August 2nd, 2009
Steve Kennett asked:
Finding a good quality chicken coop plan on the internet is surprisingly difficult. However, if you’re willing to dig through all the advertising and marketing lingo, there are some pretty good plans out there. This article outlines some chicken coop pre-construction essentials.
Before You Start
Right, this may be a bit boring, but it’s important! Still, if you already know how many chickens you need to keep it will be pretty easy. You need to decide on 3 main things:
- Size
- Style
- Position
As far as size goes, it’s basically a choice out of small, medium or large. Small coops are great for just a few birds, and are easy to move around and to clean. Medium coops are generally box-shaped and provide adequate running space for 5-9 birds. Large, premium sized coops are for when you’re serious about raising chickens, and want to maximise egg yields.
When it comes to chicken coop styles, you really need to take in to account the climate. You might want to include a hen house to enclose the nests if you live in a particularly wet area. Also, if you are a fan of “free range” breeding, a large chicken run is always a good investment. High quality building plans will show you all about this.
The position of your coop is also extremely important. Chickens are particularly sensitive to subtle changes in light, and will lay differently from season to season. It’s important that the birds get adequate sunlight in the morning. Position the coop to take advantage of this. Again, if you don’t get much sun in your area, install a small light inside the nesting area.
If you’re interested in a great chicken coop plan, check out this How To Build A Chicken House website now.
Cloten
Tags: Birds, Climate, Subtle Changes
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July 30th, 2009
Nick Park asked:
People often wonder how much it’s going to cost them to build their own chicken coop in their backyard. There are a plethora of both free and pay chicken coop plans available on the internet and a startling variance among projected material costs. With a bit of research you’ll find that it’s actually not as costly an investment as you might think.
For a coop that will comfortably house half a dozen chickens you will be aiming for approximately 5 sq ft of space per chicken and around 10″ of perch space per chicken. You want to make sure you have a small storage area, excellent ventilation and good natural light. Of course a door that allows you easy access to the coop is also essential.
A top quality, solidly constructed coop can easily be built for around $300. Some people like to install more high tech parts like an automatic watering system and automatic food dispensers but this will obviously raise your initial investment up by a considerable amount. It’s best to keep it simple to start and you can eventually make improvements once you’ve had your coop up and running for a while.
Your core materials are going to be two by fours and chicken wire. Some people choose to pour a concrete foundation while others simply lay concrete blocks and a good quality wooden floor. This will naturally depend on your budget which route you go. I’ve seen several coops built on blocks that were very stable and did a good job keeping critters out.
Ultimately, you need to do your homework and decide what your requirements are. The more time and effort you put into planning your chicken coop in the early days is going to pay dividends in the end.
If you don’t have a lot of experience with chicken coop construction, I would highly recommend finding some good plans online. The free ones are often quite good but I’d also recommend checking out urbanchickencoop for more information.
Capucius
Tags: Chicken Wire, Critters, Initial Investment
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July 29th, 2009
Jony asked:
When making a Chicken Coop it is important that you know what size will be best suit your need. Too many people overlook such details before they make a coop only to repent it later. There are a few considerations that you should look into before you can understand your requirements:
How much can you invest?
There are many kinds of coops based on their size that you can look into. The factor which differentiates one from the other is the amount of birds they can hold and how much they cost.
The smallest is a Chicken Ark. These cost anywhere between a 100 to 400 dollars depending on the materials, build quality and the maker if you go in for a pre-built coop. These are very popular amongst backyard chicken farmers, and you should definitely consider this if you have a small budget.
The next option that you have is a Medium Sized Chicken Coop which is typically priced between 250 to 300 dollars. These are considerably bigger than a Chicken Ark and unlike them, once installed, cannot be moved.
Finally the biggest thing you can buy is a large sized premium coop. These cost 500 dollars or more and come equipped with a chicken run.
How many birds you have?
Your budget should be in line with the size of your poultry. For instance, if you only have 4 or 5 chickens to take care of the best thing you can get is a Chicken Ark. An important thing you should keep in mind is that the recommended area per Chicken is at least 4 square feet. Meaning that is the minimum amount of space your birds will need to live comfortably in the Chicken coop. If you can provide more space; nothing better! If you have more than 10 birds then a premium big sized chicken coop with an accompanying chicken run is probably the best investment you can make.
How much space you have and where you should setup your Chicken Coop:
If you have a lot of money but not a mighty big backyard then getting a premium sized coop may not be in your best interest. Aesthetics also play an important role and if you are living in a city then you will want to get something which will go with your backyard and home. Finally one of the most ignored things is the “neighbors”. Too many times people set up a Chicken Coop in place where all the noise that the chicken cause end up terribly disturbing the good people in their neighborhood.
Of course there are many more things that you need to take into account before you can make a coop which you can be very proud of.
Keel
Tags: Investment, Money, Poultry
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July 29th, 2009
Coop asked:
Trying to design your own chicken coops plans can be tedious and time consuming which is why many people decide to simply purchase a kit. However, due to the fact that kits that contain pre-built chicken coops plans tend to inflate the price of materials you may end up paying a lot more for a kit that still requires you to spend some time completing the assembly. So how do you save both time and money while using chicken coops plans that contain all the important elements of a chicken coop? Easy, you head over to his website that contains the best chicken coops plans that even a beginner can master. For more info visit BuildChickenCoop.net
The chicken coops plans found on this website were put together into an eBook that will guide you through the chicken coops plans by a carpenter who understands everything you need in a chicken coop. Thus, these chicken coops plans are simple but still have every element your chicken coop needs such as perches, a run, ventilation, lighting, and many more components than you could ever find for the same price in a kit off the shelf. Plus, since you can purchase your own materials now that you have the complete chicken coops plans you will save almost 50% on the actual building materials.
One of the perks of using the chicken coop plans from this eBook is that the instructions are presented to scale in an easy step by step fashion that allow beginners to easily complete chicken coops. In fact, some people find that these chicken coops plans make it easy to involve their children in so that everyone in your family can enjoy building a chicken coop together. For people with children involved in 4-H you can also take advantage of these chicken coops plans for your next group project!
Now that you know that you are capable of using these chicken coops plans you may also be interested to learn the many more perks that are included in these chicken coops plans outside of your chickens’ safety. Built into these chicken coops plans is a coop that is very easy to clean and collect eggs from so that you never have to worry about spending too much time taking care of your chickens or collecting their eggs. After all, time is something that everyone wishes they had more of!
Additionally, these chicken coops plans include a design for a portable chicken coop that can be placed over your garden so that you can use chicken wastes as fertilizer! There are not too many chicken coops plans that allow you to feed your garden and avoid cleaning your coop all at one time! Plus, you also get a guide along with the chicken coops plans that will advise you on the best place to sit your chicken coop so that your chickens get sunlight and you can benefit from their wastes. So what are you waiting for, if you need a chicken coop make sure you check out these chicken coops plans before you head anywhere else for your next chicken coop! For more on Chicken Coop plans visit BuildChickenCoop.net
Maxim
Tags: Chickens, Perches, Ventilation
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July 28th, 2009
Jony asked:
Have you invested in a poultry of respectable size but now are struggling with what size of a hen house you should invest in? Or, (heavens forbid!) have already purchased a Chicken Coop only to repent the fact that it is just way too big for your place? If any of this seems to fit you then read on and discover.
Consideration 1: Your pocket:
Of course you have to weigh in your wallet before you can decide what kind of a home your birds can live in.
a. A Chicken Ark: is the smallest and therefore the cheapest (not necessarily though). Materials needed include only some lumber and chicken wire. A readymade chicken coop can cost you anywhere from $100 to $400 depending on the maker, the quality and finish and finally the kind of materials used.
b. A Medium sized Chicken Coop: A medium sized coop will typically set you back by around $250 to $300.
c. The Big, premium sized coop: these are a bit bigger than the medium sized. These can easily exceed $500 in cost if you add the Chicken run and are buying it from outside.
All of these prices are variables and can differ significantly from place to place, and seller to seller.
Consideration 2: Your poultry:
The number of birds you have should be the main determinant of what kind of Coop you should purchase. The standard requirement for chicken space is 4 square feet per chicken MINIMUM! (Note: This is as important as the first consideration).
a. Chicken Ark: are best suited if you have around 2 – 4 birds to take care of.
b. Medium sized coop: This is typically suited for 6 – 8 birds.
c. Large sized coop: These are best suited if you have poultry of over 10 birds.
Consideration 3: Your backyard space:
Again depending on the amount of space and where you are planning to build a chicken coop, you should decide upon your investment. Of course if you have less space to offer you should go in for a small chicken ark. Larger spaces can allow for the installation of a medium sized or even a large premium sized coop along with a chicken run for the birds.
Another important thing is whether you are living in a city or a rural area. This seemingly harmless detail can easily turn into a nightmare if your neighbors find it an irritant or if it is just not aesthetically done up so. In a country environment this may not be so much of a hassle. Do keep in mind this detail before you go in for your coop.
Mako
Tags: Hen House, Poultry, Square Feet
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July 23rd, 2009
Steve Kennett asked:
If you want to learn how to build, chicken coop construction is one of the simplest places to start. You don’t need much more than a few bits of timber, some wire mesh, and a few nails. This article provides a few step about how to build a chicken coop.
Step 1 – Size and Position
In the world of chicken coops, bigger is generally better, unless you for some reason need to transport your birds around often. Bigger coops are not more difficult to build than smaller coops, but you’ll obviously need to build on-site rather than in a workshop. Remember than chickens need about 4 square feet per bird to stay relaxed, healthy, and laying.
As far as positioning goes, all you need to do is make sure than there is some good sunlight in the early mornings. Chickens are interesting birds, as they use the sun to tell when they should lay. When they get enough light they can lay up to 5 eggs a week!
Step 2 – Material List
Again, there is not a lot to think about here. You need some timber for the frame and nesting area, some wire mesh for the enclosement, and some nails. You can use treated pine if you’re really on a budget, or hardwood if you want to make an extremely sturdy coop. It all comes down to personal preference, but some good chicken coop plans will explain woods in much more detail.
Step 3 – Construction
Like I stated previously, if you’re building anything but a small, portable chicken coop you’re going to have to build on-site. This is the preferred way to build most DIY projects, as you’ll get a feel for how things will be once finished, and you can make adjustments as you go along. You’ll most likely need more than one person for some parts of construction such as lifting up the walls and roof of the hen house.
To look at some chicken coop construction plans, check out this How To Build Chicken Coop website now.
Minter
Tags: Diy Projects, Eggs, Reason Need
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July 21st, 2009
Coop asked:
With food costs sky rocketing you may have considered ways to produce your own food such as purchasing chickens but then changed your mind once you realized how much money it can take to start building a chicken coop. After all, unless you purchase a set for building a chicken coop you have nowhere to place your new egg producing chickens and it may seem that the storage costs outweigh the potential savings. However, before you give up hope what if you found out that there is a much cheaper way to start building a chicken coop that made it more practical to consider buying chickens?
Well, guess what, with the help of this one simple website that teaches you how to start building a chicken coop there is a way that you can afford to purchase chickens and house them as well. This is because the website offers you an invaluable eBook that can instruct experts and beginners alike how to start building a chicken coop with low cost materials that you may even already own! That’s right, building a chicken coop does not have to be expensive or out of your league if you have the proper book to guide you through the process of building a chicken coop. For more details visit www.BuildChickenCoop.net
In fact, most people who have used this websites resource have reported that by building a chicken coop from scratch instead of buying a kit that needs assembly they save over 50% of what they would have paid. By saving 50% you may consider building a larger coop, purchasing more chickens, or simply using your savings to put towards feeding your chickens. What you decide to do with your savings from using this website to start building a chicken coop is your decision, but almost everyone can agree that saving 50% is an excellent choice.
One of the problems that you may run into building a chicken coop on your own now that are getting familiar with the idea is that there are a lot more components you have to be aware of then you may thought. For instance, you when building a chicken coop you have to remember insulation, ventilation, perches, an outside area for the chickens to get exercise, an entrance for you and the chickens, and many more elements. After all, building a chicken coop is a lot like building a miniature home.
However, if you decide to make use of this resource when building a chicken coop you will not have to worry about planning for any of these elements since they have all already been considered and factored in by the author of the eBook about building a chicken coop. Thus, once you head over to the website the only thing you have to worry about before building a chicken coop is where your tools are at because with the simple instructions you will not have to worry about any other factor of building a chicken coop that is safe and well designed for your chickens at a low cost to you! For more info visit www.BuildChickenCoop.net
Lobsang
Tags: Choice One, New Egg, Storage Costs
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July 20th, 2009
Steve Kennett asked:
There are plenty of advantages in having a portable chicken coop at your disposal. Unfortunately, most of the retail coops are ridiculously expensive in this time of financial crisis. A much, much cheaper alternative is to assemble your own coop using a quality building plan. This article outlines a bit about what to look for in a portable chicken coop, and where you can download some building plans.
Portable Chicken Coop Precautions
There are many types of portable chicken coops, but not all will ensure optimal laying conditions. Take note of the following:
- Is the coop safe and secure from climate and predators?
- Is the coop warm enough for chicks? If not, a small heating light may be required.
- Are the nesting areas easily accessible, so that you can fetch eggs?
- Is the coop elevated from the ground to prevent dampness and draft?
- Will you be able to place the coop in a sunny area every morning?
Many new chicken raisers will have a difficult time getting good egg yields if the coop doesn’t provide a stress-free environment. In fact, it’s generally not recommended to use a portable chicken coop as the full-time “home” of the chicken, since it provides no running space, and will get dirty and smelly fast.
Plans To Build A Chicken Coop
If you’re the Do-It-Yourself type, building a portable, mid-sized, or even large chicken coop is really quite easy with the right instructions. If you’re serious about raising chickens, some kind of permanent hen house or chicken coop is really not a bad investment.
To check out the best portable chicken coop ideas, click on to this How To Build A Chicken Coop website now for links to the best plans available online.
Dionysus
Tags: Chicken Coops, Free Environment, Plans To Build A Chicken Coop
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July 18th, 2009
Carole M Hopkins asked:
If you are looking at plans for chicken coops with a view to making a DIY coop, there are a number of considerations you should bear in mind before starting. If you are a novice chicken-keeper, you need to look further than what the plans simply look like and ask yourself some questions before deciding which plans to use.
Firstly, size is the most important consideration. You should ensure that the coop is large enough to house the number of hens you are thinking of buying. As a general rule, each hen needs between 3-5 square feet of space in the sleeping/nesting area and around 15 square feet of run space. Now if you intend to allow your hens to free-range for some of the time, you can probably reduce this figure a little.
With regard to height, you should allow a minimum of 3 feet. Next, think about where your project is going to be sited as this can have implications when choosing your plans for chicken coops. If you can, it is useful to have the coop reasonably near to the house, otherwise feeding and egg collection can become a chore. This means that you want to choose a design which you are happy seeing from the house on a day to day basis. Consider which features you would like inside your coop. The benefit of making a DIY coop is that you are able to be pretty flexible about what is inside. For example, do you prefer fixed or portable feeders? What type of nesting box will you have? What about perches?
With regard to nesting boxes, you do not need anything fancy. My hens share a plastic cat litter tray, which I weight down with a brick to stop it tipping and then line with straw. This has the advantage of being simple to clean. Another recommendation is to use a shallow sturdy cardboard box which you can simply dispose of each week or so and use another.
For perches, if the plans for chicken coops which you are using does not make a provision for perches, a good idea is to take a couple of large branches and lay them strategically in the run. The hens will enjoy perching in the open air.
As a chicken keeper and retailer of chicken housing myself, I was looking for ideas to incorporate into my own designs and this lead me to a book by a fellow chicken-lover. His plans for chicken coops 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 making a DIY coop themselves 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 simple chicken pen plans without difficulty. To take a look at the different options which are available, please visit Plans For Plans For Chicken Coops
.
Aaren
Tags: Brick, Coop, Perches
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July 17th, 2009
John Grant asked:
If you have chickens, you probably wonder how to build a chicken coop on your own so you wouldn’t have to pay anyone else to do it for you. There are some things that you would have to take into consideration when you are learning how to build a chicken coop.
First and foremost, you need to consider its appearance. It is a good idea to sketch out your coop’s appearance or design on a sheet of paper so you would have a clear-cut idea about how you would like it to turn out. What colors would you like to use? Make sure that it’s aesthetically made, so you or your neighbors would not mind looking at it on a daily basis. You can’t have people complaining about how atrocious looking your chicken coop is.
It is a good idea to take note of your responsibility as the owner of the coop before you even build it. Make sure that you keep it clean so that it wouldn’t cause any problems. Make sure that you keep its surroundings clean as well.
You don’t have to worry about learning how to build a chicken coop. Learning the basics will not require a lot of time and effort. You just need to use sound judgment in making decisions while designing the structure of your coop.
For instance, you need to choose materials that will allow easy cleaning and disinfecting accessibility. You need to make sure that you install a door that opens inwards not outwards. It is also better to place sliding windows. If you want to make sure that you will avoid puddles when you hose down the coop, you should build the floors with a slight slope so that waters will easily slide towards the door. These sensible choices will ensure that you will not have your chickens roosting outside their coop.
You’re also probably wondering how to build a chicken coop that is safe from hazardous elements. Naturally, you would want to keep your chickens safe from bad elements like wind, rain, hale, cold, snow, storm and so on. You also would like to keep them safe from wolves, foxes (if there are any near your area) and thieves. It is also sensible to want to learn how to build a chicken coop that will keep your chickens safe from injuries.
Again, you need to use sound judgment when you are building a coop that will protect your chickens from all possible causes of harm. You need to build your windows and doors with proper protection and screening system in place. A heavy gage mesh wire can provide good protection. You should also make sure that you build your chicken coop in a high but dry land area. The coop should face the sun as well. This will keep your chickens warm during the cold seasons. Make sure, however, that you provide your chickens with proper ventilation and a sufficient supply of light and warmth.
There you have it. These are sensible guides on how to build a chicken coop properly. Nailing boards and placing wires in place is easy, but you need to know how to build a chicken coop correctly to make sure that you will keep your chickens safe and sound.
Cyril
Tags: Accessibility, Appearance, Foxes
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