How to Maintain the Chicken Coop?

By now we have discussed great deal of information about the chicken coop building, hence it is time to discuss about the maintenance of the coop. You must have put in your best efforts to construct the chicken coop and must have positioned it also as per the guide lines discussed already. The chicken coop will disintegrate sooner than latter if proper maintenance was not done. The maintenance and the repair work of the chicken coop are not all that difficult if proper care is taken on regular basis.

Pay attention to the door

The door of the chicken coop should be cared the most as it is the only part in the coop that will be moving too often. This is because you will be going inside the coop for feeding, watering, taking the eggs etc. Hence the door of the coop should be watched carefully. In case the latch is lose, repair it immediately and if required replace it completely. If the door is giving problems to you often, then there is no harm in replacing the door with new one. Let the door be designed according to the usage of the farmer in order to minimize the wear and tear of the door by unwanted usage.

Checking the fence

The structure of the fence should be watched regularly next to the door. The fence should be completely checked at least once in a month. In case the chicken coop area is full of predators, the sturdiness of the fence should be assessed more often. The fences are more prone for walking and hence more around the fence and check each and every part with care. If there is any gap or weak part, just correct the same without wasting anytime. The predator may gain entry through that weak spots and play havoc.

Check the feeders

The feeders placed in side the chicken coop should be checked on regular basis. As these feeders are going to be in use every day, more care is definite requirement, is it not? In some coop the feeders placed may be bent or tilted which is a warning signal and hence the feeder should be immediately replaced. The feeders are more likely to be damaged as there will be a constant fight among the chickens for the food. The height of the chicken feeder also needs to be monitored regularly. The chicken will be growing regularly and the feeder height should be adjusted according to the height of the chicken. The chicken should feed comfortably which will result in good yield of eggs. Right height of the chicken will prevent the feed wastage also. Just adjusting the feeder height to one inch or two will result in extraordinary results.

One should never neglect the maintenance of the chicken coop. the maintenance of mobile chicken coop is much easier compared to the maintenance of the fixed chicken coop. In case of fixed chicken coop, all one has to do is regular maintenance check, nothing else.

Where to Search for a New Chicken Coop plans?

Yes!!! Chicken need a coop and a lot of people choose to build one on their own, to save money. Are you one among them? If so, don't run helter-skelter. You can find numerable chicken coop plans online.

Online Chicken Coop Plans

Select your favorite search engine and search for the term " Chicken Coop Plans". You can get numerous results and also you can get the basic plan without spending a dime. If you have a design in your mind, it is very difficult to find a similar one in the online. Then it is better enough to get the paid chicken coop plans, where they will give your design for your idea.

Cheap Chicken Coop Plans

If you want to construct a basic chicken coop with run, you can purchase the supplies for less than $75. As this is a substantial savings for you, you can alter the plans to accommodate your personal need.

As there are numerous chicken coop plans available online and also for cheap money, still why are you hesitating to build your dream chicken coop. Happy Cooping!!!

Chicken Coop Vs Respiratory Disease

Are you having chicken coop? Then you should aware about the health risks which can affect your family. Yes!!! Our main aim to build a cheap chicken coop is to get fresh and nutritious eggs and chicken meat for our family. But the chicken droppings unattended in the coop may lead to respiratory disease both for the occasional handler as well as the person directly involved in the daily care of the bird.

There are two types of respiratory disease that affect the human beings viz., histoplasmosis and psittacosis (especially affect the daily bird handlers). The persons get infected by these fungi spores, which grow in the droppings. While cleaning the coop, the spores become airborne and infect the chicken coop cleaners.

Symptoms

If a person is infected with any of these diseases, they will develop respiratory distress, dyspnea, and symptoms of flu. If they haven't treated, the condition may progress and leads to pneumonia and death. The person infected with histoplasmosis will loss his eyesight.

Prvention
1. The simple technique to prevent this condition is to remove the chicken droppings daily i.e. when they are fresh. The spores will be developed in the dried droppings only.

2. Before cleaing the chicken coop, do mist the coop with a hose to minimize dust and airborne spores. It is always advisable to wear full-face respirator instead of dust mask as the former won't provide perfect protection against dust.

3. Disposal of chicken droppings should be made properly - Incinerating or burying the chicken droppings is highly recommended.

So, If you do all these, you will be adequately rewarded with hale and healthy body despite having a chicken coop in your backyard. Happy Cooping!!!!