Ideas for Successful Chicken Ark Construction - Tips and Information

Lots of individuals who want to raise a few hens in their backyard decide not to since they think it is just too much work to build a poultry house. Or they assume there is not adequate room in their backyard to raise them productively. However, utilizing a chicken ark can permit you to successfully grow pullets in a tiny backyard very easily. Surprisingly, pullets can be successfully grown in a diminutive garage. You can successfully raise many fresh eggs in a small 25 square foot space in your garage by building a few cages on top of each other. If you plan ahead and do everything right it's possible to successfully grow fresh organic eggs in an exceedingly small area.

The first thing you need to be asking yourself is "what number of fresh eggs will I be needing?" If you expect to successfully grow a sufficient amount of birds to give you 4 eggs per day, or 1 dozen every three days, it is likely you will need approximately 5 hens. This amount will easily be supported in a chicken ark. High-quality commercially grown white leghorns will produce an egg almost every day if you feed them properly and give them sufficient light.

A common error that a lot of backyard growers make is not providing enough protein and calcium to their flock of chickens. This will cause their egg production to decline. Chickens demand a lot of protein, calcium, and other nutrients for optimum health and production so you need to provide it for them. An ark will permit your pullets to acquire a portion of their own food, but a high quality feed needs to supplement their diet if you want them to produce eggs unfailingly.

Chicken arks will by and large be able to sustain as much as eight hens. If you are wanting to grow more birds you will be required to build more than a single movable chicken ark. Customarily, at least two-and-a-half to three square feet of room is necessary per individual hen. A 24 square-foot (4-feet by 6-feet) movable chicken ark will be able to house approximately 8 birds. Nonetheless, if you are able to offer more room per individual hen you will lower the odds of cannibalism among the flock. If chickens are too crowded they will usually peck each other even to the point of death.

There are three main reasons for making a chicken ark. Number one, they are painless and low-cost to construct. Next, your flock of chickens will be able to munch on plants, grasses, and bugs which will slash your feed bills and keep your hens in better health. And third, they can be raised in undersized areas, making it possible for practically anyone to successfully grow their own fresh organic eggs.

It's truly not excessively difficult to construct a small chicken ark. The easiest structures are built as "A" frames which mean they will be manufactured in the form of a triangle. The floor will customarily be about 4 feet wide by 6 feet long, but can be built larger or smaller as appropriate for your needs. However, as an alternative to manufacturing a wooden bottom, the ground itself will be the base. Two 6-foot 2x4s and a couple of 4-foot 2x4s fastened together will be the base.

The "A" frame will be nailed to the bottom foundation and framed with two-by-twos or two-by-fours. The "A" frame segment will have chicken wire stapled to its frame to let fresh air and sunlight into the portable ark, but can have the upper part covered in durable plywood to provide the pullets shade and protection from direct sunshine. You can alter this plan by changing its size, building it in a square shape as an alternative to triangular, or making extra modifications as needed.

Since the ground itself is the floor, your poultry will be able to munch on all of the plants, grasses, and insect life living within their home. Hunting for some of their own food will keep them happier. As soon as one location has been systematically cleaned out by your flock of chickens you can easily transport your movable ark to a fresh location with more juicy plant life. But keep in mind, to get top egg production give them a healthy feed as a supplement to the plants and grasses they will find on their own.