3 Guidelines For A Good Home Chicken Coop

Today a lot of folks are considering a home chicken coop for their backyard. They like the idea of fresh eggs daily and access to all natural poultry meat—meat with no growth hormones or antibiotics.And then there are those who like the thought of a chicken or some chickens for pets.

Remember your pet chickens can still provide fresh eggs! But if you are thinking about putting a home chicken coop in your yard there are some issues you really need to think about first. Number one issue--Does your local municipality allow the raising of chickens in your backyard?

This is the first thing you need to know. Second - what will the purpose of the chickens be? This might sound like a stupid question, but there are folks who have mobile coops in their yards and the main use of the chickens is to maintain the lawn by natural pest elimination and natural fertilization.

Most of these people also benefit from the eggs collected. It's important to decide in advance what you want from your chickens. If you plan on poultry meat it is bad idea to make them pets. Once you have figured out what you want you can then make plans meet your goals. If your chickens are to be primarily for eggs, you can reasonably expect each (healthy) hen to produce one egg every 26 hours.

The cycle that controls this egg production is daytime light patterns (another reason for making sure, you have set up proper lighting in the coop). How many eggs you want each day will determine how many hens you need. The number of hens will determine the size of the chicken coop required. (Remember each chicken needs adequate space inside the coop)

A third issue to look at is the actual location of the coop in your yard. You will want to take advantage--if possible--of the natural attributes available. Look for an area close, where you can keep half an eye on the flock, with good drainage and some protection from the wind, if possible.

Once you have fleshed-out these three issues you are in good shape to begin the design of your home chicken coop. Designing and building your coop will be a lot easier if you have quality building plans. Plans that cover all the issues needed to be covered--in depth. This is especially important for the novice.

Building a home chicken coop should fun, it should easy and it shouldn't be expense and it will be if you invest in the right home chicken coop building plans.

Want to learn more about an easy method for building Chicken Coops? Visit my website at www.chickencoopcenter.com for helpful tips and information on planning, building, and maintaining a great chicken coop.