A great coop for your chickens
Designing a chicken coop construction project is absolutely great but then you have to remember that planning prior to making one will lead to a success chicken coop. With planning ahead of time, you can save time and money by planning exactly what you want your coop design be like. Whether you have a large or small groups of chicken, it would be best that you plan it considering this. Bear in mind that the point of building a chicken coop is to provide your chickens a place to live in. so planning it very well with the kind of materials and how much it will cost you is great. A well-constructed coop is generally the key to have happy chickens and give you lots of delicious eggs.
Here are guidelines in planning a chicken coop. Firstly, you have to ensure that you provide them enough space inside their coop. A three to four square feet per chicken is ideal. Avoiding overcrowding is highly important or else this can harm your chicken. You will also have to remember to give your chickens enough room outside their home. Eight to ten square feet per chicken is a great space for a chicken run.
More so, you have to bear in mind to include some way for you to access the coop yourself easily. You will need to get in to collect any eggs or clean the coop on a regular basis. The coop must also be secured from predators that might be lurking nearby. Make sure that they can’t get in. you will need to use strong wires of some sort and make a coop that is constructed in such a way that keeps unwanted visitors from coming in.
As you are to design your coop, you are free to design it whatever you please and construct it with materials that you wish to use. Chickens are easy to please so designing your own coop to your personal convenience is never a problem. Building a chicken coop that is tall enough for you to easily get in will be a great convenience for you.
As you are to build your design, you also have to ensure that the materials you use in the construction is sturdy and strong. Also, you have to take note your local climate. Those in a warmer climate all year round can use wire doors or walls, but for those living in a cold climate, you have to ensure that you use solid walls and some insulation is also needed to stop your chicken from stressing when it is cold. Read the rest of this entry
Before you make a chicken house
Chickens need a chicken house for them to feel safe, a place for them to lay their eggs, and a place for them to retreat whenever they want to sleep. It is important that the chicken house is tall enough for you to open a door and walk into it. Your hen literally lives all year round inside a chicken tractor although they don’t have any idea about it. Having such will let you find that it is accommodating and easier to maintain your chickens.
It is best that the coop is at least four square feet per chicken so if you owned four of them, you will need a coop that is 4’ x 4’. Some people will settle on a three square feet and if you have it, show it. A coop that is eight inches wide and eight inches long and 6 inches in height provides a very comfortable digs for six chickens.
Moreover, the size of the chicken coop should contain the nests and roosts and this need to be accommodate the number of chickens you have. It is important also that the coop is large enough for you to walk into it and turn around. It can be smaller too as long as you can get into it to clean and collect eggs. You can hinge the roof so it will lift up or you can have exterior doors into the nest that is surely satisfactory.
You can also set up a window and have it screened to provide ventilation. Cross ventilation is also important so you might as well include vents on the wall opposite the window. Doors of some sort are good too. Some owners like solid while others prefer screened doors. More so, your climate will determine the type you are to use. Adding two doors at different points for easier access can be great especially if the design is on the small side. You can include a door that opens a ramp so your chickens can easily access their coop.
The materials needed for the coop can be bought in hardware stores so it is easy for you to buy one. You can also suit your own aesthetic style and design it on your own and construct it with your skills. A well-designed and maintained chicken coop is a credit to the owner. That is truly rewarding. Read the rest of this entry
There are several factors that you should consider when trying to determine the type of chicken coop you intend to build. Knowing those things are highly important because before you can proceed building it, you will have to ensure that you get some key factors right so as to meet the required needs.
There are those do-it-yourself guides that you can actually find useful and there is also other information with the resources you can search for too. Building your own chicken coop must be done specifically and this is going to make a huge impact on how much money you spend for your own benefit in understanding the types of materials that is important in making an informed decision.
Here are some basics that you have to do. First, you have to take metal or wood posts and place it in an area where the ground is in a rectangular shape in any size that you want. You can then warp the chicken wire around the fours posts. You will then have to mound at least three inches surrounding the chicken wire in and out.
You can then place the post in the ground. After doing so, you will nail a 2×4 across the wooden posts slightly below the height of the posts in order to create a slope. Having this will allow the rain to fall off the tin roofing. On the opposite side, you do the same process and nail a 2×4 at the same height of the posts.
After which you can nail the tin roofing across those two 2x4s. Then you can make a door, but it is optional, as long as you have a four inches spaces hanging over the exit area. Lastly, get the pieces of plywood as long and as tall as the coop and loosely place it against the metal posts.
You might be wondering how much it will cost you. If you want a pre-built, it can be a thousand dollars or more. If you do it yourself and build your very own coop, then you are to spend less money. Chicken coops can be made from a variety of different material that includes materials such as an old shed, scrap lumber, PVC pipes, 50 gallon barrel or other recycled material that you have around your house. Read the rest of this entry
