Posts Tagged ‘building a chicken ark’
Building a Chicken Ark – A great Way to Get Started in Keeping Chickens
If you’re just starting to keep chickens, a great way to save money is to build a simple chicken ark. There are good ready made chicken arks available but they can be very expensive; a good set of chicken ark plans will give you excellent results.
Chicken arks are the simple triangular shaped chicken coops that have an integral run. For the simplest type to build, go for the one storey version with a rosting space and nesting box and a run attached. it’s a simple project to build a chicken ark, which should take you around a day – so you’d also have time to get your chickens and introduce them to their new home within one weekend.
They are ideal for a first flock of three chickens and if you are just starting out it’s best to buy brooders – hens that are getting ready to lay – so they will start producing eggs for you soon after you get them.
Get your children involved from the beginning by sharing the project of building the chicken ark, and then they should also get interested in the ongoing care of the chickens. Depending on the ages of your children, they will be able to help building the chicken ark by doing something: fetching and organising the materials, telling you what to do next, assembling some of the pieces or even building the entire chicken ark by themselves.
The chicken ark is portable, so yu move it to new ground each day and the chicken scratch about in new ground. You can also leave it in one place and allow your chickens to free range. They will clear rough ground for you; scratch up bugs and insects, and clear beds in the autumn.
f you do move the ark every day, you will get fertilised ground, but they won’t clear it completely. If you want to preserve your lawn but keep your chicken ark on it, this can be a a good solution.
If you are debating whether to keep chickens, don’t worry – it is very easy and they are rewarding animals. First find some good chicken ark plans so the building is easy and quick, then make sure that you have all the information you need to keep your chickens safe and healthy – look for good plans that come with a complete kit of chicken keeping information,
You will be rewarded by lovely fresh eggs for several years.
Keep the Predators at Bay – and Let Your Chickens Roam
In districts where there are chicken predators such as foxes, owls, raccoons,or skunks, a chicken ark can be an ideal solution allowing them to graze and peck on new ground, and keeping them safe.
The chicken ark is designed to be moved around, giving chickens new ground to forage and browse on, but as the run is enclosed, it keeps them safe. There is a place for roosting and nesting in the ark so they are rotected at night. Even if predators can dig under the run, they can’t reach the chickens.
When you are around to keep an eye on your chickens, you can let them out, and then put them back in the chicken ark run when you go out.
The two-tier chicken arks have roosting areas at the top wth the run in the wider base below. This provides an enclosed run that is also shaded from the sun and provides some shelter in wet weather.
The simple chicken ark has encloded roosting at nesting at one end, then a triangular section run at the other end. This chicken ark design means the run is open to the elements – so the chickens get sun wind and rain, just like the free range outdoors. Your eggs will be as nutritious as free range, but your chickens will be kept safe.
It is important to move the arks regularly though – every day if necessary.
Position the ark anywhere on your plot where the chickens can peck and graze fro grubs or grass and weeds.their diet will consist of a wide varity of foods, so the eggs will have more flavor.
Chicken can be used to hlep clear rougher areas, they will happily remove dead and flopping growth in the fall and can of course, be used to give your lawn some extra fertilizer. The droppings provide instant fertilizer, but won’t build up as you’ll be moving the ark regularly.
The ‘run at the side’ type of chicken ark tends to be lighter and so easier to move, with the roosting part at ground level. For a starter hen house, this is a great design and easy to build.
Building your own chicken ark should result in an attractive, well-designed hen house, which will last for years, give you and your hens a lot of pleasure – and save you a considerable amount.