Constructing a comfortable chicken coop for your chicken entails paying close attention to the details in the building plans. Indeed constructing a chicken coop without adequate plans is a complete waste of money, time, building tools and materials. In your chicken house plans, make provision for the comfort of the chicken.

Make sure that you provide them with a spacious place to live in if you want them to be healthy. The least amount of space required for every chicken in a coop is about four square feet. Therefore, make out the number of chicken you plan to raise before constructing the chicken coop. Chicken house plans have never been that easy. It is quite easy to determine that for 30 chickens for instance you would need to build at least 120 square feet of chicken coop. It would not be bad if you are able to build more than the required space. The more space they have the more they are able to enjoy and produce better eggs. Never try to beat down cost by limiting the space allotted to each chicken. It could eventually work against you.

Again, in your chicken house plans, do not give room for the overcrowding of chicken. It rather leads to negative effects like diseases, pests and cannibalism. If your chickens do not get enough air then they would be exposed to all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. They could be very weak and die eventually. Construct a perch for your chicken. It would be very filthy to see chicken droppings mix up with the eggs. Ensure that you have boxes or any other type of containers under the perch to collect the droppings that come through. Similarly you could you could use broom handles to provide them a comfortable place to perch. It helps to keep the perch free from diseases.

Also your chicken coop should be well ventilated to prevent the chickens from sweating. Sweat promotes the development of diseases and ailments on the skin. Supply your chicken coop with small vents or windows to allow the sweat to evaporate. Indeed the best position for a window is one that does not face the direction of the wind. This position keeps stale air out and rather brings in fresher air.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances you should have a maximum of six chickens per nesting box. As much as possible the nesting boxes should be dark. This makes the chicken feel comfortable and relaxed. To prevent the eggs from cracks you could place straw shavings in the nesting boxes.

If you know how to design chicken house plans remember that the chicken coops should be strong to inhibit intruders. The wood used should be sturdy enough. Push your chicken after construction to see if it is really strong. If it shakes then you have not applied all the principles of how to design chicken house plans.



By: Billy Randford

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Going green is not only regarded as environmentally sound, but has become a priority for many victims of the credit crunch that has devastated the world. Being forced to budget just to survive has convinced people to return to nature and eat healthily and more cheaply by growing whatever they need. This has led to back gardens being transformed into smallholdings with a chicken house often taking pride of place.  If you are thinking of building your own chicken house, it is so important that it meets the needs of your chickens to enable them to be happy and contented, staying in fine physical shape. Here are some important facts you should take into consideration.  

SIZE

Chicken houses can be built, or purchased in a range of sizes, each of which can house a specific number of chickens. The biggest mistake you can make is trying to cram too many birds into your house because each chicken requires so much area to feel comfortable and lay eggs properly. It is always better to err on the large size rather than being too small – you can always add more birds to the house if you want later on.

PORTABLE VERSUS FIXED

Do you want your chicken house to be portable or fixed? Obviously, mobile houses can be located wherever you want and permit easier maintenance since you can simply move them to where you need for cleaning. However, if you’re looking for something with more structural integrity, you’ll be better off choosing a fixed chicken house that is sturdier to withstand wear and tear.

LOCATION

It’s also important that you identify the best spot to place your coop. Location will be partly determined by land formation, but having the coop within a close distance (eye’s range is even better) will help you keep a closer watch on your chickens to ensure they’re safe. This is where a mobile chicken coop comes in really handy since you can easily transport it to wherever you are going to be.

PROTECTION

Protecting your chickens from predators will affect what type of chicken chouse to make as well as, ideally, you should have a very solid fencing system to keep all unwelcome visitors out. If you’ve decided on free-range chicken raising, then to keep costs down choose a corner area. That way you’ve already covered two of the required walls of the free-range site.

Take a long, hard look at what you must do in order to keep your chickens protected.   Again, this is a key element to tackle if you want to keep your chickens for the long term because, without protection, there is every chance that a predator will come around at some point or another. You must make sure your chicken house is predator-proof from all sides. Make sure you have the correct size of wire mesh protecting all openings. 15mm square is good, preventing predators from reaching inside the house.

The area surrounding your chicken house also needs protection. You need wire mesh fencing with the base buried at least 30cm below ground level. This will especially help against rats that will easily be drawn towards your chickens’ droppings and it will help prevent foxes and other predators from burrowing into the chickens’ area.

CORRECT STYLE OF FENCE

It’s also vital to choose the right type of fence that would be best to build with your chicken coop. Consider the type of predator you’re likely to encounter then research the different types of fences available to find the best fit.

If you’re going to have problems with digging animals, it will be most important to build the house low enough into the ground so it’s difficult for them to burrow underneath. If you are looking at the possibility of larger predatory animals, then you’re going to need a fence that’s incredibly sturdy in order to keep them out effectively.  If you don’t, you may think you’re protecting your chickens, but you really haven’t done much but added a bit of decoration to your chicken coop.

So be sure you’re keeping fencing and protection firmly in mind. You could build the most perfect chicken coop ever, but, if another animal decides to venture in, that perfect chicken coop could be no more.



By: Jackie Strong

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