The Two Most Important Goals When Building Chicken Coops

There is basic "need to know" information when it comes to a chicken coop house plan. Building chicken coops needs to be done with two goals in mind.

You want:

1) A secure and functional home for your chickens 2) A structure you can be proud of - once it's in your backyard

Chickens are a hybrid animal developed through selective breeding thousands of years ago. (Science believes chickens got their start on the Indian sub-continent when early farmers began domesticating the red and grey "Jungle Fowl). Because of this they are very dependent on human care to survive. But if the right conditions are established - chickens will thrive!

Before you begin constructing a chicken house, there are certain critical areas of design you need to cover.

The chicken coop first and foremost needs to provide basic shelter—that is protection from, rain, snow, cold, excessive heat and wily predators.

Of course there are other things you will want to take into account when building home chicken coops. One such issue is the actual location of the coop in the backyard. There are more than a couple of reasons to give this aspect of placement some reasonable consideration.

Another concern is the orientation of the coop. This is also something you will want to get right the first time. Natural light is important to the behavior and health of your chickens and you can use natural sunlight very much to your advantage and to the betterment of your chickens--if you take the time to understand why there is a recommended way to situate the coop.

Also you will want to know in advance the optimal location for the nesting boxes, feeders and waterier.

Nesting boxes have to be located and oriented in such a way that the hens don't roost there to sleep, but are attracted and comfortable laying their eggs there. Secondly it's nice to have unobtrusive access to quietly remove those eggs.

Chickens have particular needs when it comes to feed and water—not that they're fussy, they aren't. But the location (height) of the feed boxes and quality of water supply that are of concern. Chickens need to eat in a certain way and knowing this is important, because it allows you to plan for it during the pre-construction phase making it easy to implement.

When it comes to weather -- heat needs to be ventilated away and during "cold snaps", chickens need to be protected from the wind. They are hearty and can withstand extreme cold, but are very vulnerable to the wind. This means home chicken coops must be well sealed against the wind, but be designed to take advantage of summer breezes to cool the coop.

I know it sounds like a lot complex information coming at you, but it is actually quite simple when you become aware of it. If building one or more chicken coops is something you plan to do in the near future knowing this stuff in advance will save you a lot of grief, effort and cash later!!!

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.