Building a Chicken Coop

Building your own chicken coop in the backyards of your house is quite a good investment to make because firstly it will produce you fresh eggs everyday depending on the number of chickens you can afford and secondly it will make you feel good because it is something which you are making on your own instead of getting one from the market. Also the idea of building your own personal chicken coop is quite economical because you get the work done in less than half amount spent on buying a chicken coop from the market. Those chicken coops are manually made as well. So why go for buying someone else’s work when you can do the job yourself, provided you have some amount of free time to do the job. However another important thing is that it’s not just a matter of hammering or joining mess. Several simple aspects have to be kept in mind for the job. Just follow the step by step approach given here and it is guaranteed that you will end up building a nice cozy chicken coop.

Hen house

The first and foremost thing to start any job is to make an idea of what are you going to do. So just take a pencil and a paper and make out a layout of your dream chicken coop. Be careful of the colors you are going to use for the job. The chicken coop should not be a distracting element for the neighbors, so design it carefully and aesthetically. You have to make appropriate decisions on your own on the subjects like the resource in your hands and how much quality product you want to make. Special emphasis on smaller things like which building material are you going to use, so that the labor of cleaning becomes reduced in future. Also decide about doors and windows, whether they will open inwards or outwards. It is always recommended to make the windows sliding. And an important trick mostly used by many is that make the floor sloped towards the door so that when you spray water it will automatically clean the floor reducing your cleaning labor.
You also will definitely want to protect your chickens from bad weather as well as from hungry animals. Close the exit and entry points during bad weather and for protecting your chickens from predators, just bury your outside runs round the coop, about one foot deep so that cats or dogs cannot dig it underneath. It is highly required to provide a light source for the colder months and proper ventilation in the hot season. So just make the chicken coop window facing southwards to receive direct sunlight. You can also go for electric lighting with one light on the ceiling. The last step to give a final touch to your chicken coop is to make the chicken happy. The chickens should be comfortable in having access to the feeds without messing up with it. The recommended way of placing the chicken feeders are to place them at a height so that the chickens can extend their neck and eat the stuff but their legs should not reach up to mess it up.
Follow these simple steps and get assured; your chickens will get a very good and safe home to stay in.

Chicken Coop Design

Designing a chicken coop is not that simple. There are certain things that you need to consider like the fact that hens needs roof over their heads because they are susceptible to acquiring diseases. It is important to know that hens like safe and enclosed area for nesting purposes. From the roof to its flooring, the chicken coop needs to be well watered and well maintained.

Elements of a chicken coop
It is essential to add some elements that will make things easier when it comes to taking care of chicken. There should be automatic watering facility in the chicken coop. The chickens need access to fresh water. Typically it should hold about a gallon of water that is filled up everyday. Electricity is also quite necessary. Hens usually need this for laying eggs. A food dispenser is essential thing to have inside the coop. It should trigger certain amount of food. In this way, you can leave the chickens for the weekend without starving them. A chicken coop design should aim to protect the chickens. Make sure that it is enclosed with net and wire. It is best to bury the wire around the perimeter in order to discourage rodents from entering the area. Your chicken coop should also protect the hens from sun and snow. A chicken coop design should have food storage like bins, metal garbage and cans. Remember that cleaning tools should come in handy for raking and sweeping the area.

 

Chicken coop with run

Size of the chicken coop
The height of the chicken coop should be tall enough for people to walk in and out of it. Ideally, you will need four square feet per bird. Some say that you can get by with a small area however if you have the space then use it to make the hens comfortable. A hanging roof that can be lifted is satisfactory approach. Open windows are great as well. The coop must have appropriate ventilation. Doors vary from solid to screen doors. The climate where you are situated will determine the type. It is always good to add ramp so that the chickens can easily be access.

Materials
You can select from buying new materials or building one out of scrap. The choice is yours when it comes to the aesthetic result of the chicken coop. This is one way to test how good you are when it comes to design and construction skills. Wood and wires are the basic customary materials. You can also select concrete blocks for flooring. This can prevent rats and pest from getting in. It is best to consider if the materials are easy to clean. Remember that you need to clean the chicken coop annually. If you live in a cold area, consider putting insulation.
Overall, a well designed chicken coop is attributed to its owner.

Chicken Coop Kits

While keeping chickens is no longer the important activity it was in the past there are still some very valid reasons to raise and keep chickens. Before jumping into poultry ranching as a hobby or a financial resource an aspiring rancher must do some research. The wide range of activities in this field requires specific preparations including not least where you are going to keep your chickens. One hen being kept simply as a pet needs very little space but you will still want to keep her somewhere out of your living space or be prepared to clean up after her.

A Mini Coop

A short internet search found over 30,000 listings for “chicken coop kits”. The available kits range from units intended for 8-10 birds to larger plans for barn-like structures for hundreds of birds. Commercial operations use large specialized structures holding several thousand birds each with automatic feed systems, temperature regulation and built-in clean-up processes. The range of prices for chicken coop kits varies with the number of hens and the space allocated for them. You may find many websites with various offers regarding assembled and delivered coops in just about any price range and if your budget supports you can go for even more expensive options. You will also come across various e-books of coop building instructions in a convenient price range.

Chickens require more than just a coop so you need to do your homework and adjust your chicken coop kit budget to allow some funding for accessories. You will need nesting boxes for about 20% of your hen population, feeding and watering equipment and some arrangements for cleaning up after your chickens. One interesting sideline is fertilizer. When I raised chickens I often had gardeners coming around asking for the droppings. It makes a very effective fertilizer.
A chicken coop must provide a safe haven for your chickens, especially at night but the coop should not be the only space the chickens have to live. It is important that a coop not be over crowded and those smaller, mobile coops can be moved around you yard to keep the “fertilizer” widely spread and give the chickens form fresh grass. If you limit the space where you chickens live they will quickly eliminate any grass or ground cover and dig more holes than you would believe.

A small flock of chickens can be a rewarding hobby. Depending on your personal preferences you can also enjoy a few fresh eggs and even an occasional chicken dinner. For children (and adults, too) there are many very fancy ornamental birds that are great fun. Do your research and make your plans before diving in. Select the proper chicken coop kit, buy your chicks or grown birds, and enjoy. Do not try to go too big too soon, though. The amount of work required for a medium to large flock can rapidly overload one person.

How to Build Chicken Coop

Building chicken coop is an effort made by humans to provide chickens a natural habitat where they can fearlessly roam around, lay eggs and sleep cozily. This protects chicken from bad weather conditions and from other animals that can kill and eat them. This prevents chickens from dying early and hence it becomes a source of income for chicken coop owners. So, now if you are looking for building a chicken coop, it’s the time to plan efficiently about how to build chicken coop. Building chicken coop requires a lot of efforts depending on the requirement of the chicken coop and the number of chickens that will occupy it.
The various factors that need to be taken care of before planning how to build a chicken coop are location, chicken coop size, essential tools and materials, source of light, coop ventilation, protection from predators, appearance and design, maintaining favorable temperature, and chicken feeders.

Building a chicken coop

While planning how to build chicken coop, the first question that comes in our mind is where to build chicken coop. The chicken coop should be built in a flat area without any trees around. The trees may give shade but if they fall, it could be dangerous for the chicken coop. You need to decide the area according to the size of the chicken coop required. If you are planning for increasing the business gradually, it is better to build a larger one or a double storied as it will not lead to an investment again. Before you start, you must put on a rough diagram on a sheet of paper and decide upon colors of wall and roof, style of barn and shed, location of doors and windows and placement of chicken feeders. The chicken coop should be designed in such a way that its appearance is well acceptable by the surroundings and neighbors.
To understand how to build a chicken coop, you should first try to understand the requirements of the chickens and their comfort. Each chicken should have enough space so that they can roam around and live comfortably without any struggle for the survival. When it comes to feed chickens, we need to be careful as they have the habit of messing the food and spilling it all around and this may make the coop dirty. Hence, the food should be fed at proper location and at a certain standard height. Proper fencing is required by putting nails all around the inside wall so as to protect the chickens from predators. Walls and ceiling should be properly insulated and fans should be used if required for maintaining comfortable temperature. To lay consistently chickens require light 14 hours a day. So, you can use timer light bulbs at night and you can also utilize old doors windows for the light and air to enter the coop in the daytime. These chickens are very pleased if each of them is provided with a nest.
Now that you know how to build chicken coop, it’s the time to start with few facts in consideration. You need to ensure that the interior stays dry and the coop is well ventilated. Focus on all possible ways to save each of your chicken and please them to get into a fruitful business.

How to Make a Chicken Coop

A well built chicken coop ensures a good health of your chickens and it also ensures that the chickens are safe and free from any kind of disease. Building a chicken coop is not rocket science at all. All you need to do is follow some instructions and you can provide your chickens a great shelter. In this article we will discuss few steps to build a nice, secure and healthy chicken coop. Deciding about the size and design of the chicken coop is the first and foremost step. The size and design of a chicken coop depends upon a lot of factors like chicken size, climatic conditions, types of predators and the cleanliness techniques etc. A chicken coop should have separate divisions for laying eggs and sleeping of the chickens. A coop can be movable, stationary cops and big human scaled structures for large number of chickens. The water arrangement should be there and there should be enough space to keep the fodder for the chickens. The chicken coop can be built using a lot of materials like wood, nylon, cotton with nets which is known as Euglus Coop. The wooden coops are recommended for the rural areas and in urban areas, Euglus Coops are advisable. The size of the coop should be enough for the chickens to roam around freely, peck, hunt insects but should remain contained in the coop at the same time. There should be a provision of ventilation and light in the coop so that the chickens get enough natural vitamins.

 Chicken Coop

Next comes the cleaning conditions of the coop. The coop should have enough water arrangement so that one can easily clean the litter on the floor. The coop should be cleaned on a regular basis so as to avoid any disease in the chickens.The climatic conditions of your area should also be considered while building a chicken coop. If the area is too cold during winters, an electric installation provision should be there so as to keep your chickens warm in the chilly season. Too hot areas must have a coop built with sufficient water supply to ensure a regular drinking water supply for the coops. The most economical and easily constructed chicken coop is a Backyard Chicken coop. As the name itself signifies, it can be constructed in the backyard of your house. One can provide the specifications of the coop and pre-built parts are available in the market which can easily be assembled to take form of a complete chicken coop.A lot of design books are available in the market which can help you understand the type of chicken coops you need. The books can help you in selecting the right design, size for your chicken coop on the basis of the climatic conditions and the kind of chickens you are going to grow in your farm.Following the steps discussed above will definitely help you to build a nice homely chicken coop for your chickens. It is always advisable to keep the chicken coop clean and well ventilated. After all it is your duty to keep your chickens healthy.

Storage Shed Blueprints

The design of a storage shed will ensure its stability and storage capacity. A storage shed blueprint will definitely help you in understanding what you want to design and at any point of time one can refer to these blueprints to cross check the progress. You might want to build a garden shed or a general backyard shed or may be a shed for the belongings of your kids, knowing your requirement is very important so as to ensure that you don’t need to change the blueprint every now and then. Before starting working on the blueprint one must know what type of storage shed is required, how much space is available, weather conditions, building material and only then the designing part should be started. Proper planning and understating your requirement is very important before working on the final storage shed blueprints. The size of the shed must be in accordance with the general building codes and zonal laws of your area.

Storage Shed Blueprint

The type of material to be used, whether you want to go for a wooden shed or a concrete structure, is another important aspect of building storage sheds. It is always advisable to build a wooden floor shed because of its affordability and ease to work with. However the wood should be protected against the termite attack and it can be done very easily by treating wood with certain chemical solutions.Storage Shed Blueprints ensure that you are working according to the plan and no extra effort or wastage of money and time is happening during the construction of your shed. A blueprint helps you to create an image of the shed in your mind, how will it look, what will be the dimensions, location of doors and windows everything becomes alive in your brain and helps you to construct the shed in a systematic way. The design of foundation should be done very carefully because the foundation affects the strength and life of the building greatly. The water conditions and climatic properties of the area should be taken into consideration while designing the shed. In areas where water table is too high using water proof material in the foundation is always advisable.
It should be understood very clearly that following the storage shed blueprints is the only thing that will help you in building an economical, durable and a planned storage shed. It is just like sticking to doctor’s advice when you want to reduce your weight. You get distracted in following doctor’s advice and next week you find yourself breaking the weighing machine. Same is the relationship between constructing a shed and storage shed blueprints, you follow them and you will finish work in time.

Outdoor Shed Plans

Outdoor sheds are well suited in back yards and are generally useful for those having lawn and garden equipments. While planning to build your own outdoor shed, the first thing which comes into your mind is that its appearance should be attractive and should fulfill the purpose of its creation. If you are really looking for an ideal backyard shed plan, then you need to ensure that it should have the ability to fulfill general basic requirements like it is in your budget limit and is compatible with your demands.
The shed can either be made with plain ordinary woodwork or readily available kits that are available in the market. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Whatever material you choose, you need tools to assemble it. You don’t need any super powerful tool for the job but obviously if electrical tools are available instead of mechanical tools, it will be much faster and easier. For example, if you have an electric saw instead of handsaw, you can easily visualize the difference.

Outdoor-shed

The next important decision about the outdoor shed plan is to determine the size requirement which depends on your budget and the stuffs you need to store in it. One of the best ways to get an idea is to use a graph paper and sketch out the dimensional layout of the items which are supposed to be fit in the shed. Also, enough clearance paths should be provided so that things can be moved in or out of the shed quite comfortably and easily. The door that you are going to use in your outdoor shed plan is also of vital importance and should always be made moving outwards.
You also need to ensure that you are keeping it well organized all throughout and you are not just using it to dump everything there. The design of your outdoor shed plan should be exclusively designed by the owner as per his requirements to store things inside. The interior organization which is equally important can be maintained using storage hooks, wall hangings and organized shelves. Another important fact is choice of location. Usually, buildings made under 100sq feet in your bounded area do not need any building permit. Also, the location of your shed should be such that it is compatible with your daily activities. Various other factors including proximity of water, sunlight as well as ventilation also determines the choice of location used.
You can make the outdoor shed as a miniaturized model of your house. Design and detailing should be done depending on the style and affordability of the owner. Your approach to build it can develop it into a valuable asset of your property. Thus, the choice of best outdoor shed plans depends entirely on the needs and budget of the owner.