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Posts Tagged ‘chicken coop’

Keeping my own chickens has been a long time wish of mine. I finally found time and built a medium sized chicken coop. The plans I bought over the internet made the process really easy. The ad for the book about how to build a chicken coop said that a 15 year old could build it. I guess that was meant to be a smart 15 year old! I can use a hammer, a saw and a screwdriver and that’s about all you’ll need by way of tools.

I want to tell you a bit more about my hobby of keeping chickens – I do it just as a hobby, not professionally, and see if I can help you to make some decisions if you’re thinking about keeping chickens in your backyard.

There was a time when chicken was a meal for a special, celebratory occasion. Today of course chicken is very common and hardly special at all. Raising chickens in batteries or factories has provided plentiful and therefore relatively cheap meat, compared to the cost of other meat. The way chickens are raised in batteries is also a major reason why I keep my own brood, in my own suburban backyard.

If you’ve ever seen a battery hen in a chicken factory you will know what I am talking about. The cruelty these birds have to endure for their whole life is nothing short of a disgrace and a blot on our conscience. I had seen enough cancerous, deformed and deranged hens, picking at their own and others flesh out of sheer madness, that I stopped eating chickens and eggs for quite a while until free range products became readily available.

Then I discovered that free range did not always mean what I thought it meant – what it is supposed to mean – and I decided to keep my own chickens in my own chicken coop.

I did not intend to go on a crusade against chicken farms here so let me tell you of some other very good reasons to keep your own chickens.

Fairly obviously, the eggs and the meat come in real handy. The eggs from a truly free-range chicken are nothing short of spectacularly delicious. The yolk is not that washed out colour of a battery egg from a chicken pumped full of estrogen and growth hormone. Instead, it’s a bright, vivid yellow/orange colour with an absolute burst of flavour.

I know some folk who made the mistake of giving their birds names so they will never slaughter their chickens for the table. I keep my birds anonymous so that I am not emotionally distraught when I slaughter them. Real free range, home reared chickens have meat that is quite different to a supermarket bird. It’s plump and has a taste that is just outstanding. The skin roasts to a delicious crispiness. I don’t know exactly how and why but it’s just markedly better tasting than a supermarket bird. The additives in the chicken feed must have an effect on the quality and taste of the meat.

The freshness of the meat and eggs from your backyard brood is a contributory factor to the improved taste of course, but the biggest influence on the taste of the products is the absence of chemicals in the birds diet. Chemicals fed to battery raised chickens destroys the natural taste of the eggs and the meat. The chemicals, by the way, also find their way into your system and so you have also probably ingested female hormones and steroids with every egg and piece of chicken you’ve ever eaten. The fishmeel additive in the chciken feed of factory birds affects the flavour of the meat.

In times like these when most people are trying to save some household costs and also trying to be more environmentally responsible, building a chicken coop and keeping your own chickens is a fairly substantial step in the right direction and it’s very easy to do. So, I guess the environmental impact is another good reason to have your own birds.

The fertiliser produced by the chickens is fantastic for your garden. Gardeners can save money using a non-phosphate laden fertiliser that comes naturally from the chickens.

Since the kids moved out there is often leftover food in our refrigerator that goes to waste. Well I should say used to go to waste because the chickens love leftovers. We don’t feed them onion or garlic but all other foods are welcomed by them. Not just leftovers either, but peelings and cuttings as well. They are little fertiliser factories taking the scraps and the peels and turning it into fertiliser that enhances the plants and vegetables we have growing. It’s lovely to see the cycle of nature as it should be. I let them out of their enclosure to trim the lawn every so often. Like little lawnmowers!

Some people consider their chickens as pets, and for them that is a true benefit of keeping chickens. For me – well I don’t see the chickens as anything other than foodstuff.

If you build the right chicken coop for your intended number of chickens and for the location then your chicken coop becomes a pleasure to maintain. Make sure thats easy to clean and well ventilated. Well looked after chickens produce more eggs.

Now, what about building the chicken coop itself. Building a chicken coop is easy using only basic skills. Any handyman could easily do this. That’s about it. The plans I eventually bought are step-by-step type plans so it was easy to follow. I was fortunate to choose a book of plans that also had other very valuable and useful information in it. Such as: where to place you coop, how to ensure that it doesn’t get too hot in the chicken coop and how to construct a coop that is easy to clean. Also, the book  contained advice on how to choose the correct type of bird for your area.

This is very good value from a book that only costs about $30. I paid very little for all the material I needed for my chicken coop at a local salvage yard. I built a medium sized chicken coop for under $200 and there is a local (major) hardware outlet that sells what I think is a lesser product for over $950. I saved a packet. My $200 investment was returned to me in under 6 months just on the value of eggs produced. By the way I keep 10 hens and I get 6 to 8 eggs every day. I sell 2-3 doz eggs a week and although I charge almost double the supermarket price, I have no shortage of eager customers!

You can buy the book that I used on the internet for only $29.95. Just click here. I really found it to be very useful – exactly what I needed. You get it as an instant download, as soon as you pay. The online payment process is 100% secure.

That’s it. I hope that this information was of some help to you and I hope you enjoy building your chicken coop as much as I enjoyed the task of building mine. It’s a good thing to do and the upside is substantial. Have fun!

While growing up, many of us cannot remember a time in our life when we did not own anyhens. We have childhood memories of going out and feeding chickens. Every day when we go out to feed the birds, we flash back to feeding the chickens as a child. A lot of people are fond of the childhood memories they have. Do you have childhood memories like this? Do you remember helping your parents build a chicken coop? There is a good chance that you have no idea what is exactly going on. Now, here you are, sitting there wondering how to build a chicken coop. As we write this article, we are going to give you some information that you need in order to build those birds a home.

First of all, before you even get the birds, you need to take the size into consideration. How big do you want you coop to be? If you ask me, my choice would be a big one. A lot of people prefer building a smaller chicken coop, so they can transport it. If you have no plans transporting your chicken, then you should build a big coop.

You will have to have a minimum of four square feet for every chicken that will be in the chicken coop. You will have to make your chicken coop as big as possible, so your chicken will lay more eggs and a stress free.

Besides, making the house big is not going to take much more work. Sure, it may take a bit more supplies, but those supplies are actually cheap.

Before you start to build this big house, you will need to figure out where to place it. It is important that you place the chicken coop in the right place; I recommend putting it in a place where the sunlight shines bright in the morning hours. Chickens love the morning sun, this is a known fact.

You will get you rbirds to lay the maximum number of eggs when placing them in the morning sunlight and having them in a safe and stress free environment.

You should note that you will only need few material to build your chicken coop and these materials won’t be expensive at all. Basically, you need some wood, nails, mesh wire and a hammer. To protect your chicken coop even more, you might want to consider to put some shingles on your roof.

When you have the frame put up, you may need some help when it comes to putting the roof on. At this point, when you have the roof on, it will be time to put that mesh wire up. No matter what you do, even if you have to put a ton of nails and staples through it, we highly recommend you not leaving any gaps between that wiring. If you leave gaps, you will make it easy for those predators to grab one of your birds. There are many wild animals out there that would love to have your chicken for dinner. In the end, you will find that building a cage is really fun. Now that you know how to build a chicken coop, it is time to get going.

For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Chicken Coop Plans

Chickens sure are amazing creatures. Chicken have been farm animals as long as we remember. If you love eggs, then passing up on the chance on getting your own chicken would be really hard. You see, many individuals save money from buying eggs simply because they have hens of their own that lay eggs. Does this sound Ok to you? If this is the case then you will have to take several things into consideration before you are ready to get your new animals. First of all, do you know how to build a chicken coop? If not, then I am here to inform you about the things you will need.

You have probably not been aware that building a chicken coop is pretty easy? Well, in fact it is not that difficult. You do no treally have to have big building experience when making your own chicken coop. The first thing you need to do is think about the size that you would like the chicken coop to be. Would you like to have a small chicken coop? When you get a small one, you will be able to transport it around. However, if you consider to have your chicken stay in one spot, then it is advised to build a larger coop.

You should note that if you plan to build a big chicken coop it is not harder to do, because it is bigger. The only difference is that it will be heavier, but in general the work that has to be done is the same.

The general rule is four square feet to each chicken. For instance, if you have four chickens, then you will need to build a house for them that is sixteen square feet. Does this make sense to you? Your chicken have to live in a stress free environment if you want them to lay the maximum amount of eggs.

When you are picking out a spot to place the chickens home, it would be best if you place it where the sunlight hits during the morning hours. Chickens enjoy the morning sunlight and this will make them lay eggs for you more often.

If your chicken feel good and are safe and healthy you can expect them to lay five eggs per week. You will have about 25 eggs per week if you have five hens. Well, this sounds really good, doesn’t it? Remember, it is all in how and where you place their home.

So what materials are needed for building a chicken coop. When it comes to the material list, you will find that you will not require much. In fact, it is absolutely easy. You will need nails, hammer, wood, and mesh wire. You can use treated pine or even hardwood, if you are not able to spend much money.

As you are putting the roof up, you may need someone to help you out. Remember, whatever you do, make sure you seal the chickens in, because there are many wild animals out there that would love to get a taste of some fresh chicken. Building a chicken coop can be fun and an enjoyable experience. Also, it is not expensive at all.

For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Chicken Coop Plans

If you are new to keeping chickens, or you want to get more chickens, building your chicken coop yourself is an excellent way to make savings. Ready made chicken coops can cost several hundred pounds and building a chicken coop is easy if you have good plans.

Your children will enjoy getting involved. Depending on the ages of your children, they will be able to help building the chicken coop 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 coop.

Decide at the outset what design of chicken coop would be right for you. If you only have, or are planning to get, a few hens, say around three, then a chicken ark could be a good solution.

Chicken arks can be moved each day so the chickens get fresh ground to graze, or you can leave them in one place and let the chickens out. A chicken ark is a simple triangular shape with a nest box and roosting space at one end and a run at the other. Building a chicken ark is a simple project that would take a day.

If you’re going for a larger hen house, you’ll find it takes a bit longer, but it isn’t really any more complicated. This is perfect for five or six chickens. You could even build both, so you have the chicken ark to move the hens around and to use if any of them are poorly.

If you have, or plan to have, a larger flock then you will need a bigger hen house. A pitched roof design with external nest boxes would be perfect and you could site it within a run if you are not able to let your chickens free range.

To save costs even further, source some plans that include instructions and plans for building all three types of chicken coop. Then you’re all set to really save money.

Many people are looking to build a chicken coop without having to spend a fortune. It is said that the average person spend around $300 roughly. There are many free and easy plans, that will allow you to construct a coop to fit your needs.
There are many online companies offering free chicken coop plans. Some of these sites sell prefabricated coops for really cheap. Most people can still build them cheaper. One question you should aks yourself is what you like to see in your coop. Proper ventilation is very important. Depending on the size of your chicken population, you will need to make sure you have adequate feeding systems. You will need to base your building supplies around what type of climate you live in. You definitely don’t want rain, snow and wind to get inside the chicken coop. It you live in a really cool climate, some kind of heating is something you should think of.
If you have a small amount of chickens it is said that a movable chicken coop can be of advantage. Because you can move them close to your house, they are easy to clean. They also can be made out of cheap material from around your home. Maybe a neighbor could help you with a few supplies. Your chickens can be closer to you for easy feeding. The coops are durable to withstand movement as well.
Many people make their coops out of recycled or unused materials that are free or cheap. In turn this give your chickens a safe place to lay their eggs. Chickens do not require much, but by giving them a warm and safe home you will increase egg production. It also protects from the weather.
Wood from pretty much any source, boxes, wooden chests, metals and many other things can be used. Be creative when building your chicken coop, based around your needs. Some farmers use small places that are not being used at all and old sheds.
When it comes to chicken coops a lot does have to be considered as far as how many chickens, weather and space. How to make a chicken coop and what material you can use is very open. There are many possibilities. The benefits that a coop provides your chickens will far outweigh any cost or search for materials. You can get great ideas from people around you who also have chickens Building your own chicken coop is easier than you might think! All you need is the right blueprint. For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Chicken Coop Plans

Anyone that raises chickens will need a chicken coop. The question for many is how to build a chicken coop? It will only take little time to build a chicken coop, all that is needed is a bit of ingenuity and some basic materials.

The first things you have to clarify is how large you want the coop to be and what material you would like to use. The other thing that is really a key factor is the placement of your coop. The conditions for your chicken coop could vary, because of the fact that everyone’s environment is diferent.

As the name indicates, a chicken coop will provide shelter to your chicken. This is very important because there are many wild animals that could pose a great danger to your chickens. One very important part of any chicken coop is the “run.” This is the area outside of the actual shelter itself where the chickens are free to roam around in.

The standard rule of thumb for how to build a chicken coop is to allow room for eight chickens and three nests. In addition there has to be suffiecient room for the chicken to be able to perch too. This would be about nine inches or so of perch space. One of the most common mistakes people make is building a chicken coop that is too small. Doing so will prohibit your chickens from flourishing as well as they could if the coop was the adequate size.

For every chicken there should be at least four square feet. This basically means if you plan a chicken coop for four chicken you will need an area of 4×4. The windows of the chicken coop should always face south and it is of the uttmost importantce that there is sufficient ventilation throughout the coop. As a matter of fact, for a chicken coop to be fully functional then it should have these common characteristics:
Storage space
A proper entranceway
Sufficient ventilation and lighting
An area that accomodates the coop to be properly cleaned

the climate in which you live will tell you a good degree which material to use to build your own chicken coop. If you reside in a warm climate then you can often get away with wire netting and mesh. However, if you live in a colder climate then you will have to consider actual slider windows.

It is very important that when you make the plans for building your chicken coop that you take into consideration that the chicken coop is at least four feet tall and is also burried at least a foot into the ground. This will stop wild animals from digging underground to get to your coop. It is also a good idea to make sure that the top is covered by mesh or something that will prohibit wild birds from getting in and possibly spreading any disease to your chickens. If you are under the impression that building a chicken coop is difficult, you are wrong! One thing you really need is a good blueprint. For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Free Chicken Coop Plans

Like many other animals, chickens are social animals and naturally live in flocks. Scratching around freely is normal too. Pet chickens in a small enclosure may be bored and unhappy. A chicken ark will let your pet chickens range on new ground, so is a good first hen house solution.
Chicken arks are designed to be moved around, so the hens have access to new grazing, where they can scratch grubs and bugs, eat grass and weeds. So the chickens have room to move around, and you can separate children and chickens when you want to.
Your children will quickly learn how to handle the hens, but their friends may need some introduction – and some may be wary or frightened at least at first. Children can look at the chickens and observe them closely, when the hens are in the chicken ark.
As children understand more about chickens’ routines, they will learn how to care for them. Children will learn from responsibilities such as feeding and cleaning and they will enjoy collecting the eggs from the chicken ark nest area.
If handled gently, most chicken breeds are perfectly safe to handle. If yu get laying chikcnes, they can be let out of the chicken ark each day so the children can get closer and learn how to pick them up.
When you raise chickens from chicks, children will learn from handling them and watching them grow.
If you want just a few pet chickens, chicken arks work well as they are small and easy to manage. They will learn that each chicken has a different personality and habits.

Layers when they first begin laying may start to eat the eggs. You may be able to retrain them, but some chickens can be hard to cure.

An accident such as an egg being dropped or stepped on will often trigger chickens eating eggs. They are curious foragers so can’t resist this new treat. They may eat the shell, or not. But once they’ve tasted an egg, it can be hard habit to break.

Preventative measures.

Make sure your nest boxes in your chicken ark or hen house have a lip on the bottom of the front so it’s hard to kick eggs out accidentally. Chickens need sufficient space to move around in their nestboxes without damaging the eggs.

A good depth of bedding in the nestboxes will protect them.

Finally, eggs get broken more often when the shells are thinner. Adequate oyster shell will help develop harder and thicker shells.

If the chickens can roam free so they have more interest, or you have a chicken ark you can move around, they will have more interest and are less likely to get bored.

Things you can do with chickens who have started to eat eggs

Collect often. If the egg is left, the more likely it is to get eaten.
Your hens may all lay at the same time, so collect the eggs as soon as they’ve finished. Keep checking during the day if your chickens lay over the course of the day.

This can stop the habit, and it’s worth trying keeping them apart in a chicken ark.

Other things you can try

You could try putting golf balls in the nesting boxes. The theory is that a few pecks on a hard ball will discourage them, so they’ll lose interest and leave the eggs alone.

Wooden eggs look more like the real think, so make work too.

Another thing to try is to remove an egg and heavily coat it with petroleum jelly and then replace it. When the hen pecks at it, she gets a beak full of goop.

Sometimes chickens will start pecking at the eggs out of boredom in the same way they start pecking at each other. Letting them free range or putting them in a chicken ark can work

If you can work out if it’s one chicken who’s causing the problem before she teaches this bad habit to the others, separate her from the rest of the flock and their eggs.

This is where a chicken ark can be useful, so you can house her separately for a while. She will have interest from being moved around regularly, and if you collect the eggs frequently as well, you may break her of the habit.

I brought five hens home, imagining they’d happily wander around my backyard. Keeping chickens is very much about watching them as they graze and hunt. It didn’t work out quite like that. They started free ranging over to the neighbor’s yard, even getting on their bird table where they enjoyed the plump sunflower seeds.

The answer had to be a chicken coop I could move around. Then they could get to pastures new, but would stay in my backyard. When I was out in the backyard they could roam free, to give them some extra space to explore. Picture the scene: a lovely chicken ark, with hens secure at night and pecking contentedly in the run by day.

The ready-built arks had big price tickets. The shipping on them added even more. So I researched plans for chicken arks. They needed to be simple (I’m no carpenter) and with clear instructions. I found some clear plans with good instructions for a simple chicken ark, plus plans for a larger hen house and the ultimate chicken coop I could build when I get more chickens.

With cutting plans for materials and step by step diagrams, the plans take me right through the construction process and there’s even lots of useful chicken keeping information that I didn’t know. The book of plans, instructions and chicken keeping information has given us all we need.

Now I have a handsome chicken ark with handles at each end so I can move it around. The chickens are very contented. There’s a run to allow them to peck and scratch, as well as a roosting area and a nesting box. I can put the chicken ark anywhere in my yard that I want cleared, and the neighbor’s bird table is back attracting wild birds, not backyard hens.

Now I’m planning to add to the flock. Should it be the simple hen house next, or shall I go the whole way and build the ultimate chicken coop, with a ridged roof and nestboxes down each side and a large run? It does look splendid, and I feel confident that with the chicken ark plans, I could make it quite easily.

Chickens are entertaining and easy to look after. They are rewarding to keep as they’ll entertain you with their clucking around, re-arranging the flooring material in their run and taking dustbaths. In the middle of winter there is less light, so you will get few eggs, otherwise you should get eggs every day. For about 24 eggs a week, 4 chickens will be fine.

Chickens prefer somewhere dry to sleep and nestboxes mean you will generally find the eggs, as they can lay in out of the way corners if you’re ot careful. Moveable chicken arks and simple hen houses are straightforward to build from plans. Chickens like worms and grubs, will eat tiny insects and bugs as well as grass and weeds, so they are pretty much self sufficient if they’re left to roam. Chickens that feed naturally produce eggs with lovely deep yellow yolks.

Laying hens needs layers pellets, plus a little grit for egg shell production and whatever treats you like to give them – such as a little corn. You can feed them on kitchen scraps too.

Chickens are very interesting animals, and particularly enjoy taking a bath in dry soil or sand, fluffing up their feathers and wriggling around to help get rid of mites and clean their feathers. They are also fond of sunbathing and love to lay sideways in the sun and get the rays to their outstretched wings.

If you have three birds, two may pick on the third as they establish a pecking order, so four is often a better number.

Housing chickens is quite straightforward, a large rabbit hutch will take one or two, but it should be raised off the ground – they can manage a small ladder, to keep it dry. You can make chicken arks (the triangular section chicken coops that you move around) very easily. This clear book with three sets of chicken coop plans also has comprehensive information on keeping cickens. Included are clear plans for a tall square hen house and large chicken coop with space for about 15 birds.

You should find chickens will lay up to the age of 4 or 5, but they can live until they are 15. Chickens will come to you and will gather round the coop in the evening waiting to be let in, they are more intelligent than you think.

Chickens may nibble at strawberries and tomatoes, and take a shine to some of your best blooms, so keeping them in a run for most of the day may be sensible. The chicken ark which you can move every day or two, allows you to move the hens around your plot, giving them access to new ground, but keeping the chickens where you want them.

They will need to be let out of the roosting area early in the morning as soon as it is light as the more daylight they get the more eggs they will lay as they need natural daylight to produce eggs.

Mary Marshall