How to build a house for ducks with your own hands

If there is a place on the plot where you can place a small barn and a paddock, then it is possible to do breeding for a bird. Today, many make decisions to try themselves in poultry farming to grow ducks of different breeds. These house slabs are unpretentious in care and are sufficiently hardy to high and low temperatures, so their breeding is not only not particularly difficult, but also quite profitable business.

So that the process of growth and reproduction of ducks goes successfully, you do not have to make excessively large expenditures, but it will be necessary to take care of creating comfortable conditions for birds. Those owners who decided to engage in poultry farming in the local area will inevitably raise the question of how to build a house for ducks with their own hands, without incurring significant costs. We will try to answer this article in this article.

Room size for ducks

Before purchasing the ducklings, you need to determine what size the room will have for them. To do this, first of all, it is necessary to measure the area of ​​the site on the site, which can be allocated for this building.

If chickens live on the plot and a large chicken house is built for them, then it is possible to temporarily or even permanently populate five to seven ducks - as a rule, they will perfectly get alongby yourself. If the owners' plans are to purchase more ducklings, it is better for them to build a separate house, and, depending on its area, the number of birds that can be placed in it is calculated.

So, one square meter of the room should be calculated for no more than three adult ducks. These birds love to play, so if they erected a separate building, it is not necessary to do it in less than 16 m², even if it is purchased only 10 ÷ 12 ducks. You must always remember that the most overcrowded poultry in the same room( pen) causes excessive competition, so the birds are experiencing stress and severe discomfort, causing poor weight gain or even lose already dialed.

What else is important to know about the content of poultry houses for ducks

Besides size of the room, in the construction of such a house should always consider how contained duck, and what is required to provide for their comfortable stay and rapid growth.

If in the hen-house it is necessary to fix the poles for the roosts, it is allowed to build the nests in several floors, then the ducks are kept on the floor, which is covered with a dry litter.

Do not keep ducks in constant dampness and dirt, as this has a bad effect on the bird's feather covering. Well, if it, in turn, will be insufficiently high quality and dense, in the cold season the bird may die.

territory. To keep the house or shed for keeping this bird dry, it is impossible to install it in the low parts of the site where the morning mist is for a long time and abundant dew accumulates. The most optimal option would be a hill on the south side of the territory.

Ducks are waterfowl, and they like clean water very much, but they can get sick from a stagnant swamp liquid. Therefore, one should not allow the water to stagnate under the poultry house or in the yard for walking.

If there is no elevation on the site, you can raise the house for the poultry residence by 300 ÷ 500 mm above the ground, setting it on a column foundation - then a comfortable environment will be created in the house for any season. For the convenience of hitting the birds inside, a bridge is attached to the entrance to such an elevated shed with horizontal bars secured to it. But it should not be too steep, as ducks will be difficult to climb on it.

Species of poultry houses for keeping ducks

Temporary corral for ducks

If a suitable utility room on the site is not yet available, and ducklings are already purchased, then for the time of erection of the house it is possible to partition off a portable partition for them. To do this, you need a bar with a thickness of at least 50 mm and a metal mesh-netting with cells 20 × 20 mm.

. Such an enclosure should be a wooden frame completely covered with a mesh, which is open only from the bottom side. The temporary poultry house will be in demand also after the capital "house" is built, since it can be used as a platform for walking ducks or a small number of adults. Thanks to the mobility of the corral, after the ducklings are trampled and turned off all the grass on the closed grid of the territory, it can be moved to another place of the site where the grass is still plenty.

Such a device will not allow the bird to scatter and protect it from predatory birds, as well as from the penetration of dogs or cats. Ducklings will be in complete safety, but at the same time - in the fresh air and in the sun, which is very useful for their immunity, growth and development.

To make the ducklings very comfortable, you must always put a basin of water in the corral and a feeder filled with food.

Stationary house for keeping ducks

For the construction of a stationary shed for ducks, you can use a variety of materials - wood, brick, aerated concrete blocks or polycarbonate.

Bird of wood

Wood is an excellent material for building a house, as it is warm, "breathable" and environmentally friendly. For construction, different types of sawn timber can be used - from logs to planks.

So, for the frame shed a crate is created from a bar of different size in cross section. For example, for the upper and lower strapping used a more powerful beam size of 120 × 120 mm, and for walls and partitions there will be enough 70 × 70 mm. The carcass is made by board or plywood.

Another variant of the use of wood is a house built entirely of timber. However, such a poultry house will be very expensive.

The third way to use a tree to build a room for ducks is a log cabin. But whatever type of wood is chosen, the walls will still require good warming.

Skeleton house - quickly and easily accessible!

For buildings of economic purpose, the option of frame construction is most often chosen. For example, the process of erection is described step by step in the article " How to build a shed by yourself ", which is placed on the pages of our portal.

Construction for ducks made of bricks or aerated concrete

A birdhouse made of aerated concrete or brick will cost more than an economic building erected from other materials. In addition to the high cost, the construction of bricks - a fairly complex process, which requires some experience in this work, and if the practice of doing brickwork, you will have to invite a specialist.

. The durability of the bricks or blocks can be attributed to the advantages of a shed built of this brick or blocks, and the main drawbacks are that the structure turns out to be quite cold and will requireenhanced insulation. A bird house made of aerated concrete or stone will be difficult to warm up, since the heat is poorly retained inside such outbuildings.

Bird of polycarbonate

In regions with mild winter climate poultry houses for ducks have been erected from polycarbonate, according to some similarity of greenhouses. Polycarbonate material keeps well inside the room heat, because it does not create drafts due to the practically sealed walls.

The transparency of the panels will ensure that there is always enough daylight in the house-house, and thanks to the fact that honeycomb multilayer polycarbonate keeps heat well, it can be heated from one of the existing simplekinds of heating.

The basic elements of a shed for poultry ducks

Foundation for a poultry house

The foundation for a house will depend on the material from which its walls are built, as it is their weight load that directly affects the deepening of the base.

• For wooden construction

For example, a wooden frame structure has a small weight, therefore, building a house in this way, you can do without even a foundation - to lift the structure on the racks resting on a level platform.

If the skeleton house is planned to be lifted above the ground on such racks, it is possible to solve several problematic issues at once:

- The room for ducks will not die from the soil, and inside it will be dry and warm;

- It will be more difficult for rodents and other carnivores to get into the house to ducks;

- There is enough space under the barn to duck in the hot summer days, as there will always be coolness and shade there.

Racks can serve as metal pipes recessed into the ground for 350 ÷ 400 mm and reinforced with cement mortar( peculiar mini-piles), or metal racks are welded to a frame made of the same pipes with a diameter of 100-150 mm.

If the structure rises above the ground, it is recommended to fill the whole house with a fine-grained claydite that rodents do not tolerate. For backfilling, it is necessary to prepare a depression by removing the top layer of the soil by 100 ÷ 120 mm, and then the entire space is covered with expanded clay.

If desired, the frame can be raised on a columnar foundation, which does not need to be deeply deepened, since the structure delivered to it will not give a big load.

If you plan to have only a few birds, it will be enough to install a small house that does not require a foundation at all. If it will be installed on the ground, then you can prepare this zone, falling asleep on it and ramming the rubble, and then laying a sand cushion on which to lay a sheet of flat slate. It will become a reliable and even basis for a small house.

A log-house or paved structure must have a foundation, as it has a more significant weight. Can come up as a columnar or pile, and a ribbon base.

How to build a columnar foundation?

The wooden house does not require a strong foundation, but its reliability should not cause concern. How correctly to erect the column foundation - read in the separate publication of our portal

• For the house of their brick or blocks

Under the construction of a brick or other heavy building material, the foundation will have to be made, greatly deepening it into the ground. The most optimal option for stone buildings will be a ribbon-like view of the base.

is best suited. If it is planned to equip the floor of a house for ducks with a concrete screed, then it can be done immediately after the foundation tape has solidified and gets strength. Deepening the foundation into the ground will depend on the thickness of the walls, but it should be no less than 400 ÷ 450 mm.

Roof

The roof of a house for ducks can have any of the existing designs, but the most common because of the ease of installation are single-slope or double-sloping rafter systems. To cover them, any roofing material that is available at a price can also be used. Usually a common slate is used, but if you plan to inscribe the duck house in the overall design of the landscape, then apply a flexible or ceramic tile or corrugated board of a certain color.

If there is an attic space in the house, additional roof insulation will not be required, but if a single-deck construction without an attic is to be arranged, it is necessary to insulate the overburden with heat insulation, for example, polystyrene30 ÷ 50 mm or penofol. After securing the insulation material, the roof is lined internally with plywood sheets - they are fixed with screws to the rafters beam. You can also provide a plank file for the insulated ceiling.

Floors in duck premises

The floor in the duck room can be earthy, concrete or wooden.

• Ground floors - too cold for the winter period, and because of this, the whole room will be cooled. In addition, if the soil is not compacted, dirty liquid will be created in the room, especially near the tanks with water. But the ducks respond well to the uncoated earthen floor, if warm litter is laid on it.

• Concrete floor is more hygienic and easy to clean, but it is also cold and also requires a flooring of a thick layer of heat-insulating natural materials - hay or straw.
• Wooden floors are warmer, but they must necessarily fill up all the cracks, or use for the flooring of the grooved board. In addition, it is recommended to raise floors on logs above the ground surface by a minimum of 100 ÷ 150 mm. But, even if a wooden floor covering is made, without wintering flooring materials, it will still not be possible to manage in winter.

Video: construction of a frame barn quite suitable for the house

Internal construction of the house for the ducks

After the construction of the building under the house, the second task that will have to be solved is to provide it with everything necessary.

This process is mandatory, as for normal growth and weight gain ducks need to create the most comfortable atmosphere.

Indoor lighting for ducks

Due to the correct lighting in the room for the maintenance of ducks, the performance and activity of the birds largely depends, as they are quite demanding on this factor. To ensure that sunlight as possible during the day fell into the poultry house, windows should be provided on the south side of the building. In this case, the windows should not be too large, and they should be located in the upper part of the wall, so that the ultraviolet penetrated into the room, but the sun's rays did not hit the ducks directly. If the windows are installed correctly, this will help save energy costs for artificial lighting.

is provided in the duck room. However, it must be taken into account that only natural lighting will be insufficient in the autumn-winter period, since the light should be present indoors for at least 14 hours a day. Therefore, the poultry house will have to conduct electricity.

For illuminating the "duck house" the bulbs are located under the ceiling. And the wiring and placement of fixtures are planned in such a way that one square meter of the room is provided with lighting of 5 watts.

Proper lighting prolongs the activity of the bird and stimulates the functioning of its internal organs, which at times increases egg production.

Heating the room

Ducks tolerate winter temperatures well enough because of tightly fitting feather trunks, a pod under them and a layer of fat. But still it is desirable that the temperature in the room for wintering ducks does not fall below 12 degrees, since with severe supercooling for a long time the bird may die.

Therefore, if the winter temperatures in a particular region fall below 8 degrees( that is, almost everywhere), the house must be heated.

Heating can be carried out in different ways - these are infrared lamps hanging in the meter from the floor, stove-burzhujki, and if the room is large, then a water circuit is connected to the stove, which includes radiators.

This diagram shows how heating in a large house can be arranged. The digits show the following elements of the system:

1. A heating boiler or a furnace with a water circuit.
2. Tank storage tank installed in the boiler house of the house and having a pair of outlets in the poultry house
3. Circulation pump.
4. Thermostatic relay, including the pump if necessary - when the temperature in the poultry falls below the set level
5. Heating radiators.

In the event that the stove is planned to be installed directly in the house, it will be necessary to provide for it a separated corner in which ducks can not enter.

If it is decided to heat the duck room with infrared lighting or conventional electric lamps, it is necessary to take into account that for 8 ÷ 10 square meters one lamp of 250 W is needed.

Lamps are installed in reflecting light and heat plafonds, and the height of the luminaires suspended above the floor should be adjustable - when the temperatures fall, the lamps fall down, and when raised, they are raised to one meter or higher above the surface.

Another way to heat rooms for keeping animals and birds is electric convectors, but in this case you will have to spend a lot of money not only on purchasing appliances, but also on regular payment for electricity.

When installing any of the types of heating, it should be remembered that none of them will not be effective without proper warming of the main structure of the house, as the heat simply will not stay inside.

Floor mats

Although ducks tolerate cold, but with prolonged exposure to cold floor, they can frostbite their feet. In addition, severe hypothermia often leads to the death of the bird. Therefore, it is very important to make warm floor mats, 100-150 mm thick.

Winter litter should be dry, soft, not injuring the paw of a bird, warm, quickly absorbing moisture, and also absorbing unpleasant odors. Therefore, for her most often selected small or medium-sized sawdust, straw or hay, ash or a mixture of several components. In the summer, you can fall asleep floor in the duck room with river sand.

. Littering should always be dry, and not have a musty odor, since dirty insulating natural material can produce harmful insects that will damage the feathers and feathers of the ducks.

The litter is changed as needed, but it must not be allowed to be wet, otherwise it will lose its insulating qualities.

Airing of premises

Ducks do not tolerate drafts, therefore ventilation should be carried out only with the help of windows located high above the floor. In winter, this event is held as needed, in the summer, ducks in the daytime are mostly on the street, so at this time you can open the door to the poultry house wide.

Whatever it was, airing in the room where the bird is located, it is necessary to carry out necessarily, otherwise the litter will dry up badly, and in it a pathogenic microflora may appear.

Poultry places

Poultry walking is a compulsory exercise that must be carried out at any time of the year. In summer, for walks, a fenced enclosure is organized, where all the elements necessary for ducks will be provided. In winter, ducks are recommended to walk on the site in the event that the temperature in the street does not fall below 10 degrees, and they are issued for a short walk.

. The winter playground should be protected from wind, and also have a roof that will cover birds from rain and snow. And in order to create dirt on the site, it is recommended to fill it with a mixed mass of sand and sawdust. These materials absorb moisture well, and, being in the mixture, do not form a solid crust at low temperatures. Before releasing the bird to the site, the filling should be razed by rakes, breaking the frozen lumps.

Some farmers are sure to organize a kind of indoor and wooden corridor in front of the entrance intended for birds, which in winter is an excellent platform for walking, becauseprotects the bird from wind and rain, and also allows at any time to get inside the room. With the construction of such an extension, several problems are solved at once: the bird does not freeze its paws, is not in a draft, it is not necessary to take out water and feed to the street, as the entrance to the room is open, and ducks can always go inside.

Drinking bowls and feeders for ducks

Feeders for ducks can be different, but usually they are a long wooden or plastic trough. Some farmers, providing all the nuances, develop their own design of feeders, which are convenient for poultry, and they allow preserving the food in its pure form, without getting foreign pollutants into it. For their manufacture, plastic pipes of 100 mm are used for sewerage, in which the required number of holes is cut out.

Wooden and home-made plastic feeders are good for dry loose food, and wet is best laid out in containers made of stainless metal.

The feeders are made long so that the ducks can eat everything at the same time, do not climb against each other and do not fight. If a wooden long feeder is manufactured, then it should be divided from above by a bar. Such a design was invented so that the ducks could take food by going to the trough on both sides, and only the beak of the bird passed between the bar and the wall of the container.

The tanks are installed on the floor, in places to which there is free access from all sides. On the paddock area there should also be a necessary number of feeders. It should be noted that the ducks are not accurate and scatter the food throughout the room, so it is recommended, for the sake of economy, to fill in the feeder with a small amount of feed, and when it is eaten - add more.

As a drinker on the site you can use a normal plastic basin filled to the brim with water, as it is not terrible if it is spilled on the ground. In the house it is better to install a drinking bowl, which will be replenished with water as it decreases from the bottom tank.

But, one should not forget that ducks are waterfowl and they should always have free access to clean and fresh water. Since each of the birds drinks up to 600 ml per day.liquid, its reserves must be constantly replenished. Automatic drinkers will be the best option for installation indoors - in them water will not be polluted, and the bird can not climb into the pelvis.

Water reservoirs for ducks

As mentioned above, water is the native element for ducks, so if there is a natural water body nearby, the house should be built closer to it so that the birds can more often take water procedures in natural conditions. If there is no nearby water reservoir, it will be necessary to make at least a small artificial one, and it is better if it is located on the paddock.

If the ducks are small, an old bathtub can be used to make a pond, which can be connected to a sewage system, which will facilitate the replacement of water in the tank as it becomes contaminated.

can serve as an artificial reservoir. The bath is dug into the soil in a place convenient for a bird. If there is a desire to expand such a "pond", an additional capacity of polypropylene or rubber, but of a larger size, is installed under the tub. Then they are combined among themselves, covering with a dense polyethylene film. Thanks to this design, a different depth level is obtained in the artificial pond. After that, the edges of the reservoir can be decorated with flat stones, and then fill the tank with water.

If the ducks are many, then the pond for them is done differently. For him, he digs a pit one meter deep. In the event that the discharge of water into the sewer is planned, a drain pipe is laid to the bottom of the future pond. Then, the pit and its edges for 150 ÷ ​​200 mm are reinforced and concreted. After the concrete has solidified and collects strength, the sewer hole is closed with a cork, and the resulting container is filled with water.

To prevent ducks on the paws from entering the mud, it is recommended to remove the soil around the pond to a depth of 80 ÷ 100 mm, and then fill the resulting cavity with fine gravel or expanded clay.

The simplest option - instead of concreting the pit of the reservoir can be closed with a special dense polyethylene film, which at the edges of the pit is fixed with stones. This version of the reservoir is much easier to make, but in order to pump out water from it, and it will have to be done quite often, you will have to purchase a special drain pump.

Another option for equipping a pond is a polypropylene ready-made container, which can be multi-stage or have the same depth in the middle and closer to the edges. The container is also installed in the pit prepared for it, it can be connected to the sewage system, or it can be pumped out with a pump. This option can be called the most convenient, but, however, quite expensive for the price.

Ash baths

Since the ducks are kept on the floor, it is sometimes necessary for them to arrange an ash or sand-ash bath. This requires an open box of 1250 × 1700 mm in size and a height of about 200 ÷ 250 mm.

This procedure is necessary as prevention and control of feather and cutaneous parasites. Sand and wood ash helps to clean the feathers and down of the bird not only from the insects themselves, but also from the clutches of their eggs.

For this procedure, the box is filled in with a mixture made of ash and sand, taken in a 1: 1 ratio. Then it is installed on the paddock or in the house.

Ducks are very fond of such procedures and get a lot of pleasure from them, as they are released from disturbing parasites, which simultaneously favorably influences rapid growth and weight gain.

The ash bath should be done once every three to four weeks or even leave the box at the full disposal of the birds. The mixture of ash and sand in this case must be changed once a month. When replacing the mixture, the box must be carefully disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Sockets for laying eggs

Sockets are necessary for ducks with a constant egg laying so that they can lay eggs in a calm environment. Such nests are made of blocks and boards, covering their side walls with plywood. The floor of the boxes for the nests rises above the ground, approximately 100-120 mm, and consists of boards fixed at a distance of 5-8 mm from each other. The boards are covered with warming material - it can be hay, straw or large sawdust. In the future, the duck itself before the clutch will try to create comfortable conditions for eggs, and then for ducklings, warming the nest with down. In such conditions, she will feel warm and safe.

sockets. The size of such boxes intended for sockets is usually 250 × 350 × 400 mm( width, height, depth).The front of the nest box is equipped with a small threshold, a height of 50 ÷ 60 mm - it is necessary so that the eggs can not roll out. Nests in the poultry house should be two times smaller than ducks, for example, for 8 birds, 4 ÷ 5 nests are required.

These devices are usually mounted in a complex of two or three pieces and are installed along the walls, away from the entrance and from the feeders, so that the nest does not affect the draft in any way, and there is no fuss around the masonry.

It should be noted that if it is not possible to make drawers for the nests, then it is possible to adapt strong cardboard boxes, baskets or even plastic cans.

If you buy ducks of meat breeds that lay eggs seasonally, they will not need to build nests for them.

So, thanks to the fact that ducks are hardy and unpretentious, any breeder, even one who does not have experience in poultry farming, can cultivate them. However, do not buy a large number of ducklings at once - it's better to try to start with 5 ÷ 8 pieces, so it's possible that there will be too many inexperience.