Build A Chicken Coop Easy

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When starting a poultry related journey, one should always start by asking ‘why?’. Why do you want to raise chickens? Is it for commercial purposes or purely to sustain your own needs? The answer to this simple question will show you what approach you will need to follow to raise your chickens.

There are 3 main approaches when it comes to raising chickens.

If you are interested in simply keeping chickens either as pets or to sustain your own needs, then more often than not you will opt to take the Extensive Approach to chicken raising. Simply put, the Extensive Approach is when you allow the chickens that you are trying to raise to roam freely, find their own feed as well as not providing the chickens with any form of medicine. There are definite pro’s and con’s to this approach. With regards to pro’s when following the Extensive Approach, there is little or no work in it for you as the owner. You also need very little space when adopting this approach and thus it is easy to follow it, even when you live in the city.
On the con side, your chickens will be vulnerable to diseases, due to the lack of vitamin enriched food supplements or medical treatment. You will also have no control over where the chickens nest or even be able to protect the eggs or young chicks, thus often resulting in a relatively low survival rate for chicks.

A slightly more commercial approach is the Semi-intensive Approach. With this approach, you provide the chickens with shelter, enriched feed as well as medicine. Although you provide them with housing, the chickens should still have a camp attached to their coop so that they have space to roam around in. This approach requires more work on the side of the owner, but it will leave you with chickens who lay more eggs and the survival rate for hatched chicks will be higher than with the Extensive Approach.

If you are looking to become a poultry farmer, then you will have to follow the Intensive Approach. This is approach is almost the same as the Semi-Intensive Approach. The only difference is that now you permanently keep the chickens in their coop. This approach is labor intensive, but yields the greatest results with regards to egg count and chick survival rate.

No matter what approach you choose to follow, you will have to provide your chickens with access to clean water, food as well as light. If you keep your chickens in a coop, make sure that it has a light in it, as chickens exposed to 12 hours of light a day are on average healthier.

Finally, it is important to protect your chickens against predators, most notably, dogs. If you have dogs, make sure that they don’t have access to the chickens.

Now that you know what you want to achieve, you are ready to start raising chickens.

Of course, how much protection your birds need will depend on circumstances. Primarily, the amount of protection required will depend on your locale, because some areas got far colder than others do. The second factor to consider is what breed of birds you have, because some chickens are built to cope with the cold weather far better than other breeds are.

Subsequently, it is advisable for all first-time chicken owners to consider which breed of chicken will best suit the climate of his, or her, location. Having said that, if your locale becomes extremely cold, your birds will need some added comforts regardless of their breed.

Therefore, here are some tips on how to keep your birds comfortable and healthy during those freezing winter months. However, it is recommended that any winter preparations are done in the summer, principally because working outside is not much fun in the wind and rain.

• Firstly, it is a good idea to ensure that your coop is waterproof. If there are any leaks, these should be repaired as a matter of urgency.
• Once you have established that your coop is dry, you may like to insulate it. There are many types of insulating materials that can be purchased from all good DIY stores. You’ll be surprised what a difference insulation can make to the temperature of the coop, so although it may be a big job, it is well worth doing.
• When insulating your coop, it is important to leave plenty of ventilation, because although the birds want to be warm, they also need fresh air, especially if they will be inside the coop for the majority of the winter.
• If you would like your birds to continue laying over the winter, you should invest in a sunlamp. A sunlamp, obviously, mimics the affects of the sun and will convince the birds that it is still laying season. Additionally, it is prudent to bear in mind that the sunlamp will double as a heater.
• Speaking of heaters, you may like to purchase some small heaters to place in the coop if you have extremely cold winters or your birds are not very hardy. Some particularly pampered birds have heat pads placed in their nesting boxes. If you are interested in any of this equipment, it can be found in all good livestock and pet suppliers.

If you follow these steps, your birds will have a far more comfortable winter and will be likely to keep laying throughout the cold dark months. So, if you want a constant supply of good quality fresh eggs, it is worth making the effort to ensure your birds are protected from the winter chill.

A chicken roost should not be confused with a chicken nest or box. A chicken nest or box is where a hen will go to lay eggs. A roost is simply beams placed within the coop or pen on which the chickens can perch. A chicken roost is where a chicken sleeps. Generally, chickens prefer not to sleep in boxes or nest, thus it is essential for all chicken coops or pens to have roosts.

Before looking at the different chicken roost formations, it is important to talk about the best materials to use for a chicken roost. Most chickens prefer roosting on roosts that are about 2 inches in diameter as this allows them to securely grasp on to the roost when sleeping. Some chicken breeds, such as Bantam Chickens, are smaller than others and therefor you will need to use a roost that is about 1 inch in diameter.

The most basic and common roost formation is simply slightly elevated beams placed along the floor of the coop or chicken pen. It is important not to place the beams to high as it should be easy for the chickens to get on and off of the roost. A foot high will be more than enough.

One of the most popular roost formations is the Step Ladder formation. When making this chicken roost, you basically need to build a ladder using either 2 x 2 inch beams, or smaller ones for smaller chickens, or even actual tree limbs. Once the ladder is built, let it lean against one of the chicken coop/pen walls at approximately a 45 degree angle, making sure that the first wrung of the ladder is about one foot off of the ground. This will then allow the chickens to easily move up and down the roost when roosting.

Building a chicken roost is a very simple exercise, yet it is one of the most important parts of any chicken coop or pen.

Raising your chicks can result in many great factors.  You can provide eggs and meat for your family as well as fertilizer for your garden.  Chicks need appropriate housing.  You can build a coop to keep your chicks warm and cozy even if you are not a carpenter.  You do not need over-complicated building plans but you must however meet the basic needs of your chicks so they will be healthy and happy.

Place the chicken coop in a high spot

The first steps in ensuring your chicks are warm and cozy is placing the coop in a high spot.  You want to ensure that their yard will not accumulate puddles during heavy rains.  Before you begin building your coop for your chicks, look around your property to see what you already have available to place your chicks in.  If you do not have an appropriate building, look for scrap lumber or plywood.  If you do not have these things readily available on your property, you must purchase these materials in building your chicken coop.

You will need chicken wire and fencing

Additional materials you will need are chicken wire and fencing to enclose your chicken coop.  Another type of material which you will need to ensure warmth for your chicks is straw.  You will want to slope the roof of your chicken coop which will not allow the rain to run directly over the door.

Perches and nest boxes

Place perches and nest boxes along the walls of your chicken coop.  These will need to be approximately four feet off the ground.  Fill them with lots of straw which will aid in keeping your chicks warm and cozy.

Installation of heat sources for your chicken coop

You will need to install a heat source into your chicken coop.  You can utilize a one hundred watt bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp.  You can purchase this from a hardware store.  Your chicks need the warmth consistently throughout the day and night.

Summary

The heat source which you utilize should be on one side of the chicken coop which will allow your chicks a range of temperatures.  Your chicks will let you know if it’s too cold or too warm for they will peep very loudly.  Pay attention to your chicks for if they are literally smothering each other under the heat, this means that you need to add more heat to the chicken coop.

You will notice that sometimes your chicks will not come out of the rain while opting to stay out in the rain.  Sometimes, after a heavy downpour of rain if your chicks do not go into the chicken coops or shelters provided, you will more than likely notice the next day your chicks containing the look of being “power washed”.

Are chicks just stupid?

Before you label your chicks ignorant, you must understand that chicks will be chicks, the same as children will be children with this scenario.  You do not have to worry about your chicks not liking the shelter you have provided for them, some chicks just simply prefer to hang out in the rain.  Your chicks will not be harmed by being wet as long as their shelter or coop is not wet.  Some chicks obviously choose to stay out in the rain but don’t worry, they should dry off.

Sometimes chicks just simply like to stand in the rain

Your chicken going out into the rain and standing in the rain is not need for worry.  This should not be a concern unless there are freezing temperatures present in the area which you live.  You want to keep their coops or shelter dry at all times.

No need to worry about your chicks getting wet

Some people worry about their chicks getting wet.  Some people will ask if their chicks will get sick from the rain.  I will state that chickens are not typical rain lovers however; the rain does not bring harm to your chicks.  Most chicks will find shelter whether it’s the shelter you have provided or otherwise.  Most chicks typically do not suffer from anything after getting wet from the rain.

Beware of cold climates for your chicks

If you live in an area where you do have snowy weather, you will find your chicks hate this type of weather.  More times to none the chicks will not even step on the snow therefore, the best way to feed them during this time of year is inside their coop.

Waterproofed sheds and coops are best for your chicks

You want to make sure if you do have very cold weather in the area which you live that you have a water-proofed shelter for your chicks. In this type of weather, wet and cold combined can prove dangerous for your chicks.