Chickens always mean fresh eggs and meat, the quality of which you are sure of. In order for them to regularly please the table, you need to take a responsible approach to the process of breeding birds. A significant part of successful livestock farming is a comfortable home, in this case a chicken coop.
Always remember that animals need a warm and comfortable home no less than their owners. How to build a chicken coop with your own hands and what should you pay special attention to? Let's figure it out.
Which options are more common than others?
Stationary chicken coops are a standard building for summer or permanent residence.
Chicken coops are similar in appearance to a cottage with an attic and have a pair of boards in their design, thanks to which it can be moved from place to place.
A chicken coop in the form of a wheelbarrow, where the “house” is connected to a single-axle frame with wheels. Used to move around a small area.
Chicken coop trailer. For structures with heavy weight, decent dimensions and significant capacity. There is a two-axle trailer that allows you to roll the chicken coop over longer distances compared to other types of mobile chicken coops.
Ready-made chicken coops are common in countries with mild climates, but in our country they can only be used in the warm season. Pros: compactness, ease of assembly and disassembly. Cons: costly purchase, not suitable for every climate.
Despite all the variety of ready-made poultry houses, chicken breeders often prefer to build them themselves.
Arrangement of the corral
For walking chickens, it is necessary to provide an equipped area along with the chicken coop. If you plan to raise poultry in the summer, the pen should be arranged in such a way that it does not face the hot side, but at the same time is not constantly in the shade. You also need to take care of cleanliness and make sure that plants that are dangerous to chickens do not grow in the pen area. And of course, exclude unpleasant surprises for the bird in the form of unwanted guests.
The pen is constructed from a fine-mesh metal mesh, which is attached in a tensioned position to poles located at the corners of the area. The height of the fence is usually at least 2 meters. The mesh size should be small enough so that the bird does not get stuck in it.
What you need to know before starting construction
It should be remembered that chickens are generally more unpretentious than other poultry: turkeys, quails, guinea fowl, and so on, but to keep them you need to take into account some nuances.
If you are interested in the question “How to build a chicken coop with your own hands?”, then before you start building a bird house, learn a few rules:
For a bird’s comfortable life, the optimal temperature is considered to be from +10 to +20 degrees, since temperatures above or below the stated range can affect egg production in particular and the well-being of chickens in general.
High humidity is destructive, because it provokes the growth of bacteria, the spread of mold and an unpleasant odor, so it is advisable to place the building somewhere higher on the site.
Excessively damp soil must be dried using all sorts of means: tools for removing moisture, or you can fill the area with sand, or create holes or channels to drain water.
It is useful to equip chickens with a shallow pond for bathing procedures, where, by the way, the collected excess water can be redirected.
With a longer daytime period, the egg production of chickens increases. It is recommended to build a chicken coop facing southeast: it is desirable that the door faces east and the windows face south, although it is better to shade them when it is too hot and light.
The room must be well ventilated, but drafts are unacceptable - to protect against them, you can use building materials, as well as hedges.
The construction site should be located where there is no noise, the screams of passers-by or vacationers and passing cars cannot be heard. Peace and quiet are important components for the normal life of poultry;
- Lawn laying
A garage at the dacha is not a warehouse, but a modern and comfortable space!
Diesel generator for home: which one to choose?
Space inside and outside the chicken coop is also important. Crowding can lead to the formation and spread of diseases, pecking and poor or no egg production. “Golden” ratio: two birds per square meter. meter of free space;
The walking area must be provided with lawns, but certainly with shelter from the sun and bad weather.
Comfortable microclimate
Among poultry, chickens are considered the most unpretentious species, but do not underestimate the importance of their proper maintenance. The original design of the chicken coop will bring satisfaction to the owners. A properly organized room without drafts, dry, warm and safe will have the most positive effect on the growth, health and, ultimately, productivity of birds.
Solution for a small area Source www.fumara.gr
A comfortable temperature for chickens is considered to be between +12°C and +25°C; in other conditions, the bird’s egg production decreases. Owners planning to keep chickens in winter should take care of additional things such as insulation and heating.
Insulated walls help maintain the required temperature level in winter; an additional heater is purchased or heating is organized from the home heating system.
And no drafts Source psk-remont.ru
You can also maintain a comfortable temperature in the chicken coop using powerful light bulbs. The main thing is to ensure that all electrical appliances and wires remain out of the reach of chickens.
Next to the vegetable garden Source i.pinimg.com
Important measures include waterproofing walls, floors and roofs; proper ventilation is vital. In the summer, the vent keeps the coop cool by releasing warm air outside. In winter, circulation that removes warm, moist air is no less important - simultaneous exposure to cold and moisture can lead to hypothermia and illness in birds.
Simple but tasteful Source takoj.info
A supply and exhaust system consisting of two pipes mounted into the walls at different heights is not the best choice, as it causes drafts. The best solution would be to install a hood. The ventilation hole is located near the ceiling; The fan has high performance and thoroughly removes moisture, thereby helping to keep pets healthy.
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in designing and performing landscape work of any complexity
Ceiling and roof
A gable roof is recommended by many craftsmen, since the attic can be used to store necessary household equipment and feed for chickens. To build it you need:
- Make, fix and strengthen the rafters;
- The process of sheathing, in which the roof is sheathed with any suitable material: slate, tiles, ondulin, roofing felt and the like. It is better that the roof is not “dark”, otherwise it will attract the sun’s rays, which, if ventilation is poor, can cause heat stroke in chickens;
- Strengthening the ceiling beams and arranging the ceiling is the most important thing so that it is reliable and strong.
- It is better to insulate the ceiling using expanded clay or coal slag, which is poured onto the floor. To hide the insulation, it is better to cover it with boards or the same OSB boards.
- Ventilation of the chicken coop, as already mentioned, is very important. In this case, you can make natural ventilation: two ceiling holes placed in places opposite from each other, into which pipes must then be inserted.
Stern shell
In addition to balanced feed, birds also need additional nutrition. Its most important element is the feed shell. Thanks to it, the birds’ diet is enriched with calcium, they get sick less and deliver eggs with strong shells to your table. Therefore, a bowl with a feeding shell must be present in the chicken coop.
A laying hen should receive at least 130-180 g of balanced nutrition per day. Chalk, bone meal, and fish meal should always be available in the public domain. In addition, it is advisable to provide the birds with at least a few hours of open range to collect worms, larvae, roots and greens.
- What to feed chickens to help them lay eggs better
Have you decided to have laying hens? Find out what to feed them in advance to ensure you have eggs all year round.
Chicken coop from the inside
To more accurately understand what kind of “decoration” should be and where it should be located, you can enter the search query “how to equip a chicken coop inside a photo”, but the basic principles are the same:
One of the walls is selected for laying hens and their nests. A shelf is knocked together at a height of a meter, and a ladder is attached to it. This is a spacious board with slats that are nailed horizontally.
The nests are placed on the shelf itself and are usually made from old boxes, or made from leftover boards, plywood, chipboard and other similar materials and straw, which must be cleaned regularly. It is not advisable to use hay, as it quickly rots and rots.
The required number of nests is calculated from the ratio: one to 2-3 hens, which can lay eggs in 2-3 nests, occasionally changing one to another. In summer, it is recommended to arrange roosts on the range. A well-designed chicken coop for laying hens is already 50% of the success of the construction.
Along the remaining perimeter it is necessary to equip perches for sleeping: two sticks are knocked together in the shape of the letter “A” - these are racks - then they are connected on the sides, as well as at the tops, with oblong poles. It is worth considering that one meter is designed for approximately 5-6 small or 3-4 large chickens. Height from floor approximately 50 cm.
Drinkers and feeders are better if they are semi-closed, but with slits for the heads, so the food and water will become less likely to become clogged, and the environment will become cleaner.
It is necessary to install a trough with mixed ash and sand: here chickens can clean their feathers of parasites or dirt.
Features of the premises
For 2-3 birds you will need 1 sq. m area. Thus, when setting up a chicken coop for 5 chickens, it is necessary to equip a room with an area of only 2 square meters. m, for 10 individuals 3 sq. m, etc. If you cannot allocate enough space, you can increase the number of perches. However, this option is not suitable for broilers - it is difficult for a massive bird to climb to great heights.
Schematic drawing of a chicken coop for 10 chickens
The bird's home must be sufficiently lit and must have windows, otherwise the birds' egg production will decrease. To ensure that the chicken coop can be regularly ventilated, windows are located on both sides. It is better if one of them is located on the south side for better heating. To protect against the penetration of predators, the windows are covered with metal mesh. In order for chickens to lay eggs well even in the cold season, lighting is provided for them to increase daylight hours.
To maintain it in winter, the chicken coop will need to be insulated, as well as a heating system. At temperatures below 12C, birds can get sick and even die in extreme cold. It is also necessary to provide natural ventilation in the room - chickens do not tolerate high humidity. Doors are always located on the east side. In the northern regions of Russia, a vestibule is provided in front of the entrance to protect against drafts and sudden temperature changes.
It is advisable to provide the birds with a place to walk, so attach an aviary to the chicken coop in the form of a net stretched over poles. Laying hens require more space for walking - at least 1.4 square meters for each. m. Broilers need 0.4 sq. m. To protect against predators, the top of the enclosure is also covered with netting. It is also advisable to protect at least part of the enclosure from rain and sun and cover it with a roof.
Walking area
Non-walking breeding of this species of birds, especially broilers, is also allowed. But in this case it is unlikely to achieve high egg production in laying hens.
Since chickens are capable of raking out a fairly large hole, the enclosure mesh must be dug into the ground at least 30 cm. Otherwise, they will one day escape to freedom. Predators are also capable of undermining.
Walking area
The matter is not limited to just one “house” - often a chain-link mesh is attached to the chicken coop, creating a unique, safe space for birds to walk:
- A minimum strip foundation is enough to install support pipes.
- As soon as the solution has hardened, a mesh is stretched between the columns - it is recommended to stretch it over the platform - and they also add a roof or some additional shelter that can protect the chickens from the sun or rain, for example.
If you take into account at least a small part of the above tips and tricks, you can build with your own hands not only a “simple” summer chicken coop, but also an “insulated” winter chicken coop.
Construction of walls
Undoubtedly, an important stage in construction is the construction of the walls of the chicken coop. We present to your attention the order of actions during construction.
- The walls can be built from a wooden frame, or they can be made from brick or concrete. We recommend using a wooden frame, because it is several times cheaper and will retain heat well in winter.
- First of all, apply the impregnation to the wood and let it dry.
- Then you can start assembling. To do this, use ready-made drawings.
- Install horizontal wooden blocks around the entire perimeter.
- Next, we begin to install the bars vertically on the horizontal bars.
- To keep them firmly in place, use large self-tapping screws or special nails for solid wood.
Final stage of work
Now we move on to the final stage of work. In order for the chicken coop to be ready, it is necessary to modify the walls. Again, use wooden blocks and carefully begin to cover the walls with it.
Naturally, you need to leave a proper opening for the doors. By following all our instructions, you will eventually build a simple chicken coop for your chickens to live in comfortably.
