Raising chickens is fun for the whole family. Kids especially love collecting fresh eggs.
If you have decided to start your own backyard flock then you will need to build a chicken coop. When building a chicken coop there are many things to keep in mind. You could design your own chicken coop or you could go with free chicken coop plans available online. There are some excellent step by step plans for building a chicken coop, which will include plans for build in chicken nest boxes and a feed and watering area as well as a roosting bar. Every detail will be planned out for you so all you have to do is build. Some excellent books on chicken coop designs can be found at Amazon.
Some people choose to design their own backyard chicken coop. If you are handy this should be a fairly easy task but here are some details you will need to include in your coop plans:
Nest Boxes: Nesting boxes are necessary. They provide a nice cozy place inside the coop for your hens to lay eggs. You will fill the nesting boxes with hay and the chickens will lay eggs in the box. Make sure you have enough boxes in the hen house. Chickens will share boxes but you should make sure they won’t be fighting over the nest box.
Hen House Feeder: Chicken coop supplies such as feeders come in many sizes and are available at your local feed store in various sizes. Raising chickens is fun for the whole family and with the right sized chicken feeder you won’t have to feed your hens every day. Depending on what size feeder you choose and how many chickens you have, you could end up feeding just once a week.
Proper Ventilation: The hen house will need adequate ventilation. Prior to building a chicken coop you should plan for good ventilation. Good chicken coop blueprints will allow good ventilation because good ventilation will help your flock remain healthy. The coop should have windows or openings to allow fresh air inside. These windows and doors can open to a chicken yard or they can be covered with chicken wire so hens won’t get out.
Chicken House Location: Chicken coops should be placed in a sunny, well drained high location. Plan ahead and make sure your chickens are located in an area which may have drainage issues in winter. Chickens need plenty of light in order to lay eggs. The more sunlight the hens have the better.
Build Your Coop With an Attached Yard: Hens can be down right mean to each other. It’s nice to have a penned in chicken yard for your hens. You can attach poultry wire over the top of the yard to keep your little egg laying friends inside the yard some people choose wing clipping but I haven’t found this necessary. This will allow less dominate hens to get away from mean hens. Build a coop with an chicken door for the chickens to go from the coop to the yard and a “man” door for you to enter the coop. Having a full sized door for you to gather eggs from the chicken house and do some coop cleaning easily.
Build the Hen House with Good Materials: Keep in mind when building a chicken coop predators and all the ways they will try to get inside the coop to your chickens. Innocent looking neighborhood dogs may try and enter the coop and harm your chickens. Using scrap lumber in your coop design is okay but just make sure the scrap materials will not compromise your hens safety.
Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for the entire family. There isn’t anything quite like fresh eggs. Doing research prior to building a chicken coop will save you a lot of headaches in the future and will also help your hens live long and healthy lives.
