Anyone who has tried to build a chicken house without proper chicken coop plans has very soon realized it was a big mistake. There are certainly many benefits that can be gained from keeping poultry, quite apart from a ready supply of fresh eggs and poultry meat.
It can be a great family project and your children can learn a lot about pet care, as well as enjoying doing things together as a family and getting them out in the fresh air. In addition, it is surprising how quickly you can get to know your hens as individuals and what delightful personalities they prove to have. However, you cannot have any of this until you have built your hen house.
There are a few basic points to keep in mind when working out your chicken coop . The first and foremost consideration, of course, is the welfare and health of your chickens and how you can make the place as comfortable as possible for them. A happy chicken is a good layer. The other main consideration is their protection and how best to keep them safe from predators. Then of course there is your budget. Some people spend a lot on building very elaborate hen houses, but as long as you ensure the basic requirements are met, it is really not necessary to spend vast amounts of money. The chickens do not care whether their house looks pretty or not, although the appearance should be sufficiently pleasing to avoid upsetting the neighbors if any of their windows overlook the site.
Before you even start on your actual detailed chicken coop plans, you have to sort out the location, and formulate a plot plan. This means figuring out exactly what configurations you have to work with, in terms of dimensions of your property and where your house is located on the property. You need to check out setback codes, if any, in your area, through your local planning department. Decide how far away from your house you want the structure to be, balancing convenience against hygiene, and which way you want it to face. You need to make sure the area is well drained.
Once you have fixed on the location, you can begin to work on your chicken coop in detail. First you have to decide how many chickens you want to keep, because this will dictate the dimensions of the structure. The usual advice is that there should be a minimum of 3 square feet for each chicken. The more space per bird you allow, the happier they will be, and the more you reduce the risk of disease spreading. If possible, build the house on top of concrete blocks, to protect against snakes and rodents.
When you purchase your materials, make them the best you can afford. If you live near a timber yard, you may be able to get good quality off cuts cheap or even free. The better quality your materials, the more durable your structure will be. Bear in mind also that you will have to disinfect the hen house once a year, so choose materials that make this easier.
The next consideration for your chicken coop plans is adequate ventilation. You must have either a window or a vent in the structure, to let in fresh air while getting rid of stale air. You also need to ensure the hen house is easy to clean. Regular cleaning is essential for the health of the chickens and for minimizing pest infestation and odor. To facilitate cleaning it is important to have a sloping floor , sloping towards the door , not a level floor, which a mistake a lot of people make. This not only makes cleaning easier, but makes for better drainage. Build a perch in the hen house, with a tray underneath to collect the droppings. Without a perch, you would find droppings all over the place, including the feeders and the nesting boxes, which would make cleaning a lot more difficult.
Outside the actual structure, you need 8-10 square feet of space per bird. Round this you need to erect a strong wire fence for protection against cats, dogs, badgers and foxes. Remember many predators can burrow underneath the fence, so you need to dig it in at least a foot below the ground.
If you are good with designs, once you have worked out all your requirements including size, height and shape, you can sit down and sketch out your chicken coop plans yourself. If you find this difficult, you could get an architect friend to help you, although it does not require the level of architectural skill that a human dwelling requires. Remember that ideally a good plan will enable you, or whoever is building it, to work out in advance what is the right order of assembly of the different components. So you decide exactly what is needed for the base and then the frame, and once this is up you know exactly what you require for the roof.
If you really feel unable to do the designing yourself, there are a number of sites on the Internet where you can download plans for no charge. The really important thing is that you do not start trying to build your hen house without a proper design. Not only will this result in a lot of frustration and wasted time, but it will certainly not be any good for your chickens.
Raising chickens in your own backyard is increasingly popular, comes with a variety of benefits, and is easy to get started on a limited budget: beginning with an idea of how many chickens you will want, a look at your yard, chicken coop plans, and some materials. Before you begin, however, you should examine why chickens might be right for you, and the options available to fit your needs.
The benefits of raising your own chickens include not only health, budget, and entertainment advantages for you, but also positive effects on the environment and animal welfare. First, for you, fresh eggs taste better. Keep an eye out for signs that offer farm fresh eggs and buy a dozen to see for yourself: the yolk has a richer color and the difference in taste is significant whether cooked alone or included in a recipe. Research has also shown the eggs of grass-fed, free-roaming chickens to have higher levels of Vitamin E and Omega-3 fatty acids and lower amounts of cholesterol than store-bought eggs from factory farms.
Producing your own eggs can save you money, especially if you get your neighbors hooked on fresh local eggs and sell your extras to offset feed costs. Eggs produced locally are better for the environment, as they do not require fuel to ship them. The less demand your family places on the factory farm egg industry, the fewer chickens they will need, and the fewer chickens will be trapped in inhumane conditions. By feeding your chickens table scraps instead of throwing them away, you put less waste into landfills. Chickens in your yard will also help insect control without the use of chemicals.
The popularity of chicken raising is on the rise, but still relatively unique. Most people who have not been around chickens will be surprised, but chickens are individuals with distinct personalities. In comparison to most pets, they are low maintenance and inexpensive, as well as being more useful and producing food for the pantry. They are great for getting children of all ages involved in chores; even a toddler can toss grain and delight in watching the chickens run to eat.
Before selecting the chicken coop plans that are right for you, you must determine your needs. If you simply want a few chickens that will be generally free to run loose in the yard, your shelter needs will vastly different than if you plan to raise your own chicks from several different breeds. If you have a dozen chickens that will roam free during the day and be penned in a coop at night, you need a simpler shelter. If you have many predators but want your chickens to range as much as possible, a portable coop or chicken tractor will be best for you.
Your chicken coop plans should include two to three feet of available space for each bird, sufficient feeding points, enough points for watering, the proper balance between shelter and ventilation, protection against predators from both ground and sky, easy and secure access for both you and the birds, and sufficient roosting places for your birds to be well rested. If you live in an overcast area or want to keep egg production up in the darker seasons, a light source will help encourage laying. That light source must not be left on all night, however; exhausted hens will not provide eggs.
A few factors should help decide if you want to keep your chickens contained all the time or allow them the freedom of your yard. First, if you have a narrow lot and your neighbors are not keen on the idea of poultry straying into their yards after bugs and weeds, you will need at least a movable coop. If you have a lot of owls, hawks, or eagles, among other birds of prey, your birds will need defense from above. If you have no sturdy boundary fences and your neighborhood is home to dogs, or if you are in an area with coyotes, foxes, and other predators, you will certainly need a coop to keep your chickens safe.
While buying a coop already assembled might seem the easiest route to getting your birds secure, the cost can far outweigh the convenience. Your options are also limited to the buildings available for sale. If you decide to buy your own materials and build your own shelter, the variety of chicken coop plans ensures you will find just the right shape and size building for your yard and the needs of your chickens.
One choice among chicken coop plans is a permanent building with a small door that lets out into a scratching area walled and roofed with chicken wire. The building is a good option if you will have more than a few birds, and is an easy way to have nesting boxes available to both you and the hens. Another choice is a lightweight framework of pvc pipe or metal that is enclosed with wire. This can be dragged across the yard to new patches of lawn so your birds have the advantages of free range birds while keeping the protection of cooped birds.
