Home For the Ducks

Almost a month ago we gained two Blue Swedish ducks to add to our farm.  They are growing up so quickly.  One of the first orders of business after having them stay in our chicken tractor for several weeks was to construct them a permanent home.  It was decided that they would stay in the side yard to help control the slugs and snails that  inhabit destroy the perennial plants I have growing there.

I spent time online trying to find a coop suitable for two ducks.  It had to be quick and easy to assemble, something this construction challenged momma could handle.  It had to fit the size restrictions for our small space.  It had to be predator proof.  It needed to be somewhat pretty too as it's next to the house.  And finally, it had to be somewhat inexpensive; I wasn't buying the Taj Mahal of duck houses.   Amazon had this Advantek coop to house 2 - 3 chickens.  Voila!  Perfect.  

I completely forgot to take some pictures while we were putting it together.  The  instructions were not awful, but they were not entirely helpful either.  At least the coop layout was straight forward enough to be able to figure out.  It took my friend, Heather and I about two hours to put it together.

The closing latch came cracked, which Amazon graciously credited $30 towards the purchase cost since I had already put it together and was NOT taking it apart to return.  I needed to attach another safety predator latch on the door anyway because anyone who has animals knows that little wooden latch would not keep out a raccoon or skunk looking for dinner.  We also had to line the bottom with hardwire cloth because the floor was simply wooden slats, which I felt either the ducks would fall through or a predator would push up into.

So, Do I love our new duck house?  Absolutely!  For the money and ease of putting together it's a sturdy coop.  Could I have built one for less?  Absolutely!  But, how long would it have taken me?  Maybe several months.  Do I think it will last the test of time, probably not.  But, it will allow us a few years to figure out whether we want to house them in the side yard, in the garden or in the big chicken coop.  That's the nice thing about smaller animals - they are very flexible and forgiving; allowing for their owners to make several mistakes along the way.  What do you think of our new duck house?