Duck House made from pallets - estimated $100

[ChickInDelight]

SETBACK!!!

The tarp I had planned to use is not big enough. I need something to fit over an octagon with 4' sides.

I have the giant blue tarp I used to cover the dining room floor while the baby ducks were indoors. It is rather thin, and blue (so NOT the color scheme I had imagined). Already, the paint the DXH (that is an X-husband - you provide the D) chose from Restore to be grey to match the house is not what I expected. He told me it was dark brown, so I ran out to start painting only to find out the paint is barely tan. I wanted brown and green to blend in with the pines. Now, I have no choice but to paint the door bright red. (This makes sense if you are also menapausal.)

Now, I am waiting for a giant piece of canvas to fall from the sky. I think a tent top could work. The pines handle most of the rain - literally - I park my car with no rear window under the pines. Ducks tend to like a bit of wet stuff. They are out all day and will only go in at night. (At least, I hope I can get them in at night. To date, they have shunned the housing offered and insist on sliming my stone back porch every evening. The motion detector lights seem to work well for them.)

I finished building a doggy foyer and will take some pictures later for anyone considering pallet building.

I also plan to put 3 pallets together to make a compost bin after reading the idea on the Inet.

 

[Lisa0318]

This is nice, i have the same thing except that mine is in a square shape my babys love it .

 

[chicken grandma]

Will your coop be o.k. against predators?

 

[ChickInDelight]

The reason for the duckhouse is to protect against predators. If I do a soft roof, then that presents a weak point. My cats are already laying on top of the walls. I suppose I could also do chicken wire across the top beneath a soft top.

I am anguishing about the roof still. I may go back to my original idea of a removable top that sits on top like a cap. I am not clear how I would join all the 2x4s in the center. All I can picture is a large block of wood in the shape of an octogon. The roof would still likely be heavy, but I like the idea of standing inside to clean it. I am already growing weary of going in and out through the doorway.

Another Idea I had was to tack chicken wire across the top, then, just lay plywood across the back half in good weather and both halves in cold weather. I could also use fallen pine branches in hot weather.

I wish I could do a thatch roof - or something similar. What if I made the cap frame, and covered it in chicken wire, and then, wove something into it like bamboo twigs (that grow here on the farm).

 

[zookeeper15133]

How about using PVC pipe.

Attach 1 to each joint of the pallets then tie them together at the top, tepee style? Then you can wrap it in wire and tarp. With lots of gussets at the top. Or, if you sew, cut your tarp into wedges an sew them back together.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Gotta Love the Drake is right about pie wedges, but I would like the pie bottoms to be the existing pallets.

Zookeeper, you have inspired me! Together your ideas are golden!

I already have 4 12-foot 1x3s. I shall cut them, with an angle into 8 6-foot boards. I will place them into the lovely V sections created by the pallets (closed inside and open outside). Then, I will drill holes to loosely "couple" them into the center (Tee-Pee style) while I jockey them around, raising them into place.

I am going forward with the center post. The concrete block stand holds a 4x4 wooden post. With my coupled center, I can play around to figure out how large to cut an octagon board to place at the top of the post.

Once I have everything sitting pretty, I will bolt stuff into place until I have a firm but lightweight structure. I am still toying with the idea of drilling holes into the center boards and using chain or hardware links to keep them together.

With the structure in place, I can work from a ladder inside, one triangle at a time. I will put chicken wire down first, then a layer of tarp, then a layer of chicken wire.

I am still running under $100, so all is well. Keep those great ideas coming! I am doing this on my own with limited ability and chickens and cats for help.

 

[zookeeper15133]

If your pallets are 40" wide. like mine. the 6' 2x4's should give you a center height of just over 8'.

To hold the top center together while you are putting it up, drill a hole in each board and thread a cable or strong rope through them and tie in a circle. Leave enough slack to work them.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Thanks for the geometry!!!!

My pallets are 4 feet wide - and they are 40" tall. I was cutting the outer panels at 42" so they stood up 2" above the pallets when I decided I better get a roof frame in place or I would risk damaging the panels.

I believe I will plan for more like 7 feet, then, the boards can hang into the V grooves between panels. I think I can get a six foot post set into a block that may hold it up 6" off the ground.

Great! That really helps me figure this out much better.

 

[zookeeper15133]

OK, I need to refigure this. I thought they were 48" tall and 40" wide.

Ok, that way, they will raise it up another 42" or so.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Thanks Zookeeper - I wouldn't mind seeing that formula.

I think I have room for flux in my planning. After all, the floor is dirt, and the V grooves allow some tolerance for raising / lowering the roof.

That seems really tall. I can certainly shorten my boards to 5 foot. I want more of a dome than a steep pitch.

I am still thinking octagonal block on top of the post, so I suppose I will have to cut at an angle.

Nothing shall be exact. Uneven ground is my foundation and a 3/8" drill and circular saw are my main tools.

UPDATE - I think I can cut the corners off of my 4x4 foot post (top only) to make 8 sides to attach the TeePee boards. Then, I can trim the top of the TeePee boards to the correct angles. This is super-cool, because I am pretty sure the boys at HomeDepot would do this for me. I can have them trim about 6" so that I have room to adjust. The posts are 8 feet long. I may have a revelation here.