Things to know about chicken pens
There are factors that you have to consider before you build a chicken pen. You must consider the type of chickens you will be keeping because this can absolutely affect your chicken run designs. In cases where you feel that the chickens are heavy and large and have a low probability of flying away, then the design would be simple and you can do it with the use of some wooden posts and chicken wire or fencing.
More so, the size your group of chickens also varies. Smaller chickens have the tendency to fly over fences so it best that you design the pen with an enclosed wire or netted roof. You can also build your pen with really high fences to prevent them flying away and have them go to your neighbor’s house for dinner. It is also important that you ask your local laws for chicken keeping. If you are living in rural areas or country, then raising chickens in your backyard won’t be a problem. However if you are planning on raising chickens on an urban area, then you have to check it with your municipality and ask them about the laws.
The next thing you will have to do is choose a good location for the chicken pen like a place that can accommodate you and accommodate your chickens as well. Constructing a run that has easy access to the chicken is probably the best. This way you can easily open the chicken house anytime you want to let them loose for awhile and come up to them again easily. When it gets dark, chickens know where they will sleep and providing them space to where they can sleep inside their pen is great. Be mindful of predators that might be lurking nearby such as cats and dogs or even fox.
Stray cats may roam free at night and in the day climb fences and prey on your helpless chicken flocks. For those living in the country or rural areas, be aware of foxes, hawks or other large chicken eating predators. So it is important that the chicken pen is securely lock to keen unwanted visitors from coming inside. Read the rest of this entry
A lovely chicken pen
People always love going to their farms and relieve old memories and spending some time with their families. For many, one their most loved memories is the old hen house in their backyards. It is great to know the idea of fresh eggs from their own hen house for breakfast is truly satisfying. So to give yourself those fresh eggs for breakfast you will need to know on how to build a chicken pen and make your chickens happy.
There are various ways in building a chicken house and there are also lots of different ideas with it. Before you build one, there are many factors that you have to consider to design the chicken house nicely. The most important factor to it is that you have to know how many chickens you plan to have it used. This is important as this measure directly to the size of the chicken house you are to build and the chicken that will have to be put inside.
Another thing that you have to take note is your main goal in raising chickens. If you are planning to raise chickens basically for their eggs or you are raising them as a source of meat for your table. Either way, you should know your purpose. You need to consider that they will need a place where they can roost and lay their eggs when you build a chicken pen. For this reason, you will need a 1.5 square feet space for each inside the chicken house.
Each type of chicken has different space needs especially when they are laying eggs. You will need a space of about 8 square feet for a laying hen and a ten feet space for a large chicken. This space is very much needed so as to get them ample room for exercise and this also reduces the risk of your hens and chickens fighting other. So it is highly important that you have to take note of these things before you build one. Read the rest of this entry
Things to consider about chicken pens
A chicken pen is also known as a chicken run. It is an enclosed area that is placed usually in a yard or lawn and allows your chicken to run loose and feed of worms, bugs, minerals on the dirt. Chicken pens are usually enclosed with high chicken wire or tall fences so as to keep predators away. A chicken run is sometimes attached to the chicken coop so that your chickens can come in and out their coop easily as they wish.
You might ask why you need to build a chicken pen. Here is why building a chicken pen is nice. Firstly, chickens need fresh air and lots of sunshine. You should also bear in mind that chickens need daylight for at least 12-14 hours for them to lay healthy eggs on a regular basis. Therefore it is not recommended that you keep chickens locked up in their chicken coop all the times so this why you will need a chicken pen.
With a chicken pen or chicken run, your flock of chicken is allowed to roam freely in the backyard. Then they can absorb plenty of daylight that they needed and also, they will have this activity as an exercise tool too. It is highly important that the chicken run should be built properly. This is to protect your chickens from going out and protect them from unwanted visitors from coming in. You should be mindful of predators that might be lurking nearby. Keeping chickens in chicken coops will allow easy access to a constrained but then a chicken pen is the best way to ensure your chickens to grow up happy and healthy.
When you let your chickens loose for quite a time in a chicken pen makes them highly active. They like it when they use their instincts to scratch and dig up soil in the hopes of finding worms for their daily intake and other minerals found in the earth. More so, a chicken run will give more space that is required for them to properly mate, bathe in the dirt and engage in small time chicken fights if you have roosters in the flock. This is a sure way of fun and enjoyment. Read the rest of this entry
Things to consider in building a chicken pen
You might know about all the interiors regarding the chicken coop’s interior. How the chicken pen be laid out probably hasn’t crossed your mind. There are factors that need to be considered and this depends on how well you allow things. You could have a happy group of chickens or a group of irritated ones. Irritating your chickens is never a great idea.
The first thing you need to know about creating a chicken pen is that you have to determine the type of fence you want to use. It is recommended that you do not use standard wire fence since chickens can easily poke their heads through it or they can squeeze through it. This could be a problem but then as we all know, chickens are the most widely sought prey from other animals and hunted animal by humans. Surely, when one gets loose it is sure to be eaten.
When your chickens are in the pen, you have to ensure that they have water inside it. It is best that you have a water dispenser inside the pen but having water outside that they can easily access it great as well. You can improvise it with a galvanized metal watering device as this will hold up two gallons of water. Basically, the most important thing you have to do is to ensure that you clean it because it is outside the coop and this is probably on the ground.
Moreover, it is not necessary that feed them food on the outside as this is a bad idea as chicken feeds will be destroyed in the rain. Feeding them in the pen will require you to simply toss them bread or other scraps all through the day. Chickens will eat it right away and this saves you the hassle of worrying about them being hungry. Read the rest of this entry
