Looking for opinions: Duck House Siding

[DRdM]

Hello All,

I am curious as to what kind of siding everyone is using for their Duck houses?

Our duck's house is made of 2x4 frames, and 1/2 exterior plywood. Right now we just have tar paper covering the sides and roof. We are going to use regular shingles for the roof (left overs of re-doing our own so it will match ) and we are adding a large slanted vent on top to ensure proper air flow.

Our house has old vinyl siding that we will be replacing in a few years, so we don't really care if their siding matches ours! LOL.

We were looking at options, trying to decide...
So... What kind of siding did you guys use for your houses? I know cedar shaving can be toxic as bedding because of the fumes, but is cedar shim siding of the exterior an option if it was sealed or painted on both sides?

We live in Nova Scotia, so we would prefer an actual siding to help with weather protection (vs. Just sealing the plywood).

Thanks All

 

[DobieLover]

You can use the cedar siding. It's aromatic cedar that is the issue. I would pre-apply a good penetrating water sealant to it prior to installation if you go that route.
As the saying goes "vinyl is final". It is very easy to maintain with just a quick pressure wash once or twice a year so I would personally look on FB Marketplace or your local CL and find someone selling their remnants or go to a siding company and ask if they have a pile of scrap remnants you can sort through to find the outside corners, starter, J-channel, undersill and siding you would need to do the duck house. You might very well get it for free.

 

[Callender Girl]

My newest coop (which is actually for chickens, not my ducks) is sided with cedar fence pickets. When it was being built more than a year ago, lumber prices were crazy, and the 6-inch-wide pickets were the most cost-effective solution.

A friend cut off the "pointed" ends and used his router to make them interlocking. Northern Iowa weather likely doesn't compare to yours in Nova Scotia, but it can still be pretty brutal, and the cedar -- which I had planned to seal but didn't -- is holding up fine, so far.