# Floors for Duck Coop/House



## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 1, 2009)

My duck house has hardware cloth for the floor. My question ..............is that okay to use alone (don't want to cause any foot problems right off the bat) OR do I need to go ahead and put some river rock on top of that? My plan is to just hose it off (the hardware cloth or HC/rocks.) We went with a raised floor. I hope to put a small pool and fix the bottom where I can just pull a plug and drain, clean and refill. We made the coop/house large enough that they can stay in there a while (if need be.) We attend church several times a week and are in town often and I don't want the ducks to be out in the yard unless I'm home. 

OH......one more question. I did not put any nesting boxes in the house. I was thinking of putting one or two very small dog houses in there for nesting houses. Do you think that would work?


----------



## Dazlin (Nov 26, 2007)

I keep my ducks pen on all dirt floor. It's an easy clean up...just rake it out in the morning. No nest box...I just have a weather proof area with a pile pf old hay. They make a perfectly round hole and gladly lay their eggs in it. Mine free range during the day. I'm not so sure what your using is ok...be sure they don't get their toe nails caught in anything. They are SUPER messy, so keep clean-up in mind.


----------



## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

HardWire Cloth is going to be hard on their feet, a rock layer would possibly help depending on the type of rock but then you have alot of weight on the wire floor, a plywood floor with linolium would be easy to clean especially if your not putting down bedding, is it an haveing the water source in the coop is going to make it even messyer and ducks are messy enough as it is, is there a way to give them a safe pen to be in when your gone and not just cooped up? keeping them safe when your gone is a good idea but keeping them in a coop with a pool you have to clean all the time is more work than just simply hoseing down some rocks, 

what kind of ducks are these? nest boxes are a good idea and dog houses work well normally the only thing is when you stuff them with hay alot of times the eggs end up scatterd under the hay and you and the duck cant find them to collect or set, if useing dog houses i would put a few bricks in to section off the back part for a nest and then just put enough hay in for the actual nest part, but if your going to be collecting eggs thats going to make you get down and look in a dark dog house, if your going for egg use then more conventional nest boxes work better,


----------



## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

all my poultry buildings are built so the ply wood floor can be pulled up and replaced easily if needed.

over that I put rubber, EPDM same stuff they use on roofs and for pound liner.

I also have it so a section opens so I can shovel it out easily,rather then have to use a bucket or aim for the door. if there's not much weight on the rubber I can just pull it out instead of shovel. just like a tarp with leaves on it. pull it right to the pile and dump it off. spray it off with the hose let it dry then lay it back down. 

you cant do that with linoleum or sheet vinyl.


----------



## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 1, 2009)

They are Pekin ducks. They are only two and a half weeks old, so it will be awhile before any eggs are layed.


----------



## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

I use hog flooring. It's rounded with very small holes so easier on their feet. I also leave a wood platform for them too if they want off the metal. It's removable for easy cleaning. I keep the duck house at least 6 inches off the ground, so they don't get all gross, and when the area is starting to get nasty I just move the whole house.


----------



## Lyvia (Mar 11, 2012)

I'm seeing these approaches for floors- 
1. deep litter that composts in place all winter (hear its great for chickens)
2. hose clean solid vinyl or rubber 
3. permeable hose clean hardware cloth (with foot risk)

Does the deep litter not work so much for duck mess? Or do the eggs get lost? 
It seems like I should build it so the rain barrel can be used to flush the whole house.


----------

