highlandsfam
Hatching
- Aug 15, 2020
- 1
- 5
- 3
We just finished constructing a coop that we nicknamed the "duck fortress." We live in a developing country near the equator, and we don't really have any predators to worry about other than stray dogs, which aren't an issue in our fenced yard. Previously we used a small chicken tractor that we built which worked wonderfully for our 4-5 laying hens, and our muscovy ducks just roamed free in our yard. However, this past year we have had multiple thefts from our backyard, leaving us eventually with no birds. When my husband came home with a trio of muscovy ducklings, we knew we needed to build something that would discourage all but the most dedicated thieves. Behold our duck/chicken fortress:
It's a lean-to shed that measures 2 meters deep and 3.5 meters wide. It has a secure section with solid walls on the left, and a semi-open run on the right.
The fully enclosed section on the left is 1.2 meters wide and is set on a concrete pad, with a sliding door leading to the run which we can close at night and secure. We had recently re-done the roof on our house, so we had a lot of old roofing iron to use for siding. The run has a dirt floor and is built on a base of concrete blocks. A solid back wall keeps the contents of the coop hidden from our neighbor's yard on that side, and the half walls on the front and right side make it impossible to see what's in the coop unless you're right next to it. (We suspect the thieves were working in or passing through our neighbors' yards and saw that we had chickens and ducks that would be easy pickings. We figure less visibility would lead to less opportunistic theft.)
At the moment we only have a trio of ducks, but in the future we can add some roosts/next boxes easily.
The door can be held open or closed with two bolts that fit either just above the door when closed, or under the door when open:
It's a lean-to shed that measures 2 meters deep and 3.5 meters wide. It has a secure section with solid walls on the left, and a semi-open run on the right.
The fully enclosed section on the left is 1.2 meters wide and is set on a concrete pad, with a sliding door leading to the run which we can close at night and secure. We had recently re-done the roof on our house, so we had a lot of old roofing iron to use for siding. The run has a dirt floor and is built on a base of concrete blocks. A solid back wall keeps the contents of the coop hidden from our neighbor's yard on that side, and the half walls on the front and right side make it impossible to see what's in the coop unless you're right next to it. (We suspect the thieves were working in or passing through our neighbors' yards and saw that we had chickens and ducks that would be easy pickings. We figure less visibility would lead to less opportunistic theft.)
At the moment we only have a trio of ducks, but in the future we can add some roosts/next boxes easily.
The door can be held open or closed with two bolts that fit either just above the door when closed, or under the door when open:
