What To Look For In A Chicken Coop

Keeping chickens at home is now a very popular thing to do and as a result more and more people are looking into buying a chicken coop to house their birds. If this is something that you want to do here are some points on what to look for in a good chicken coop.

The size of the coop is very important. The size of the coop that you will need will depend on the number of birds that you are planning on owning. If you are a beginner you will be probably buying less than five chickens which mean that a smaller chicken house is ideal. When you are shopping for a coop you can find out the number that each one can hold in the product information.

The coop must be tough enough to be outside in all weather conditions. You will not be keeping your chicken inside which means that the backyard chicken coops that you look at need to be all weather proof and free from draughts.

You need to make sure that your chickens will be safe inside. This means that it should be well built and have mesh wire over all open areas such as the play area. No other animals should be able to get into the chicken coop and your chicken should not be able to get out of it. So check that the coop is well put together and free from cracks or gaps.

There must be adequate room for the chickens to feed, move around and roost inside the coop. As a rule you should allow one nesting box of the right size for three chickens, so make sure that the rest area is large enough. When the coop you buy into the right side of your chickens will be happy and healthy and will produce plenty of eggs for you.

Avoid fast grown timber coops as these can be quite flimsy. This can be a problem as many mass produced coops are made from timber that has been grown in this way. In other words not all wooden coops are the same. So make sure that you find out how the wood that a particular chicken coop is made from before you make a purchase.

Think about purchasing a run that you can add on to your chicken coop. Many styles of chicken coop will allow you to add a run on them which will provide your chickens with easy access to the outdoors when they want it. This is a very good idea if you are keeping chickens in your back yard and don’t have the space to create an outdoor area which gives them the opportunity to roam free. You should never leave your chickens outside in an area where they are unprotected as this will give predators such as foxes easy access to your birds which can lead to them being attacked.

Keep being featured in mind when you are looking for a coop for your chicken and you will find that shopping is made much easier.