In the depths of winter 2017, as blizzards howled outside our home on the coast of Maine, we responded to a Craigslist ad posted by Full Fork Farm in China, Maine. We wrote that we’d like to reserve six silver Appleyard ducklings. That one email has resulted in so much joy...and a huge learning experience. Building the duckhouse was one duck-related project that has never really ended, as we keep tweaking it as we learn more. I hope this simple write-up is of use to other folks who are just embarking on their duck journeys!
Design
Our duckhouse is scratch built based on plans we drew up after reading lots and looking at tons of pictures. Before we started, we had a couple overarching goals:
- We wanted an attached, predator-proof run with a roof to which the ducks could have 24/7 access
- We wanted to use the deep litter method and make it easy for clean-out
- We wanted to site the duckhouse near the compost bins and the garden
- We wanted to keep six ducks (including a drake)
Choosing the site for the duckhouse was pretty easy, as we had a good, flat open spot adjacent to the compost and garden. We figured this would be ideal, as dirty straw from daily spot cleaning could go directly in the compost and then the compost could be easily delivered to the garden. The site has good southern exposure and no tall trees directly adjacent to it. On the downside, it does not have east access to water, so we knew we were committing to long hose runs in the summer and carrying buckets from the house in the winter.
The Build
Our ducklings hatched in early May, and we picked them up the next day. It was amazing how fast they grew, and by early June, it was time to turn our duckhouse plans into a duckhouse. We began the build by marking the outline of the structure with string. It was then time to get dirty and dig some trenches. Each trench was lined with gravel. We had decided early on that we would not use any pressure-treated lumber in our build, so instead we went with hemlock timbers as the foundation upon which we would build the walls. The overall plan was for a 4'x8' elevated duckhouse that would provide more then five square feet per duck. The attached run would then be 8'x12' with an additional 4'x8' area under the elevated duckhouse, making a run size of 8'x16'. Because we were going to tie the duckhouse and run together with a common roof, our foundation dimensions were 8'x16'. We planned to leave a dirt floor to the run and utilize a predator apron around the outside of the run (rather than pouring cement, building a floor or laying down hardware cloth). Because the run would be covered, we were not terribly concerned about the run turning into a mud pit.
We started on the duckhouse itself first. Once the timbers were in place and leveled, we moved to the driveway adjacent to the shop to build out the walls. The walls were constructed of standard 2”x4” and 2”x6” lumber, and we generally conformed to standard building practices for the framing. We knew we would be adding windows, but we decided we would just frame them in between studs later so we did not have to deal with additional headers and such.
Once the four duckhouse walls were framed up, we carried them to the construction site. We dry-fitted everything and made sure our measurements were correct.
Once we were confident that all the pieces would fit, we erected the walls and leveled everything up. We used screws throughout the build because we were pretty certain we would make some changes down the road. It was June, and we were motivated, as the ducks, who were living inside at the time, were getting huge!
Next it was time to figure the roof slope and then build the rafters. We built one rafter assembly and temporarily put it in place to see if we liked the slope and to make sure it fit.
Once we decided it was good to go, it was back to the shop to build a mess of rafter assemblies. Since they are all the same angle, it was super easy just to build them all at once. Our plans called for nine of them (a little less than 2' oc).
With a couple of the rafter assemblies in place, we stepped back and took a look. The duckhouse was starting to look like something!
It was now time to build the walls for the attached run. These were simple frames built with 2"x4"s with corner bracing that would then be covered with hardware cloth. We left room for a full-size people door on one side of the run. Once we had all the frames in place, we leveled everything up and tied it all together. We took down the two rafter assemblies for the duckhouse, which were just temporarily in place, and added tie plates for extra strength. We then brought all the rest of the rafter assemblies out and prepared to build a roof.
The rafters were spaced pretty equally along the entire run, and we added blocking on top of the top plates and between the rafters for predator proofing and to help tie the whole structure together.
We chose to use wood shingles instead of metal roofing to make the duckhouse fit in with the rest of the structures a little better. As such, the next step was to install 1”x3” strapping across the rafters as purlins to which we could affix the shingles.
Then it was up onto the roof and the somewhat zen-like task of installing shingles.
Because we were pressing up against a deadline (we needed to leave town for a couple days) and, as I already mentioned, the ducklings were getting huge and could not live inside much longer, we decided to just shingle the duckhouse proper for the time being. That way, we could at least move the ducks out of the house and into the duckhouse while we were away. Our ducksitter could then lock them in the duckhouse every night and let them out into the (not completely predator-proof) run during the day.
With the duckhouse shingled, we moved on to installing floor joists. We liked the idea of an elevated duckhouse for many reasons, which included having a larger run (since they could utilize the area under the duckhouse) and the fact that it would make collecting eggs and cleaning out easier. We used 2”x6”s for the floor joists.
Withe the joists in place, we cut and installed a plywood floor and then started cutting 1”x6” rough cut hemlock for the duckhouse siding.
We decided on four windows—two facing the run and two on either side of the duckhouse. The windows were designed to fit between the studs, and we made sure to leave room for those as we installed the siding.
The back door of the duckhouse was planned as a tailgate door that would (hopefully) make clean-out a breeze. Since we planned to use the deep litter method, we were looking at one or two major clean-outs a year. We figured we could drop “the tailgate,” position the tractor bucket and then just rake the dirty litter in and take it to the compost. With the tailgate door installed, we embarked on the miserable task of installing hardware cloth. The hardware cloth was initially attached with just staples but then the edges were covered with strapping that was screwed in place. We also trimmed out the windows after installing hardware cloth over them. The trim insured the hardware cloth over the windows was fixed in place. Later we would install plexiglass windows that are operated on pulleys from the back of the duckhouse on either side of the door.
We were now seriously running out of time before we had to leave town (we'd been working for just over a week on the build), so we quickly built a door for the run and double doors for the back. We added a sliding door for the duck entrance to the duckhouse. Then it was time for the ramp and, eventually, to let the ducks check it out!
They seemed to approve, and we left town for our trip.
By the time we got back, the ducks had become experts at using the ramp and seemed to be taking nicely to their new abode. Because the roof was not fully shingled over the run, they were still being locked in the duckhouse every night using the sliding door that is operated from outside the run. Our next task was to provide them with a fenced area around the duckhouse and run. The idea was that they would be able to move between the run and the garden with minimal supervision.
We were now into July, but we finally got around to finishing the roof shingling so they could have 24/7 access to the run! We also installed a two-foot predator apron all the way around the outside of the run.
With all the summer chores, we did not get around to shingling the walls until early November. Shingling the walls was critical before winter, as wind could still make its way between the cracks in the siding. Of course, the ducks helped!
We were now in a race before the snow started to fly, but it was nice working in the cooler weather.
We also finalized our window system. We made tracks in each window frame for plexiglass and then attached those to cord that runs through an eye-bolt and then attaches to a cleat by the door. This way we can raise and lower any of the windows easily from the door. It's worked fairly well, although the ducks did chew on the knots a lot for the first couple days! We were now ready for snow!
And sure enough, the snow did fly! We planned to bank the underneath section of the duckhouse with straw bales, and that worked well.
At this point, they had 24/7 access to the run where their food and water was located. We had thought we would lock them in to the duckhouse on cold nights, but they seemed to like to come and go even in the chillest of temperatures. So as long as it was not blowing a gale and well below 0F, we let them make the choice of where they wanted to be.
As new duck parents, we were of course obsessing about everything. In late December, we decided (thanks to the advice of a lot of folks on Backyard Chickens) to wrap three sides of the run in 6mm plastic and bank the run with straw bales.
The straw bale banking was probably overkill (we have not done it in subsequent winters), but we were new to this and wanted to make sure our new family members would be warm! We also decided to install cameras and went with Zmodo outdoor wifi cameras. We put two in the run and one in the duckhouse, and we were fairly pleased with the results (although that would come to an end, and we switched to Wyze cameras in 2020).
Epilogue
By the next summer, it finally felt like our duckhouse was done…sort of. As we’ve progressed, we’ve found several things we wish we had done differently, and we’ve slowly been addressing those. For example, we added gutters and changed the run set-up a bit. Originally they had a small pool in the run that was located at the far side from the duckhouse. We eventually decided to just give them a bucket in the run and save the pool for when they were out. Really this came down to making our lives easier, as changing the pool water became quite a chore. We did leave cobbles covering about a third of the run where their water bucket is. In the winter we replace the bucket with a heated bucket.
The biggest thing we wish we had done differently was to build in a way to separate birds while keeping them all together. We’ve come to think that having an easy way to separate a drake who is being a turd (or a duck who is recovering from an injury) without removing him to the house is really essential. So in July 2019, we built “The Annex.”
In addition to building The Annex, we also separated the area of the run underneath the duckhouse from the rest of the run with wire and a door. Now we can easily separate a bird (or two birds together) from the rest of the flock. In addition, we added a separate fenced pasture below the duckhouse pasture, so we can break the flock up into groups. We've found that our drake tends to pick one or two girls on which to pick each season, so it's nice to be able to separate them into different groupings for the day.
As we mentioned earlier, we also switched from Zmodo cameras to Wyze cameras, and we’ve been pretty happy with that switch. In the winter of 2019, we also added a Sweeter Heater in the duckhouse. We know this is a topic of much debate, but after a lot of research it was the right choice for us and our girls. We can’t recommend Sweeter Heater highly enough if you are considering an external heat source for your duckhouse or coop.
One other major addition was to add a row of comfrey along the fence line downhill from the duckhouse. Comfrey (Symphytum spp.) is truly a wonder plant! It is what is commonly called a “dynamic accumulator” because it so efficiently collects nutrients from the soil. The leaves then make a great fertilizer and a fantastic amendment for compost. The ducks love to sleep amongst the plants, which grow prolifically, and the purple flowers and dark green foliage are pretty. It’s a win-win-win!
We upgraded the electricity in 2019 and added two cage lights (one in the run and one in the duckhouse). We've never really used them, but we can imagine a scenario where they may come in handy. We also added outdoor outlets so we are no longer relying on extension cords or long runs of wire for the cameras. We use a mesh wifi system on our property, and we have a mesh point in the run.
People often ask about water for swimming. Our ducks have small pools in their pasture for one or two ducks at a time to take a dip, but they get supervised free range time 2x a day (at the very least), and they have several options on the property to get in the water. Luckily they are always willing to come home when they hear the "Hey, Ducklings! Is anybody ready for Soup for Ducks?"
In closing, the to-do list is long and distinguished! Topping that list is bringing year-round water to the duckhouse. We are also seriously considering extending the back of the duckhouse to create a small room. This room would provide protection from rain and snow when opening the back doors. It would also provide shelving for feed, straw and other essentials. Finally, we could add a sliding door from the enclosed area under the duckhouse to create an area for a brooder with a second sweeter heater. That's the plan at least...and if it happens, we'll be sure to post it on the "Our Maine Duckhouse" thread.
Thanks for reading, and please let us know if you have questions or suggestions.
