Constructing Chicken Coops The Practical Way

There is a multitude of plans, designs and ideas for building chicken coops to house chickens. Deciding on the best fit that you feel comfortable with requires some investigation to figure out which plan suits you.

They range from fancy two story structures right on down to a small doghouse type dwelling surrounded by a few feet of chicken wire. Before you commit a lot of money and time setting up overpriced coops you need to do your homework. Learning about building chicken coops the easy way will help you prosper and then you can enjoy the fruits of your labor sooner.

Chickens can become part of your life and become friends.They are not demanding critters but they do need to taken care of constantly. Their needs are not complicated. They need a place to get in out of the elements where the freezing weather won't harm their eggs.

Protecting them from the weather is one of the highest priorities that you can give your chickens. You take care of them and they'll take care of you in the long run. Next on the list, they have to have space for their nests in order to lay eggs. Chickens don't like to feel cramped when they are doing their business for themselves and for you as well.

Both eggs and chickens are considered tasty morsels by a wide variety of predators. Because of this fact a chicken coop has to be built that is sturdy and well protected. Add a little food and water and they are happy campers. But there are precautions that you definitely have to take into account to insure that they are happy for a long time.

There are some standard ways to build a chicken coop or you can create your own from scratch. You need to decide on how much area you are setting aside for the chickens. Decide how big the dimensions should be for the area set aside for the chicken coop will determine how many chickens you can have that can live comfortably within the confines.

Take care not to put a chicken coop too close to your home for a couple of reasons. The noise can get pretty loud at times and downwind. A chicken coop doesn't smell like roses and you'll have to take a liking to that smell. On the other hand, you don't want to put the coop too far away either. Both for the sake of convenience and so that you can keep an eye out for marauders. These predators can come on foot or by air. Whichever the case may be you want to be able to respond quickly whenever a situation arises to take care of business.

No matter how fancy a chicken coop is, don't forget that it has to be cleaned on a normal basis to cut down on odor and bug infestations. A common mistake that people make when raising chickens is to build coops where the floor is completely level to the ground.

Most people think it's common sense to build a house that's level but for chickens it's not. You build a house that way but not for chickens and there's a reason for that.

Maintenance on a hen house requires slope and angles. That's because when you go to wash it out, all of that stuff will pool right at your feet. Not a pretty thought or sight. Instead, you want to build the floor with a tilt at the back of it. On your daily maintenance chores when you wash the incline boards it's a lot easier when it's at an angle.

If you build a chicken coop the easy way then maintenance becomes a breeze. With a slightly tilted floor at the rear of the house, when you spray it down during cleaning, all that icky stuff will wash down the slant and right out the back door of the coop.

Protecting the area with chicken wire fence all around the coop will help to keep unwelcome guests out of the area. Remember that some animals will dig beneath fences to get into the chicken coop, so play it smart and bury the fence partly below the ground. Constructing chicken coops the easy way makes the maintenance of the structure easier in the long run.