Mistakes 

Dont make my mistakes

Getting poultry is a big lesson in many things, not just caring for the animals themselves.

For me, the area I've learned the most about is carpentry. Before we started building coops and runs, I couldn't even use a drill, screwdriver, or different types of saws.

Through building many projects, improving predator protection, and making daily care easier, you learn a lot from your mistakes. I'm going to share some of my mistakes in the hope that others can avoid making the same ones.

First of all: chicken math is real

I used to think people who joked about "chicken math" just lacked self-control. I found out very quickly that it's real. When we built our chicken coop, I didn't know the number one rule of chicken keeping: build twice as big as you think you need.

Not Having a Solid Plan & Don't Be Cheap!

The ducks were the first birds on our homestead and also our first farm animals. Our biggest initial mistake was that we didn't plan everything properly. We just thought it should be cheap and keep the birds in.

We tried saving money on lumber, which turned out to be our biggest mistake. This resulted in a run that was unsteady, unattractive, and not something you'd want on your lawn. The coop suffered the same fate. It ended up small and at a poor height for our runners. By using pallet frames and pallets to save on lumber costs, we created something that worked temporarily, but it wasn't suitable for long-term housing.

Poor construction eventually led to a water leak, and we had to tear the coop down.

Solution: We reinforced the run with more lumber, making it more stable and strong enough to support a roof. I replaced the coop with an XL insulated dog house, adding a ventilation hole and a door/hatch to close it. This setup works well for four runners to sleep in comfortably.

Location of Your Run

This is one of the things I dislike most to this day. Our duck run is located in the middle of our lawn, and it looks horribly out of place. If you want a beautiful garden, this is a nightmare. If I were doing it today, I would place it on the other side of the house or closer to a corner of the lawn.

As for the chicken run, we only had one flat spot available, right outside our bedroom window. Let's just say my husband isn't thrilled when the roosters start crowing at 6 a.m. — I, on the other hand, find it somewhat soothing.

With waterfowl, it's important to consider the proximity of your water source. You'll be handling a lot of water, so the closer your hose or water supply is, the easier it will be. Which brings me to my next point:

Water Management

If you have waterfowl, having a good water system is everything! I learned this the hard way as I went along.

With the right system, you can make life much easier right from the start. As I mentioned earlier, since I placed my duck pen poorly, I now have a long hose running almost through the entire yard.

One thing many, including myself, don't consider is the challenge of water management during winter. Waterfowl are extremely dependent on water at all times — they need it both for drinking and bathing. Every winter, it feels like I'm never fully prepared, and I end up dragging around two 25-liter barrels. I always promise myself, "Next year, I'll have an easier solution."

One solution my husband came up with later was to add a submersible pump to an old well. This allows us to drain natural water into the ducks' larger tub.

Planning-stage solutions:

• Digging down an insulated pipe to run the water hose through. I'm still figuring out how to prevent the ends of the hose from freezing.

Another problem in winter is that their tubs freeze — all the time. This is a challenge you must be prepared for, which I wasn't.

Possible solutions:

• Heated buckets and tubs made for horses, which work well for ducks in winter.

• Heating cables: some are designed to be submerged, but you must figure out how to protect the cable from the waterfowl. Others are placed around or under the tub. I tried one of these, but found it difficult to keep the heat concentrated in the right spot — it escapes very easily.

Of course, the simplest solution is… go outside and break the ice every hour.

Chicken Wire: Only Keeps the Birds In

Like many, I fell for the name "chicken wire" and covered my run with it. Later, I — like many others — learned that chicken wire only keeps the birds in, not predators out.

In fact, if you're strong, you can pull apart chicken wire yourself. You can only imagine what a predator could do to get to your birds.

Solution: Since I already had chicken wire up, I added welded wire on top of it. This way, I have two layers of protection. It looks a bit ugly, but it provides much-needed security.

Building Mistake: Roof

If you're not a carpenter, it's hard to know this, but we built both coop roofs completely flat. You know what happens then? You get water leaks! And it's not just from rain — condensation forms on the inside of the roof, gathers at the middle, and starts to pool.

Protection for the Floor

I often get compliments on the décor in my coop, with the pretty flowers. My floor protection was an oilcloth table cover. What I didn't consider was how much chickens like to scratch. This resulted in several holes forming all over. I added another layer of cloth, but I still have to keep patching it up.

After seeing two diffrent posts on instagram within just a couple a days of each other, I had a wake up call.

The locks on my door and runs are an easy match for a fox to figure out.
I orderd fast 2 diffrent type of locks (depending on what door that needed them)

Do read the posts that goes more into depth about the importance of a proper lock on your runs and coops: Quaties_Quackers.     GardMorangen