Some simple tips for orienting and building your chicken coop
There’s a few ways that you can get your own chicken coop to house your chickens, the obvious to are to build one or to buy one. If you can scrounge materials successfully it can be quite cheap to build your own chicken coop.
However whether you plan to build or to buy one you do need to think about a few things about where you will put your henhouse and how you will position it.
It’s best to face your henhouse towards the east or the north-east. This allows the morning sun to warm the henhouse but protects it from the hot afternoon sun in the summer. On the western side of your chicken coop plant shrubs or trees that can provide shade after lunchtime.
If you have chicken wire across the front of the coop this allows the suns rays to enter in the morning. It’s very important to have chicken wire across a part of the chicken coop for another reason as well. It is essential to ensure that the coop has good ventilation, preferably with 2 places with mesh wire to allow the entry and the exit of breeze.
As you will need to clean the chicken coop regularly you will need to allow for this when building it.
For example we built our own chicken coop with a door that is large enough to allow entry of a wheelbarrow so that we can shovel the waste material directly into the wheelbarrow without having to take it outside to do so and can also bring in wheelbarrow loads of new sawdust, which we use to line the floor of the chook house.
You also need to consider what you will make your henhouse from. We used second-hand Cyprus posts 4 inches square as uprights, put a simple frame between them to allow for nailing of weatherboards, put a single piece of timber across the centre of the roof for attaching second-hand corrugated iron and this produced a simple but very effective shed at low cost. Of course you also need to provide both nesting boxes and perches inside the shed. Read the rest of this entry
Just like humans, chickens are unique. Not all chickens are made equal and similarly, and so as their chicken coop. when you are out planning for a coop, there are factors that you have to take into consideration. You have to consider how many chicken you got, what the chickens are for, or if they are going to be pets, or some accommodations the chickens have, or on how you are going to get to their eggs.
Knowing all these things are very important and have it answered before you begin building your chicken coop. it is also important that the number of chickens that you keep is limited to your yard’s dimension. You can keep five, or even more but however the coop must be built in such a way that it can accommodate the amount of chickens you plan to have.
It is highly important that the chicken coop plans is sturdy enough or else your chickens can become stressed and pissed off when it comes to laying their eggs patterns. In cases where you are raising chickens just for the eggs, then you have to never interrupt their habits because this can distort their habits and in turn, deliver you eggs that are not of great quality.
There is basically three chicken shacks that you can build. You can choose either little, medium or big. You will then decide to build the coop in two alternative ways. The primary way is that you build it with an A-shaped roof as this kind of roof is decent and lasts for a bit longer. This too will allow rain and snow to run off the top. However, this type seems to be a bit expensive and will require you to need more wood.
Moreover, having an A-shaped roof for a chicken coop will permit your chickens not to hit the ceiling quite as much. A rook that is flatly build will collect more snow and rain and this somehow will cause the roof to collapse. To prevent this incident, ensure that you position it an angle that will ward off snow and rain itself.
Small coops are best when you have to keep two or three chickens. These coops may consist of a small fence enclosure with a small indoor area that allows sleeping two or three chickens. This is also less costly and is best for chickens as pets. Medium coops on the other hand are bigger compared to the latter and this houses at least five to ten chickens. It can be converted into an old shed or this can be made from nothing but they match the basic elements needed for chicken coop designs. Read the rest of this entry
A chicken coop always has a chicken nest boxes that is basically fifteen inch wide and fifteen inch high. This varies too to a certain extent and you can fill the best boxes with straw or some padding down on the bottom so that the eggs won’t crack when they lay. Chickens share the same nest boxes so in cases where you more chickens, then it would be best that you give them more nest boxes in laying their eggs.
A two by four inch board works nicely as a roost. You can also utilize a tree branch that measure 3” to 6”. It is important that you place the roosts where the droppings are not blocking the way when you enter your coop so that you have to clean off your shoes. You may also want to consider positioning the roosts in such a way that you can clean the dropping easily. Chickens like roosting higher inside their coop during the night so it would be best if you positioned it four feet off the ground.
Chicken coops also need a chicken feeder inside. Farm stores have several nice collections of chicken feeders and water containers but then it can be expensive. You can make your own 5 gallon feeder and waterer by the use of two 5 gallon buckets that you can find in the bakery or deli section. A 5 gallon feeder will last about three weeks for a dozen of chickens.
Moreover, it is important that you have to have a waterer for your chicken coop. to obtain it, you need to drill one or two small holes about ¼ inch near the base of the bucket and drill it at about one inch up from the bottom of the bucket. The height or distance can vary from the bottom of the bucket but make sure the hole does not lie above the rim of the base.
You should also bear in mind that each chicken inside the coop must have a three to four square feet of space. It is recommended that you make it a little bigger than you need in case when you want to purchase more chickens later on. Read the rest of this entry
An important factor to be considered in building a chicken coop is their security and safety. More so, it is highly essential that you protect them from bad weather such as the heavy rain, hale, snow, and extreme weather conditions. A good chicken coop must have proper ventilation because chickens need it. The coop ventilation must be considered and a draft free air movement within the coop will allow air to pass through leaving it smelling clean. Chickens need fresh air and oxygen too.
This is also true for unwanted excessive moisture and carbon dioxide. A chicken coop that has enough air movement and proper ventilation will help remove the buildup of ammonia and dampness that can grow inside the walls. This should not be the case. The walls should have proper insulation installed and this will help keep the chickens dry. With this, they can handle cold climates very well but then humidity and cold weather may cause health issues for your poultry. So insulate walls are important and you should not forget it.
Moreover, chickens need enough lighting too. A good source of light and warmth for your chickens during the cold months of the year is important. Also, they need a source of ventilation during the hot months. So it is vital that you consider installing chicken coop windows that is facing south side where they can receive direct sunlight throughout the day.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are raising chickens for producing eggs, then you should look into an electrical source of light and install it at the height of the coop’s ceiling that will help keep your chickens warm and help them lay better chicken eggs. Once ceiling is enough for a small scale coop. for larger coops, try installing electrical light every 30 to 40 feet. Read the rest of this entry
