• chicken coop building plans – How To Build A Chicken Pen – 4 Essential Elements Of Chicken Pen Plans

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  Nov 7

  How To Build A Chicken Pen – 4 Essential Elements Of Chicken Pen Plans If you would like to know how to build a chicken pen, you may be pleased to learn that this is a relatively simple procedure but one of the most crucial elements, like with many things in life, is good planning. When looking at chicken coop plans, it is important to understand that there are various must-have elements which should be considered when building any coop, regardless of its size. 1. Size If your hens are likely to be kept inside the coop for most of the time, then the size of the coop is of crucial importance. You need to give the hens enough space to move around comfortably as well as to sleep and nest in. Any good plans should clearly state the number of hens a particular design is suitable for. As a rule of thumb, you should allow “indoor” hens 3-5 square footage of floor space in the nesting/sleeping end and up to 15 square footage each in the run. Obviously, you can be more flexible if you allow your hens to free-range for part of the time, but you must ensure they can sleep comfortably. 2. Ease Of Cleaning It is no use at all having the nicest looking coop if you cannot keep it properly clean. This is of vital importance for a couple of reasons. Firstly, hens are susceptible to Red Mite, which is a tiny, spider-like parasite. This can lead to feather loss and extreme discomfort for the hens. Your chicken pen should be easy to clean as to keep Red Mite at bay, you should dust the inside of the coop with red mite powder after cleaning and occasionally spray the inside with a weak disinfectant, so access is vital. In addition, when considering chicken pen plans, you should look for those which incorporate dual access into the nesting/sleeping area. This should be both from the run and from the rear of the coop and it means that you do not need to get access via the run for cleaning the nesting area which can get very messy! 3. Protection From Predators If looking at how to build a chicken pen, it is crucial that any plans you follow have clearly taken this into account by suggesting materials and strategies which will prevent attack by foxes and raccoons. Foxes are extremely cunning and will use any means to get your hens. Any mesh you use should be heavy gauge and 1000 all doors and openings should have the means to be strongly secured-especially at night. Look for plans which either have a means of preventing “tunneling in” by foxes – this could be by having a mesh fastened to the bottom or by having the mesh extending below the bottom of the coop as this can then be “dug in”. Although some people suggest that cats can be a problem, I have personally not found this-indeed my cats are quite afraid of my hens, who have no qualms in eating their cat food with the cats looking on in a bemused manner! 4. Lighting and Ventilation You should consider “lighting” if you are keeping your hens for egg production. During the winter months, egg production naturally declines as the hen’s hormones are regulated by the number of hours of daylight they receive. In winter, hens often stop laying altogether, as I found myself this winter, and will not begin laying again until the number of daylight hours exceeds 12. It is possible to incorporate artificial light into the pen and some chicken pen plans will give advice on how this can be done. It would not be kind to keep the hens in light 24 hours a day, but boosting the light by a few hours in the dark winter months can keep the hens laying. With regard to ventilation, there should be plenty of large-bore holes drilled in the nesting/sleeping area on the pen as not only does this allow for the circulation of air which prevents moisture build-up, it can also help diffuse the harmful gases which are formed from the hen’s waste products. As a chicken keeper and retailer of chicken housing myself, I was looking for ideas to incorporate into my own designs when I came across a book by Bill Keene, a fellow chicken-lover which detailed explicit chicken pen plans. His designs were so simple that they were almost as easy to construct as my own self-assembly coops were to put together! I have since recommended his book to numerous customers who were looking at building a DIY coop and all have been delighted by both the simplicity and quality of the designs. In addition, it has been shown that building your own housing can save over 50% of the cost of a comparable flatpacked pen and even those with very little experience in DIY can follow the instructions in the book with ease. By: Carole M Hopkins Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com To take a look at the different options which are available, please visit How To Build A Chicken Pen Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Pets Articles Via RSS! Additional Articles From – cledashboard.com>Home | Home & Family | Pets Double Door Pet Carrier – Flying in Style and Comfort For Your Pets How to Choose a French Bulldog Breeder 21st Century Dog Pampering Keeping a Horse on a Budget Revolution Dog Medicine Dog Poo Wormeries What is Cosequin for Cats? Does Conventional Medicine Harm or Help Our Pets? Dog boutiques for pet lovers Manzanita Bird Perches- Durable, Beautiful, and Easy To Clean! If you’ve been keeping up with my blog posts lately you’ll know I’ve come to adding a few news posts from around the web on this subject. I’ve got a couple more today that are new and updated, so let me know what you think of em… Death by Mint Oil: Natural Pesticides “I've seen no excess insects since switching,” 39-year-old Ms. Kidd says, “and I've got bugs in the yard around my chicken coop, but not on my patio or in …  Read More… Weekend Reading As a backyard chicken trend sweeps the country, hatcheries that supply baby chicks say they can barely keep up with demand. Do-it-yourself coops have popped …  Read More… Read all 'Carbon Trading' posts in Green Tech Yahoo designed its forthcoming data center to let outside air cool the servers at all times, borrowing the idea from the design of a chicken coop, …  Read More… That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by. If you’re wondering how to build a chicken coop, then you are definitely not alone. Chicken coops are becoming more and more popular. Using these quick and easy design elements and adding them to your overall chicken coop plan, you will build a chicken coop that is both pleasing to the eye, and safe for your chickens. Tip #1 – Build a Safe Chicken Coop You not only need to protect your chickens from hungry predators, but they must be able to survive the natural elements, such as rain, snow, and summer heat. The location of your chicken coop is of upmost importance when considering the safety of your chickens. Primarily, you should build the chicken coop in a high and well drained area, so if and when it does rain, the coop will dry quickly. It is also important to have your chicken coop face the sun, so that the coop can dry properly in wet seasons. When hot weather hits, proper ventilation is key. Installing sliding windows and doors that can be opened and closed as needed will provide the chickens proper ventilation in hot weather. In order to protect your coop and chickens from predators, you should bury your outside runs with chicken wire surrounding the coop at a depth of about 1 foot. This will deter all but the largest predators from reaching your chickens. Tip #2 – Build an Easy Maintenance Coop Diseases and sickness can spell disaster to coop bound chickens. Cleaning your chicken coop should be as easy as possible so that you can do it quick and often. There are a few design techniques that will ensure cleaning your chicken will be easy. Install doors that open inward and not outward. Another design element that makes it much easier to clean your chicken coop is to design the floor at a low angled slope towards the main door. When hosing down the inside of the coop with water and disinfectants, the water will drain outside the coop automatically, instead of puddling in the middle – which can be a major hassle. Tip #3 – Keeping Your Coop Warm and Bright A properly built chicken coop is not only well ventilated, but warm in the cold winter months. There are a few simple tips to follow in order to keep your chickens warm at night or in the cold seasons. The first tip is to properly insulate the walls of the structure. This will not only keep your chickens dry in wet seasons, it will help to hold in the heat in the cold. You should also face the chicken coop so that the windows let in light from the sun. This is an easy and inexpensive way to keep your chickens warm in the cold months. Another tip is to install a proper electrical lightning system. These are relatively inexpensive and cheap to maintain. Installing light will not only let you see the chickens if you need to at night, it can serve as a wonderful heat source.  Mail this post

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