Lately here on the homestead, we made a big step forward in our duck setup: the new coop is officially being built! 🛠️
If you’ve been following along for this blogs short journey, you know our ducks are a beloved part of our little farm. Their current coop has served us well, but with more ducks joining the flock this year (and a dream of making things more weatherproof and predator-safe), it was time to start from scratch—literally.
We’re calling this the semi-construction phase because, well… we’re not quite there yet, but the vision is finally taking shape.
What We’ve Done So Far:
- Framing is up! We built the base and installed the main support beams. Everything is square (enough), and it’s starting to feel real.
- Flooring is down. We decided on a raised floor to help with drainage during our rainy seasons—mud is a duck’s best friend but not always ours!
- Ventilation is planned. Ducks may love water, but they need good airflow to stay healthy. We’ve even left space for windows (thank you Facebook Marketplace)! We may not do siding, but we’re definitely going to be painting the coop once done.
We decided to make this coop much bigger than previous coops built for ease on our part. Cleaning the current coop is a bit of a hassle as it is MUCH shorter and we kill our back trying to clean/maintain it. This time around the coop is going to be one where we can walk into it without needing Tylenol after each clean.
What’s Next:
- Adding the remaining siding and a roof—we’re torn between a classic metal roof or something rustic like reclaimed wood. I think we’re leaning more towards metal siding as we’ve already got pieces of scrap metal (trying to stay as cost effective as possible, yanno).
- Vinyl flooring to help maintain waterproofness as ducks are, how do you say, wet?
- A human sized door and a duck-sized entrance (plus ramps, of course!).
- Nesting nooks and cozy corners inside.
- A secure run where they can splash, dabble, and do all their duck things safely. There’s already a pond semi dug out we just need to wait for things to dry up a bit so we don’t get our machinery stuck trying to jazz it up.
Lessons We’re Learning:
Building a coop is part construction project, part puzzle, and part trust-the-process. We’ve already had to shift plans a few times (turns out the ground isn’t as level as we thought—oops… had to fix that), but every adjustment teaches us something new. It’s messy, muddy, and sometimes slow… but it’s at the same time… kind of magical. It’s also storm season here so rain, rain go AWAY.
Stay tuned for Part Two when we start sealing it up and adding all the ducky details. Until then, the current flock is watching from the sidelines, curious and quacking at our every move.
Thanks for waddling along with us on this journey. 🦆
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