This duck house is designed for summer use in WI. I house the ducks elsewhere in the winter. We have a dog who keeps predators out of our yard, so it is not predator proof. However, I do include options for making it predator proof. It folds up for easy storage when you remove the end pieces. If you use a floor it will not do this. The floor space is 4'x8' and it is about 30" tall.
Duck House Plans
Supplies needed:
Lumber:
1 8’ 1x4
2 4’ 2x2
4 3’ 2x2 (red)
4 8’ 2x2 (black)
4 33” 2x2 (purple)
2 45” 2x2 (blue)
1 3’x4’ piece of paneling, plywood or other similar material
1 34 1/2”x 4’ piece of paneling, plywood or other similar material
2 4’ x 28" plywood, paneling or other similar material
Other materials/tools:
exterior paint (any color will work. white not recommended
)Chop saw, circular saw, tape measure,square, drill and bits.
3” screws
1 ½” screws
3 3” hinges
2 2” hinges
2 3’ x 4’ pieces of hardware cloth or chicken wire(chicken wire is not predator proof)
If predators are a concern, you should also put some sort of floor on it, such as hardware cloth. You would need a piece 4’x 8’ 3”
To construct the duck house, follow these diagrams
First construct two frames from the specified boards. They should look like this. The red pieces are screwed onto the ends of the black pieces, then the purple piece is screwed in the middle 48” from the edge of one red piece. Make sure the frame is square.
Once you have the two frames constructed, you will need to make a frame for the door. It will fit on one side of the frame, hinging at the top.
You will now screw the 34 1/2” piece of plywood onto the door frame, with it hanging over the bottom of the door frame. Then screw the 3’x4’ plywood onto the side of the frame that will not have the door.
Put the hinges on the door and screw the door hinges to the frame. Then lay the two pieces with their tops together like this:
and put the 3" hinges on it so the inside edges will fold flat. (ignore the way the frame is put together, I messed up. follow the diagrams instead). now stand it up like this:
Get your 4' long 2x2's and screw them on to the bottom 2x2's. Then get your remaining plywood on draw your cutting lines:
Cut your end pieces and screw them on. Then paint the duck house. Once the duck house is dry, put the hardware cloth/chicken wire on the open spaces. If you would like to make it predator proof, you will also want to add a floor. The duck house in the picture was not made to be predator proof, and I made some changes to the plans. I made the door bigger to make collecting eggs easier. I will be adding handles to the end pieces to make it easier to move it.
To make it more weather proof you will want to paint a 1x4 and lay it on the top, in the gap that the hinges leave.
To collapse for easy storage, unscrew the end pieces and the 2x2's on the ends. then fold up and place where you want it stored.
Feel free to ask questions in the comments. I will try my best to answer them.
