Building a Chicken Coop - Where to Start?

The first problem that arises when building a chicken coop, is finding a structured way that you can complete the project. While they are available from retailers, they are often extremely expensive and not tailor made to fit individual requirements.

The first thing that needs to be highlighted is that when building a chicken coop, it is almost essential that you get yourself some decent plans. Without plans not only is it going to be a hard and long process, but the end result will not be the best!

Building a chicken coop requires a lot of time and dedication as well as patience, and usually costs somewhere around the $300 mark depending on your requirements when building your ideal coop.

Chicken coop plans will certainly aid the process of building your ideal chicken habitat. The last set of plans I read were extremely informative and basically provided a step by step guide and covered extra points such as ventilation to suit the climate, elevating the structure to avoid predators and the deep litter method.

One of the most beneficial things I found about reading the plans was not only did it allow me to aid a friend build one to an almost perfect standard, but it allowed us to go through the pros and cons of using certain materials. This meant we could save money in certain aspects of building, which left us with cash to spare when needing to pay for more expensive materials for aspects of building a chicken coop that really needed it.

I have written a few more in depth articles on the website listed below and I also have a link to the chicken coop plans I used there.

Poultry Pages for all the latest poultry information including Chicken Coop Plans, breeding information and books.

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How to Build a Chicken Coop - 6 Excellent Tips to Help You in Building a Chicken Coop

If you have some space in your backyard you can learn how to build a chicken coop. This will help having fresh eggs every day. These eggs will be much better compared to what you may be buying from grocery stores in terms of nutrition and taste.

Building a chicken coop on your own will save some money and you may be able to use some material that you may be having. Plus you can decide the exact design you want for your chicken house.

This project will however require some good planning. Here are some guidelines you can use to build a chicken house:

1) To make the chickens comfortable you need to provide them enough space. A space of around 2 to 3 square feet of room per chicken is a good practice.

2) Proper ventilation in the house will prevent build up of toxic fumes. Having vents on the south and east sides of coop will provide good air flow and protect the hens from cold drafts. If you live in a warm place have these vents on north and south sides. Proper ventilation will keep the chickens happy.

3) When you build a chicken coop, proper insulation for the chicken house will prevent it from heating during summers and freezing during winters. Putting a layer of foam between the walls and ceiling should do the job. Painting the coop with white paint during summers will help in reflecting heat. During winters you can have hay bales around the north wall of the house.

4) Another important factor to build chicken coop is protecting the chickens from animals and predators. Having a concrete floor would be the best. However this can be expensive. Another way is to put a chicken wire one foot below the ground in the house run. This will prevent animals from burrowing underground.

5) You will need to have a roost for the birds to sleep well. This should ideally be made of good smooth wood. When building the roost keep the number of chickens in mind so that you don't build it too small or too big.

6) For the chicken to lay eggs you will require nests in a dark place. For protecting the eggs this will be an important factor while building a chicken coop. Nests should be around 15 x 15 inches in area and 12 inches deep. Placement of the nests in terms of height will also be important.

Do you know that a good chicken coop plan can cut your time and effort by half and also save you a lot of money on building material? To learn how to build a chicken coop that delivers maximum benefits without investing a huge amount of money and effort - Click here

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5 Tips For Building the Perfect Chicken Coop

The most expensive aspect of raising chickens is the chicken coop. However, you can save money by building your own provided that your design meets the needs of your chickens. There are a number of particular issues that you need to consider before building your chicken coop and choosing the most appropriate plan for you.

1. You need to ensure that your chicken coop is the right size for the number of chickens that you intend to keep. You should allow 30 sq cm or 4.7 sq ins per bird.

2. You need to ensure sufficient ventilation to avoid your chickens getting too hot in summer and to make sure that the coop does not get too smelly. However, you do not want it too breezy either.

3. Your chicken coop should provide sufficient light for your chickens, so you will need to ensure that you coop has a window that is angled in such a way to receive the right amount of light.

4. Your chicken coop should include nest boxes that give your chickens some privacy. Chickens like to be quiet and undisturbed while they are laying.

5. Chickens prefer to sleep on roosting bars, so you will need to provide these for your chickens. They should be slightly rounded to ensure that they are comfortable.

Your plan will need to take into account the fact that you will need to clean out the chicken coop on a regular basis, so you will need to make sure that you can get to everywhere that you need to. It particularly helps if the roosting bars are removable. If you can achieve the ideal conditions for your hens then they will remain happy, healthy and productive throughout their life with you.

In order to make sure that you have the right chicken coop for you and your chickens, make sure that you choose the right chicken coop plan.

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Chicken Coop Designs - Your Ultimate Guide

A chicken coop is a house you create for your chickens. They can be fun to make because there are a lot chicken coop designs that you can do.

A mini chicken coop design is best for people who want to raise just a few chickens. They do not require too much space in your backyard.

There are also movable or portable chicken coop designs. They are best suited for places where weather often changes. They are good in these places because they allow the owners to move the coop to safe places during bad weather.

Movable or portable chicken coops come in different designs. There are coops that can be moved manually while there are machine moved coops.

Manually moved coops are made of lightweight materials. They can have built in dollies to facilitate ease of movement. Manually moved coops are designed with these things in mind.

* They should be easy to move by hands.
* They should not injure the chickens during transfers.
* They should allow easy cleaning.
* They should be sturdy to prevent damage during moves.

Machine moved coops are usually bigger and made of heavier materials. Some designs have the coops mounted on skids while others have them mounted on wheels.

You can be very creative in building your chicken coop. You can use different materials to build one. Some designs can be done using materials like wood for the frame, chicken wires for the walls and flat steel for the roof. Other designs can be made using PVC pipes for the frame and tarp for roofs and walls.

There are a lot of chicken coop designs on the internet. You can follow them if you do not know how to design your own. But if you are good in designing, you can make your own so you can put in your personal preferences.

If you want to download step by step chicken coop plans, you should take a look at my blog - where I'll show you the best resource available for downloading fully illustrated, step by step plans for building a chicken coop. It really is easier than you think when you have the right plans! Click here to go there now.

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Build a Chicken Coop - Your Ultimate Guide

Chickens survive in the wild even without human intervention. Free ranging chickens look for their own food and shelter. But if you want to raise chickens for purposes like having eggs and meat for business or for your own household consumption, you will need to build a chicken coop.

A chicken coop is a shelter you build for your chickens. It can be very big if you have many chickens to raise or it can be small if you have only a few to take care of.

If you want to build a chicken coop, here is your ultimate guide.

1.Project the number of chickens you will have. As mentioned earlier, big coops are needed if you have many to raise. The size of the coop should be big enough to give the chickens room to run around.

2.Study your reasons for raising chickens. If you raise chickens for their eggs, you will need to design your coop with enough nests. Nest location should be carefully planned out because eggs easily break. Chickens are not conscious of where they step on so make sure that the nests are placed such that they will be protected from the hens when they move around.

3.You also need to have enough feeding and watering materials. They must be spread throughout the coop so that the chickens will not fight over food and water. They are better hung because again, chickens are not conscious of where they step on and also where they poop. You wouldn't want their droppings to mix with their food.

4.You also have to consider methods of cleaning the coop. You have to plan your coop to be built in a way that is easy to clean. You wouldn't want your neighbors complaining about bad smell. You must also have enough water to clean the area and there should also be proper drainage to avoid this.

Let these tips guide you as you build a chicken coop.

If you want to download step by step chicken coop plans, you should take a look at my blog - where I'll show you the best resource available for downloading fully illustrated, step by step plans for building a chicken coop. It really is easier than you think when you have the right plans! Click here to go there now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ollie_Phelps

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Build a Backyard Chicken Coop - Everything You Need to Know

If you are raising chickens that you allow to run around in your backyard, you may have already lost some to predators. This is already reason enough to build a backyard chicken coop. A backyard chicken coop is a shelter you build for your chickens.

A backyard chicken coop can be a fixed coop or a portable coop. If you want to have a fixed chicken coop in your backyard, you would need to select a spot where predators will be prevented from preying on your chickens or at the very least where they will have a difficult time getting near the chickens.

It would also be helpful if your fixed coop is enclosed in a fence to effectively protect the chickens from being eaten by other animals. You can also bury in the ground the chicken wire you use as fence. Burying it one or two feet will prevent predators who love to dig from getting in the coop.

A portable chicken coop can be transferred to different spots to prevent predators from having easy access on the chickens. However if you build a backyard chicken coop that is movable, you have to make sure that it is made of lightweight materials for easy movement. It also has to be made in such a way that the chickens will not be injured during moves. It is also important to make it sturdy enough to prevent being damaged during transfers.

Aside from building a chicken coop to protect them against predators, coops are also made to protect them against the effects of wind drafts. You either place it where it will not be reached by strong winds or you provide covers for protection. But there should still be proper ventilation.

Building a backyard chicken coop is easy to do if you already have experience doing some carpentry work. If not, it can be a fun way to start learning how to use a hammer to drive down nails.

If you want to download step by step chicken coop plans, you should take a look at my blog - where I'll show you the best resource available for downloading fully illustrated, step by step plans for building a chicken coop. It really is easier than you think when you have the right plans! Click here to go there now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ollie_Phelps

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Plans Are Essential When Building a Chicken Coop

Many Chicken breeders and owners choose to purchase from retailers at full price, rather than researching the subject. By doing some quick research for a friend, I quickly found that not only are chicken coops really expensive, but also that chicken coops plans are readily available, and could lead to huge savings!

The average person spends just under $300 building one, so getting hold of the right chicken coops plans and ensuring it is built the highest quality will mean that you won't be wasting the above amount of money! The good thing about most plans that can be found across the internet is that in general they allow the owner to adapt to their own requirements or to their own style, meaning you can build the structure exactly how you want it.

Many plans will suggest which materials to use, but to be honest, that's a fairly flexible subject when it comes to building a chicken coop. My research shows that people building use anything ranging from scrap wood, PVC pipes, 50 gallon barrels, tarps and so on. Most sets of plans will try to identify the best ways to save money on materials, but remember not to jeopardize the quality of your end product, as your chicken's habitat will definitely not last as long!

Remember to find chicken coop plans that offer all the essential ingredients to building a chicken coop such as nest boxes, chicken roosts, feeders and a water container. Not having space to implement the above features could be disastrous.

I have written a few more articles that go into a bit more detail on my website, so hope this helps get you started!

Poultry Pages Resource for Poultry information including Breeding and Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese and Turkeys, Chicken Coops, Plans and books.

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