Duck House

[Aacre]

I'm beginning to build a duck house myself. It's interesting how there aren't really many duck house plans but you can find chicken coop plans all over! I've also decided to do something similar to a dog house, but with a distinguished nesting area. I'm thinking that I will build it 8'x3' long/wide (respectively), and 3' tall. They'll have a medium size run with a bit of a wallow/wet spot on one end. They'll be allowed to free range during good weather... I'm still mostly in the planning stages and won't really know what I'm doing until it's done.

I'll also be doing this mostly by myself, without the hubby's assistance AND will be using old 2x4s from old fences for the frame of the duck house. I think I will just buy particle board/plywood for the walls. One thing to keep in mind when building a house for your ducks, is that it needs good ventilation because ducks hold in a lot of moisture and the air needs to be fresh and clean and not stale and stinky.

 

[pinusresinosa]

Here's one of ours. This is a basic design my husband came up with that requires minimal cutting of wood and to make the most out of the readily available plywood sizes you can buy. We added vents on this one later. The base is made from treated wood. We have one of these connected to a raised run covered with a tarp that everyone is living in right now until the snow starts to melt and the weather warms- but the protected area is the same plan as this one. Not sure it'll work for next year, but that's all we're using to overwinter in extreme sub zero temps and my ducks are doing just fine, even laying. A lot of straw and lots of good food helps I think.

I've seen duck houses made from pallets, old truck toppers, flipped over large plastic storage bins, dog houses, whatever. Even hoops made with cow panels and high grade tarps stretched over. Not a lot of insulation, but I think that larger breed ducks can do well without it as long as they're out of the wind.

 

[JaT1311]

Aacre:
Ive thought the same thing! about how there is almost no duck house plans but more for chickens
i am assuming not as many people have ducks? or not many people think it is necessary for specific plans
a lot of people have just told me to build a box
just a plain box

my ducks are free range - but i always put them in at night (we have raccoon's around my area) so i have been trying to find or come up with
something that has a small run in it - big enough to fit their water and food in without it being in the actual house part.

I had not thought about the ventilation so i'm glad you mentioned it
i will definitely keep that in mind and not make it so enclosed
i too will be building by myself (eeep!) haha i am not so great at that part but my husband is probably just going to sit and watch me struggle for awhile. men.

 

[Aacre]

Aacre:
Ive thought the same thing! about how there is almost no duck house plans but more for chickens
i am assuming not as many people have ducks? or not many people think it is necessary for specific plans
a lot of people have just told me to build a box
just a plain box

my ducks are free range - but i always put them in at night (we have raccoon's around my area) so i have been trying to find or come up with
something that has a small run in it - big enough to fit their water and food in without it being in the actual house part.

I had not thought about the ventilation so i'm glad you mentioned it
i will definitely keep that in mind and not make it so enclosed
i too will be building by myself (eeep!) haha i am not so great at that part but my husband is probably just going to sit and watch me struggle for awhile. men.

Oh, I know how you feel!! My husband is better at the whole geometry stuff than I am. I'll be lucky if I get this very straight at all! But it is fun for me anyway. WE CAN DO IT!!!

 

[Amiga]

I get no commission from the web site below, and you can buy it from any store you choose (that has it), but I too entered the world of carpentry, building the Veranda and the Day Pen in 2010, and wanted to share what I found for myself.

My best friends were:

graph paper
pencil
electric drill
circular saw
sawhorses

and perhaps most of all when it came time to build the doors and gates, the carpenter's square (oh, how I love my square!!!!!)

Mine is yellow but looks much like this one

http://www.amazon.com/Swanson-Tool-...wer-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1393891859&sr=1-38

I was also on pretty good terms with some c-clamps.

I built the blessed things solo. I designed the whole thing. A neighbor who wanted a project helped get the duck house mostly built. I finished it by installing the metal hardware cloth, sliding panel drop ceiling, and flooring.

Please set up a system where you will not lose one single piece of metal on the ground. You don't want anyone to die of hardware disease. I put what I would need for the next portion into my sock, because it was too easy to drop a screw out of my pocket, reaching in for one.

I did not keep the bucket of screws and washers anywhere near the pen, lest someone kick it over.

A strong magnet is good, too. Like a cow magnet. Nickel neodymium is really good.

 

[JaT1311]

I get no commission from the web site below, and you can buy it from any store you choose (that has it), but I too entered the world of carpentry, building the Veranda and the Day Pen in 2010, and wanted to share what I found for myself.

My best friends were:

graph paper
pencil
electric drill
circular saw
sawhorses

and perhaps most of all when it came time to build the doors and gates, the carpenter's square (oh, how I love my square!!!!!)

Mine is yellow but looks much like this one

http://www.amazon.com/Swanson-Tool-...wer-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1393891859&sr=1-38

I was also on pretty good terms with some c-clamps.

I built the blessed things solo. I designed the whole thing. A neighbor who wanted a project helped get the duck house mostly built. I finished it by installing the metal hardware cloth, sliding panel drop ceiling, and flooring.

Please set up a system where you will not lose one single piece of metal on the ground. You don't want anyone to die of hardware disease. I put what I would need for the next portion into my sock, because it was too easy to drop a screw out of my pocket, reaching in for one.

I did not keep the bucket of screws and washers anywhere near the pen, lest someone kick it over.

A strong magnet is good, too. Like a cow magnet. Nickel neodymium is really good.

I thinkkk my hubby has most of the stuff i need .... including the square
i will definitely be getting everything all together ready before i even try to start my project,
hopefully (fingers crossed) everything goes well -- i am in the process of designing something and hopefully starting next week (yay me!)

 

[Richb353]

This is the duck house (aka "Quack Shack") I've been building this week. Tomorrow I'll put the Ondura roof panels in place. Built the frame out of 1 3/8" x 10' fencepost and wrapped the sides in 1/2" fencing around the bottom 2' and poultry netting around the upper section. At the bottom right corner of the picture you can see the the door. I'm going to hinge the roof panels so I can lift them to access the interior. Next week I have 20+ ducklings arriving from Metzer Farms. The property is pretty flush, but I'll probably place landscaping timbers along the bottom edges to keep predators from digging underneath.

 

[pinusresinosa]

This is the duck house (aka "Quack Shack") I've been building this week. Tomorrow I'll put the Ondura roof panels in place. Built the frame out of 1 3/8" x 10' fencepost and wrapped the sides in 1/2" fencing around the bottom 2' and poultry netting around the upper section. At the bottom right corner of the picture you can see the the door. I'm going to hinge the roof panels so I can lift them to access the interior. Next week I have 20+ ducklings arriving from Metzer Farms. The property is pretty flush, but I'll probably place landscaping timbers along the bottom edges to keep predators from digging underneath.

Want.

 

[Going Quackers]

This is the duck house (aka "Quack Shack") I've been building this week. Tomorrow I'll put the Ondura roof panels in place. Built the frame out of 1 3/8" x 10' fencepost and wrapped the sides in 1/2" fencing around the bottom 2' and poultry netting around the upper section. At the bottom right corner of the picture you can see the the door. I'm going to hinge the roof panels so I can lift them to access the interior. Next week I have 20+ ducklings arriving from Metzer Farms. The property is pretty flush, but I'll probably place landscaping timbers along the bottom edges to keep predators from digging underneath.

Nice! i am so jealous of you green! love that ondura roofing, i have some of it here.

 

[Amiga]

Richb353,

Great design!

What is it you are calling poultry netting? Chicken Wire? Is this inside another fenced area?

Just thinking security.

Very handsome execution, too!