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

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