Building duck house

[robinjs11]

I have 4 muscovy ducklings that are 5 weeks old. I live in upstate NY (pretty much canada). I have never built anything before and im attempting to build a duck house so any advice is appreciated!

I have a 16'X16' barn that I am building inside of. How should I go about ventilating? Any recommendations for materials to cover the flooring inside? Any newbie advice about my set up?

My neighbors are all amish so if all else fails one of their little boys will build it for me XD.

 

[chickens really]

My Ducks live in dog insulated dog houses...I live in Canada.
In winter when it is real cold, they go in the Chicken coop in a crate because I run a heat lamp in there.
I throw straw down in the pen too keep their feet out of the snow.
I have a 10x10 dog run and an insulated dog house with vents and a door. Six ducks fit fine.

 

[robinjs11]

Updated pics! I still dont know what to do for flooring though.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Updated pics! I still dont know what to do for flooring though.

Love your lil scovy's they are beautiful.. In all my houses i have cheap vinyl flooring over wood. it's easy to keep and helps keep the wood floor from getting damp, I use deep bedding. Since you have your window cut in place hardware cloth over it and that way you'll have excellent ventilation they need it summer and winter. In winter if you don't have good ventilation moisture will build up and can cause frost bite. Nice looking coop. Scovys do like to roost so you can add a 2x4 for them to roost on also. it doesn't have to be but about a foot off the ground.

Welcome to BYC @robinjs11

 

[Chilly Lizard]

We hope you went with the vinyl flooring

Your ducks are adorable!

 

[purslanegarden]

Yes, what did you eventually go with?

Vinyl sounds great for being able to be sprayed down for a cleaning.

I was thinking of some kind of hardware cloth so that poop can fall through. They would only be on this at night. Or also, straw on top of the hardware cloth. Any poop or straw that falls through can be cleaned up, as well as the entire layer of straw cleaned out occasionally.

 

[dcannao]

I use an outdoor rubbermaid storage container similar to this. I have a thick layer of straw on the floor and when it's time to clean it out I just open both doors, shovel out the straw and hose out the interior. I also keep the top propped open at night (with chicken wire around it) for ventilation. The ducks know where to go at night when I corral them into it.

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Updated pics! I still dont know what to do for flooring though.

Wow that's coming on really well! Your ducklings are beautiful.