Do-it-yourself construction and arrangement of a duck shed
Before you have ducklings, you need to determine their number, which is directly related to the area of their placement. Many do not pay attention to this nuance, thinking that the walls and roof are sufficient conditions for keeping the bird. We will tell you about the principles of building a duck house with your own hands, since creating comfortable conditions for birds, in the future, will reward you with good health of pets, the number of eggs laid and the number of chicks.
The general structure of the ducklings. Views
The structure of the building of the duck house looks like a house for chickens. It, like other buildings for birds, provides for manholes with ramps, large windows in the structure, as well as a walking area.
Roofed walking area and raised floors keep birds safe
Ducks have their own physiological characteristics, habits and preferences. Therefore, the conditions of their keeping are different from other birds. Since ducks are waterfowl, they love to spend a lot of time in water bodies. The ideal option for building a duck house would be its location in the immediate vicinity of a pond or river. However, this does not mean that the birds will be comfortable living in a place with constant humidity. Despite their love for water, they still need a dry place to sleep. Therefore, as such, they often use small boxes for fruit or construct special nests from wood. A distinctive feature of this bird house is that there are no high perch perches. The sockets are placed directly on the floor.
The place for walking ducks must be equipped with a sunny side - this will create the most comfortable conditions for their habitation. We must not forget about the canopy, under which the ducks will hide from the rain and heat.
If there is no natural reservoir nearby, then it is equipped right inside the aviary. To do this, use an old bathtub dug into the ground, or make a small pond.
Depending on the purpose and materials of manufacture, duck houses differ in types:
- Capital shed for ducks made of bricks or foam blocks. To erect a structure of this type, laying the foundation is required.
- Timber structure with timber floor covering the walking area. This building can be erected without a foundation or on a light foundation.
- Summer option. This type is a structure made of wood, plastic, aluminum or other lightweight materials. Such a structure is assembled for breeding birds during the warm months of the year. Most often it looks like a canopy with a large enclosure. The walking area is made of a chain-link mesh.
- A summer cottage or portable version is a relatively small structure that is easy to move to a convenient place.
Preparing to build a house: general information
Even such a simple outbuilding requires preparation and planning. If this structure will be erected without a capital foundation, then it is necessary to choose the right place for its construction.
It is better to build a duck shed on a hill. If this is neglected, rainwater will accumulate under the structure, leading to dampness and mold in the room. This will create unfavorable conditions for the life of birds, which can make them sick and even die. To create a suitable surface on the site, you need to make a small hill on which the ducklings will be located in the future. For this, broken brick or coarse gravel is suitable.
To protect birds from rodents, the crushed stone is covered with liquefied clay mixed with broken glass.
Project drawings. Size designation
Before choosing the dimensions of the future building and drawing up drawings, you need to know that for 2-3 ducks you need to allocate an area of 1 m 2. Considering these parameters, all further calculations will be favorable for the construction of a duck house, which will provide comfort to the birds.
The most popular material for making a duck shed is wood. If you are building a capital structure, then a frame structure is needed. A convenient option for a shed for keeping ducks would be a structure with a vestibule and an attached area for walking birds.
The length of the duck shed is 300 cm, the width is 200 cm. The dimensions of the vestibule depend on the amount of material available, the availability of free space on the site and the wishes of the owner. In the presented drawing, its dimensions are 180x175 cm.
Top view of the ducklings
The structure of the barn and the vestibule will be placed under a single roof. A pitched roof is most suitable for this type of construction; accordingly, its height at the top point will be 270 cm, and at the bottom - 170 cm. The duck shed will be equipped with doors and windows.
Side view
It should be noted that the windows in the duckhouse should open both outward and into the room. This is necessary to ventilate the barn without disturbing the birds.
For more comfort in the care and feeding of ducks, the fenced walking area must be equipped with a door. As a rule, this place has walls made of a chain-link mesh fixed to a wooden frame.
The choice of material for the future structure and the calculation of its amount
The construction of the duck shed will be carried out from wood: beams, boards, OSB boards, chipboard, fiberboard. It should be noted that the moisture content of the wood should not exceed 22%. These requirements most of all apply to beams and boards, since they form the basis of the frame. The moisture content of a tree is easy to determine using a special moisture meter.
Materials should not have knots, cracks and traces of damage from insects. The wood must be pretreated with antifungal impregnations.
A well-planned construction project will save you from unforeseen costs in the future. In this regard, it is necessary to make a calculation of the purchased materials. To erect a shed structure, the following materials will be required:
- Bars with a section of 150x150 mm for the manufacture of the lower strapping and logs, of which:
- 2 pcs. - 300 cm long;
- 5 pieces. - 240 cm each;
- Bars with a section of 100x100 mm, for the manufacture of vertical posts and roof frame, of which:
- 2 pcs. - 300 cm long;
- 5 pieces. - 280 cm each;
- 5 pieces. - 170 cm each.
- OSB boards, for covering floors, walls and roof structures.
- Bars with a section of 50x100 mm.
- Roofing material.
- Mineral wool.
- Polyurethane foam.
- Expanded polystyrene.
- Formwork boards or asbestos-cement pipes.
- Dye.
- Reinforcing rods with a diameter of 12 mm.
- Asbestos-cement pipes.
- Metal corners and plates.
The floors, roof, internal and external walls of the building will be covered with OSB boards. To have accurate material calculations, it is necessary to determine the area of each side of the building.
In order to find out how much material is required for the side walls of the duck shed, you need to calculate the area of each side separately, and then add their values. Since the sides of this building have an irregular shape, each of them must be reduced to the simplest shapes - a rectangle and a triangle, as shown in the image.This method will allow you to quickly and easily make the necessary calculations. To do this, you need: 1.7 · 2.4 = 4.08 m 2 - this is the area of the square excluding the canopy; (2.4 · 1.0): 2 = 1.2 m 2 is the area of the assumed triangle (canopy). Now you need to add the values \ u200b \ u200bof these figures to get the total area of one side of the duck shed: 4.08 + 1.2 = 5.28 m 2. Since there are two of these sides, we double this figure: 5.28 2 = 10.56 m 2.
Having received two simple shapes, it is easy to do the calculation.
To calculate the area of the front side of the duckhouse, you must perform the following steps: 3.0 · 2.7 = 8.1 m 2, and the calculation of the area for the back side has the following result: 3.0 · 1.7 = 5.1 m 2.
Now you need to add the values \ u200b \ u200bof the back, front and sides: 10.56 + 8.1 + 5.1 = 23.76 m 2 - this is the total area of all walls of the duck shed.
Since the design provides for two doors and a window, it is necessary to calculate and sum up their areas, and then subtract the resulting figure from the total area of the walls of the duck shed. Each door has the same dimensions - 200x60 cm, and the windows are 60x60 cm. The area is calculated in the same way: (2.0 · 0.6) · 2 = 2.4m 2 is the area of two doors; 0.6 0.6 = 0.36 m 2 is the area of the window. Now you need to add these values: 2.4 + 0.36 = 2.76 m 2 - this is the total area of both doors and windows.
Then, from the total area of all walls, we subtract the summed result of doors and windows: 23.76-2.76 = 21 m 2. However, this figure must be doubled, since the same amount of material will be required to decorate the inner walls of the duck room: 21 + 21 = 42 m 2.
Now you need to calculate the floor area. This is done in a similar way: 1.5 · 2.5 = 3.75 m 2. The roof area will be 20 cm larger than each side, therefore its dimensions are 340x280 cm. We calculate the roof area: 3.4 · 2.8 = 9.52 m 2.
At this stage of the calculations, the values of the areas became known: walls, floor and roof. Now you need to add these numbers: 42 + 3.75 + 9.52 = 55.27 m 2 - this is the total area of all calculated surfaces of the duck shed. It is this number of OSB boards that will be required to finish the structure.
Roofing material was used as a waterproofing material in the roof. Its coverage area is 9.52 m 2. Also, roofing material will be needed for the manufacture of a waterproofing layer between the foundation and the lower trim. To do this, you need another 2 to 3 m 2 of this material.
If necessary, you can attach a vestibule. The calculation of all the necessary material and areas is carried out in the same way as in the previous examples.
Required tools
To build a duck shed, you will need the following tools:
- screw and shovel;
- wooden pegs and cord;
- yardstick;
- large building level (it is better to use from 100 to 200 cm);
- square;
- lead pencil;
- chisel;
- electric drill and screwdriver;
- hacksaw for wood;
- jigsaw;
- concrete mixing apparatus;
- buckets for cement and water;
- electric plane;
- screwdriver;
- hammer;
- construction plumb line;
- stapler with staples;
- screws, nails, bolts with washers and nuts.
Step-by-step instructions for building a duck house with your own hands
Any type of duck building is preceded by planning and schematic design. A barn for Indo-girls is a frame structure on a columnar or slab foundation, the construction of which involves a phased approach. In this regard, it is necessary to understand in more detail the construction of this structure.
When all the necessary materials have been purchased and a place has been selected, you can start construction work:
How to make perches
Ducks need roosting nests. The nest for ducks has dimensions of 40x40x40 cm. They are made of boards or thick plywood. The entrance to the perch should be equipped with a 15 cm wide board. One space is enough to accommodate 2 to 3 ducks. These boxes are connected so that a single frame is obtained from nests attached to each other. The resulting structure must be installed on the floor.
The process of making a perch is extremely simple.
Duck feeders are made according to the diagram below.
The feeder is easy to build yourself
Building a summer version of a duck shed involves creating a seasonal design that can be easily disassembled if necessary. At the same time, it is a capital structure, but it may not have a foundation. The method of its manufacture is similar to that described above, with the only difference that lighter materials can be used in it.
The suburban version is more compact, as a rule, designed for several ducks. This design is often equipped with handles or wheels for ease of movement. Such a structure looks like a small wooden box with an entrance for birds. A frame covered with mesh is attached to it. The process of making a summer cottage version of a duck house is very simple. It resembles the construction of a box.
Insulation of a duck shed
The following materials are popular as insulation for the poultry house:
- Mineral wool.
- Styrofoam.
- Cardboard.
- expanded clay.
Mineral wool. This material has become popular due to its relatively low price and ease of installation. Mineral wool is produced industrially. It goes on sale in the form of a rectangular package with several plates or in rolls. During installation, it requires the installation of waterproofing layers. Positive criteria for this material include:
- the material does not retain steam, but does not allow moisture to pass through. Thanks to this property, the ducklings will be protected from dampness;
- has low thermal conductivity;
- Rock wool will provide the house with a moderate intake of air. This feature is called "breathing walls" by many;
- conducts sound insulation well;
- refers to materials with a relative fire resistance. Cotton wool is non-flammable;
- the material is safe to use. At high temperatures, it does not emit harmful substances;
- has a long service life - from 25–55 years;
- Rodents prefer walls insulated with mineral wool less than polystyrene.
The disadvantages of using mineral wool for warming the ducklings include the following:
- with a direct hit of water, it immediately loses its properties;
- when compressed, cotton wool poorly restores its original shape, which is why it loses its heat-insulating properties;
- over time, the material wrinkles.
Polyfoam is the next most popular material. It goes on sale in the form of slabs of various thicknesses and sizes. Polyfoam is an inexpensive material, so it has found wide application in the insulation of poultry houses. Polyfoam has its positive and negative qualities. The advantages of using it include the following criteria:
- to create a reliable heat-insulating layer, 6 to 10 cm of this material is enough. A 10 cm layer of foam is equal in terms of thermal insulation to a concrete wall 100 cm thick.
- the material is lightweight, which significantly affects the speed of installation and ease of delivery;
- it is convenient to use it to insulate not only walls, but also floors, basements of buildings, ceilings and roofs.
The disadvantages of using foam as insulation include:
- its flammability and flammability. This drawback is one of the main ones, therefore, before insulating the duck with this material, you need to take care of high-quality electrical insulation;
- When ignited, the foam gives off hazardous substances and corrosive smoke.
Cardboard. The idea of insulating the duck with cardboard is not new. It is almost easy to find used cardboard boxes that are simply thrown away. If we consider this material as insulation, then you can find more disadvantages than advantages. The disadvantages of cardboard, as a material for a duck, are:
- it absorbs moisture very quickly, which is why it crumples;
- emits an unpleasant odor when wet;
- itself very poorly retains heat;
- after a short use as a wall insulation, it is a positive breeding ground for mold, fungi and infection.
If we talk about the advantages of using cardboard, then:
- it can be purchased for free;
- it protects well from dry wind.
Considering these criteria, we can conclude that cardboard is inappropriate to use as insulation for ducklings.
Expanded clay is a heat-insulating material consisting of foamed and fired clay. It is used as a bulk insulation. The benefits of using it include the following:
- its ecological purity;
- low price;
- a light weight.
The disadvantages of expanded clay as insulation include the following features:
- the material is afraid of moisture;
- in order to create high-quality thermal insulation, it is necessary to pour a thick layer of material (at least 10 cm);
- cannot be used as the main insulation. When using expanded clay, it is imperative to use lag, vapor barrier and waterproofing.
Interior arrangement and equipment of the house for ducks
There must be a window in the structure of the duckhouse. It is better if it is located on the south side. When sunlight enters the room, the health of the ducks improves, which is directly related to their egg production and the survival of the young.
To maintain the light regime in winter, the shed is equipped with artificial lighting. If the area of the duck room is 10 m 2, then lighting from a 100 W lamp is sufficient, provided that it is located no higher than 2 m from the floor. The duration of illumination of the duck house should be on average from 14 to 16 hours.
Although ducks are waterfowl, their health is extremely unstable to drafts and freezing. In this regard, ventilation must be done above floor level. This is extremely important as bacteria and molds will develop in the house if the air is not properly ventilated. This will significantly affect the health of the ducks, which will make them sick.
Ducks will feel comfortable in such a shed.
The floors in the duckhouse must first be treated with lime, and then covered with a thick layer of hay or sawdust. Especially this needs to be paid attention to when arranging nests. They should be filled with a thicker layer of litter.
It should be noted that at a lower temperature inside the ducklings, the birds will consume more feed. The increased temperature also has a detrimental effect on the health of birds, which is why they can overheat and die. In this case, the temperature will be dangerous to health from 38 to 40 ºС. It should be optimal: for ducklings from 20 to 22 ºС, for adults - from 7 to 14 ºС, so there should always be a thermometer in the duck house.
An important point will be to maintain optimal indoor humidity, which should be from 60 to 70%.
In order to prevent the growth of bacteria, it is necessary to periodically clean and wash the feeders and drinkers.
Video: duck barn
Creating a comfortable environment for ducks will have a positive effect on bird health. It is quite within the power of everyone to build or convert a shed into a poultry house without outside help. This will create conditions not only for an increase in the number of ducks, but can also serve as a basis for entrepreneurship in this area.