Our Maine Duck House

[3bird]

More work on the duck house today...All the trusses are built and ready to be lifted into place:



Measure twice, cut once...at least that's what we should always do ;-)



Last rafters going in...



Checking center before fixing everything in place and starting on the purlins...



Beer-thirty picture:

 

[3bird]

So a few questions on a rainy day:

1) The 4x8 coop section is raised off the ground. We're installing floor joists and then will either floor with 1x material we have on hand or a piece of ply we go and buy. We are considering using Black Jack #57 to coat the floor. Thoughts?

2) The entire run will have 1/4" hardware cloth (sides and bottom). We've been reading up on what to use to cover the run over the hardware cloth. The entire room will be covered with a roof. Stone, then sand, then shavings? Other ideas?

3) We're planning to add a wood deck in one corner with a "pool" in it to try to keep as much water contained as possible. The plan is to have a drain on the bottom that goes to the garden. Any thoughts here?

Thanks in advance!

 

[3bird]

Quick bump to see if anyone has feedback before we jump in to the final stages of our build tomorrow morning...

 

[hooktontravel]

that looks amazing!!! I bought some 2x's and 1x's and scrounged every other bit of my bird house from old plywood and other scrap lying around. it's servicable, but nowhere near as nice as what you'll have. Unfortunately i'm not much help on the above questions. I'll toss out my thoughts and you can do as you will?
I used leftover linoleum in mine, on top of some scrounged super-heavy-duty tarping that blew apart off a 'portable garage' unit..... waterproof seemed like a good thing...

I don't know what the blackjack would do in terms of off-gassing? there are some things birds are pretty sensitive to. I think as long as it dries hard and well it should be able to air out and not cause any issues? because that would definitely be better than a tarp. My only other suggestion would be hit up a Mardens or flooring liquidator and see if they have scrap/leftovers of a decent size to put down. Maybe even on top of blackjack, with the idea you could replace it in a few years if it gets worn through?

I love the idea of the deck-with-pool that you can drain to the garden. That sounds brilliant. You will want something not too slippery. maybe leftover hardware cloth on top to keep the flipper feet from sliding around? it will get poopy and very, VERY wet, I would think.

for roofing on my house I have some much-aged (though never previously used!) ripple clear fiberglass sheets. Run roof maybe clear would be nice? you can get sheets of it in either 8 or 12 foot lengths I think. but there are other colors too. it's a sturdy plasticy material that can be used for roofs and even for walls if you wished (like for a sunroom). Otherwise metal roofing maybe? could get hot in the sun...


Your stone/sand/shavings is that for the outside bit of the run? I have heard mixed reviews about sand inside for climates that get really cold, in that the water drains down and freezes and can make for more frostbite. For outside i think there are no objections!

Definitely not an expert here, just tossing out my thoughts. looks like you're doing a beautiful job!

 

[3bird]

I'll toss out my thoughts and you can do as you will?

Thanks so much!

I love the idea of the deck-with-pool that you can drain to the garden. That sounds brilliant. You will want something not too slippery. maybe leftover hardware cloth on top to keep the flipper feet from sliding around? it will get poopy and very, VERY wet, I would think.

This is the biggest unknown in our plan at present. I've seen some cool pictures, but you're right about the slip sliding away in poop.

Your stone/sand/shavings is that for the outside bit of the run? I have heard mixed reviews about sand inside for climates that get really cold, in that the water drains down and freezes and can make for more frostbite. For outside i think there are no objections!

We're wondering about the outside (covered) run. Inside will be deep litter of either pine shavings or hemp. We just can't make up our mind what to do in the outdoor run.

Thanks so much!

 

[3bird]

Gettin' 'er done today...roofing the duck house while the ducklings observe from the garden.

 

[hooktontravel]

Sand is supposed to be excellent for outside. my guys are just in a big pen (200 feet of snow fence zip-tied to trees) in the woods, so i let them muddle in the leaves and stuff. I haven't put a fully-enclosed area or had to do footing for it. I plan to move the pen periodically. It's one duck and 4 chickens right now... and fortunately so far no predator problems in the pen - perhaps since we're nearly suburbia and right on the edge of a road. If you've based that sand with rock I think you could even hose it down to help get rid of the poop. the water should drain out nicely! I don't know if patio sand or small gravel might even work better for that? (and i bet the ducklings are enjoying the 'entertainment' of watching the construction. mine was a nosy little spy-queen always watching us!)

Thanks for sharing your process & progress. it's great to see what other folks are doing and get ideas!

 

[3bird]

We got some good work done on the duckhouse today. First we installed the purlins over the duckhouse and part of the run.



We finished the purlins on one side.



Then we started laying out the first course of shingles.



Most of the day was filled with the not at all unpleasantness of methodical work. The goal was to shingle over the duckhouse roof first leaving the run unfinished for the time being (these ducks are getting big, and we need to transition them out to the duckhouse!).



Then it was onto the purlins on the other side.



...and by the end of the day, we had the other side of the duckhouse nearly ready for shingles.

We'll be back at it in the am! If you have suggestions or thoughts, we'd love to hear them. Thanks!

 

[3bird]

We started in on the second side of the roof today. We are only shingling the duckhouse itself at the moment so that we can get the ducks moved. The entire run will eventually be covered.





While R finished the roofing, K dug in with the hardware cloth.



We took a break for beers and catwalk...



...and then it was time to get the floor joists in.



...and then the floor!



Time to down tools until tomorrow.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What an amazing job you all have done. I love every bit of it, and what are purlins? lol

Your ducks will be in heaven once it's all done.