4 Things You Must Consider Before Constructing a Chicken Coop
4 Things You Must Consider Before Constructing a Chicken Coop
Before you get started building your coop, you should plan out these 4 critical fundamentals.
Visual appeal, design and aesthetics are minor consider factors when considering building a chicken coop. There are more important fundamental factors that should be taken into account that need to be incorporated in your eye-pleasing chicken coop when you finally get down to building it.
Incorporating these fundamental chicken coop factors are important and should integrated into whatever kind of chicken coop you decide to build.
Space
To make sure that your chickens are healthy, you should give them enough space. This is calculated as roughly 3 to 4 square feet per chicken. If you have 10 chickens in your flock, they should at least have 30 to 40 square feet of room but to make room for future additions in a year or two, it is safe to build a chicken coop 50 to 60 square feet in size. One thing you can’t give chickens enough of is space. Congestion makes their quality of life go down which often results to feather picking and bullying.
Light
You need to give your chickens light in order to stimulate your hens to lay eggs. Since you are building on a 50 to 60 square foot chicken coop, you only need one 100-watt bulb strategically located in the middle of the chicken coop. This can also be a source of heat to keep your chickens warm during the cold season.
Perch
You may have noticed that chickens like to perch. You have to provide them with a perch otherwise you will find them on top of feeders, waterers and nest boxes. You don’t want these areas covered with chicken poo. Push broom handles make good perches but make sure they have enough space too – about 8 to 10 inches per chicken.
Nest Box
One of the benefits of chicken raising is that they lay eggs. If you raise chickens, aside from the meat you also get the benefit of their eggs which are healthier than those you can buy from the supermarket. To encourage your chickens to lay eggs make sure that you provide them with a nest box that is comfortable and dark (put the box in a corner) so they will feel safe in them. Line the nest box with straw or wood shavings in the nest boxes and make the boxes at least 4 inches deep and that 4 to 5 chickens can fit in the box at the same time. Make sure that the nests are not less than 6 inches deep to prevent chicken fights! Train your chickens not to sleep in the nest boxes by providing them perches but if they sleep in them, you have to cover up the nests at night.
If you carefully consider integrating these 4 fundamental factors in constructing your chicken coops, then you should have a flock of happy and healthy chickens providing you healthy eggs and poultry meat throughout their life.
Constructing A Chicken Coop
A guide on building your own coop.
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By Bob Keene Published: 1/2/2009 |
