasure to talk to you.
Yeah man making progress, its slow but thats fine we are doing many things at once.
I will try to attend, farm work pending.
Sound interesting. I was just thinking about something like this yesterday. He he. Not yet, not yet, but soon. What do you plan to give them to eat?
Yeah its been an idea of mine for a few months now, so glad I am finally building it.
Our local farm supply sells food for them, but we plan on feeding them vegetable scraps. Maybe even growing food like comfrey for them.
I remember grandma using a mix of maize flour, seeds, and some vitamin/mineral mix from the market.
That's a great palace for the birds. I'm sure they will love it and lay many eggs for you. The door for water access is a great idea.
Thank you, I hope they do.
Yeah that door should be a nice addition for when I do not want to go inside but easy to give them more water.. I wonder how often I will need to refill it.