Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Chicken Coop Building Ideas

Chicken coop building ideas are necessary to build a chicken coop that serves to all the needs of your chicken. In order to raise healthy chickens that in turn yields to get healthy eggs. By doing so we can not only raise healthy chickens that in turn yields to good eggs while we can save a lot of time and money too.

Here are few requirements for an ideal chicken coop idea should meet:

A good chicken coop should ensure that the coop is kept warm, with proper ventilation. If you plan to build a coop during winter then the best idea would be to insulate the walls and ceiling of the chicken coop. They will keep the coop warm throughout the year.

For proper ventilation it is advised to place windows of the coop facing south so as get cool breeze from the south direction.

A good chicken coop should be built at a higher place to keep it safe from flooding due to rains or not to be disturbed while cleaning. And also the chicken coop should not be built in a busy as that would scare the chickens.

A good chicken coop must be built in a wider area so that the chickens feel comfortable in a spacious coop. Don't make mistake of loading the chicken in a smaller area such that the chickens are too close to each other that in turn will lead to suffocation and will also affect their productivity. It is said that, in an ideal chicken coop plan each chicken has 4 square feet of space. For example if you have four chickens then the total space required would be 4'X4'. It is also important to ensure that you have an access inside of the chicken coop. This is where most of the coop plans fail.

You need to enter the coop on a daily basis to feed the chickens, change the water,
collect eggs and most importantly to clean it.

The most important and the challenging task is protection of the chickens. Predators like rodents, cats, fox, and wolf eagerly wait for a chance to pounce on your chickens and have a stupendous meal. A well protected chicken coop will make sure that these predators don't have a chance to even come near your precious chickens.

To have protected chicken coop install locks on the doors and make sure that you keep the coop locked during the night. Cover the ventilation with a wire mesh, making sure that there are no opening for the intruders to enter. Put a fence around the coop with at least 12 inches underneath the ground and 4 ft above the ground so that there is no entrance for the predators.

So friends if you are building your own chicken coop then it is best to work chicken coop plans rather than making it up as you go which will end up spending up double the amount. So think twice about investing in a good chicken coop as it will reap lot of benefits in the long run.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Dog Family Members That Are Top Chicken Coop Predators


Do you know there are only three breeds of dog that are top chicken coop predators? Yes!!! Chicken coop predators are the most problematic thing for the chicken coop owners. You should know what dog predators you have in your community. The top chicken coop predator breeds of dog are

1. Fox

2. Coyote

3. Domestic dogs of Neighbors

Instead of shooting these predators, provide a trap or keep the coop coyote-proof. Try to build the coop with solid wood because these predators can bite and break the wood to gain entry into the coop to prey the chickens.

Coyote will try to dig hole in the outside area of the coop and try to capture the chicken inside the coop by opening the hole inside the coop. Hence the flooring should be concrete to prevent the burrowing of the floor. More over, if there are any holes inside the hole try to seal the holes with necessary material to prevent the entry of these dreadful chicken coop predators. Happy Cooping!!!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Things To Think Before Building Chicken Coop Nesting Boxes


Commercially there are many chicken coop nesting boxes existing in the shopping complexes. These boxes are available in different sizes and forms. Do you know you can save few bucks, if you build a nesting box on your own? Yes!!! Ready made chicken coop nesting boxes are costly. More over, they are available as scrub. You need to assemble them. so instead of buying them, you can obtain the materials for building the nesting boxes at much cheap price or at free of cost.

Chicken nest boxes should be designed in such a way that no chicken can perch above the box. This is because, if a chicken ride on the box, it will soil both the nesting boxes as well as the eggs with its droppings. Most of us think that a nesting box is a safe and comfortable place for chicken to lay eggs. It is not so! It should be a clean place for the chickens to sit and lay eggs.

Before building the nesting boxes for chicken coops, you should provide perches for them to use. The perches should be 19 to 25 inches above the ground. Even you can use more than one perch, which resembles a ladder or a stair to give room for more space for the chickens to move.

Nesting Box Sizes

A perfect dimension for a chicken coop nesting box is 12 inches tall, 12 inches deep, and 12 inches wide, which will be able to house 3-5 hens at a point of time.

You should provide various nesting materials ranging from straw, shredded paper or wood shavings inside the nest box to harvest clean and untidy eggs. The nesting box should be kept in a secluded place within a coop with an idea of giving some shade and dark space for the hens to feel comfortable and safe.

Chicken coop nesting box is an important chicken coop kit for better egg production from you back yard chicken. Good plan for nesting is essential as it will increase the efficiency and productivity of the business. Even you can ask your children to get participated in the activity of chicken coop plan building to bring them up as a person with more social interaction. Happy chicken cooping!!!


Friday, August 7, 2009

How to Choose Perfect Chicken Coop Kits?


Have you ever visited the marketplace to shop a new chicken coop kits? You would have seen so many types of chicken coop kits in the shops. If you have never bought a chicken coop for your use, it would be a Herculean task to choose a perfect one. So, before get into the marketplace, you should know few things to pick a quality one above the rest.

Lighting


Select Proper lighting kits. Lighting is essential not only to give light, but also act as a good source in the winter seasons. Electric light is the proper chicken coop kit for your coop.

Wire Mesh

The wire mesh should be thick enough to protect the inmates from predators. So buy a thick wire mesh. Your primary objective of choosing this chicken coop kit is to protect your chickens from pesky predators.

Ventilation

Try to place sliding windows to provide necessary quality air ventilation to your chickens. Proper ventilation will help to get fresh air for the chickens as well as to get rid of ammonia smell built inside the coop.

Chicken Coop Flooring Material

Poor chicken coop floor design will make your life as well as your chickens life more miserable. In order to keep the floor clean and tidy, you should use a perfect material that is not getting burrowed by the predators as well as slightly sloped towards the main door. You can easily hose out the debris at least once in 15 days.

Although there few more things to look before starting your own chicken coop, these four chicken coop kits are most important to consider. Happy Cooping!!!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Common Problems in Buiding Chicken Coop


Nowadays most of the home garden owners prefer to build their own chicken coop. If you're one among them, you came to the right place at right time. Without proper plan, you can't start any building including chicken coop. If you start building chicken coop without plan, you'll end up with numerous problems.

Common Problems

The common problems in building chicken coop are problems with location, problem with lighting and problem with space.

Problem with Location

The chicken coop should be located in the place where there is no stagnation of water during rainy season because your chicken will be subjected to various diseases if they have been exposed to inclement weather.
Problem with light
Providing right sized windows in correct location will help the chickens to get enough light and good ventilation. If the windows are being fitted in wrong position, you need to provide extra lighting by electric bulb which will increase the monthly electricity bill.

Problem with space

You should not compromise with space because space directly affects the egg production. If you provide less space, there is possibility of cannibalism and pecking behavior.

Learn these points and draw a proper plan before start building your own chicken coop, ALL THE BEST!!!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

What Are The Perfect Chicken Coop Kits?


I have decided to build my own chicken coop for my family in the backyard. So I Googled and found that an e-book with all details especially with video - how to build a chicken coop is available online. Hats off to CHRIS!

But I found difficulty in choosing perfect chicken coop kits. I researched a lot to find ideal chicken coop kits. I am going to disclosing those hard earned tips for you. They are-

1. Proper Lighting


Lighting is an essential thing for a chicken coop. Most of us think that proper lighting in a coop is to get perfect vision of feed by the chickens. No! Lighting will act as a perfect source of heat during cold seasons.

2. Thick Wire Mesh


This is the next important kit for a coop. The wire mesh should be strong enough to withstand the biting activity of predators. Yes!!! A strong wire mesh protectant will keep pesky predators at bay.

3. Perfect Ventilation


Your chicken require quality air. This can be achieved y proper ventilation only. Even you can provide sliding windows to get pure air for the chickens inside the coop.

4. Perfect Floor

The floor of your coop should be slightly sloped in order to facilitate easy cleaning and easy maintainence. Poor craftmanship and faulty designs can really make your chickens lives as well as your life miserable. Hence don't compromise with the floor.The sloping of the floor will help to hose out the chicken coop very easily as the water will get out the coop immediately, instead of puddling in center.

Be sure to adhere to these things while building chicken coop. If you provide a perfect coop for your chicken, your chickens will provide fresh eggs daily without any hesitant. Happy Cooping!!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

What Is The Perfect Floor Space In A Chicken Coop?




This is the most asked question by any new chicken coop builder. You should know the answer for this question before planning to build a new chicken coop in your backyard. Your chicken need a perfect floor space to lead a healthy and happy life in its lifetime.

If you are planning to rear 20 chickens, the floor space should be 80 square foot. You should not skimp on space. Yes! If possible you can allocate more space inside the coop to facilitate to rear more chicken in future due course.

In other words, you must provide 4 square foot space per chicken. If you reduce the floor space than the prescribed level, you will end up in various problems including overcrowding, cannibalism, pneumonia and bronchitis.
Never overcrowd your coop! Otherwise, your chickens may lost its quality of life by fighting among themselves and lead to feather picking, which may lead to CANNIBALISM.