Chicken Coop Design – What Is Important When Building A Chicken Pen
Chicken Coop Design – What Is Important When Building A Chicken Pen
If you are considering building a chicken pen yourself, it is important to understand that chicken coop design is an important element for several reasons. Not only is it important to have a coop which looks good in your garden (bearing in mind you may have to look at it every day!) but there are other, arguably more important elements to consider.
First of all, an important element of any chicken coop design is the size. The first consideration is that it is sufficiently large enough for the intended number of chickens. As a general rule, you should allow 3-5 square feet of floor space per chicken in the nesting/sleeping house and around 15 square feet in the run area. Obviously, if the chickens are to be allowed to free range a little then the outdoor run space could be a little less. In addition, the chicken coop design you choose should look aesthetically pleasing, in that it should not be overbearing for the size of the garden.
When building a chicken pen, the materials you use are important for various reasons. If possible, you may wish to use a wood which either matches or complements other garden furniture, particularly if you have an existing shed. Additionally, “extras” such as mesh and hinges should be chosen not only for their appearance but for their strength as the lengths which predators go to when trying to get hold of chickens can be breathtaking. Foxes have been known to gnaw through wire mesh so ensure you use only heavy gauge material.
Easy cleaning is an important feature in chicken coop design. When building a chicken pen, you should ensure that the nesting area in particular has easy access, preferably in the form of a door which is on the exterior of the pen and not just via the one inside the run. Some coops have handles at the top so that the coops can be moved around the garden and this not only facilitates easier cleaning (as the “mess” is literally left behind, ready to be spread on the garden, but this also give the chickens the chance of roaming on a fresh patch of earth or grass.
Ensure that there is sufficient space for one nesting box for every 4-5 chickens. Often, instructions are included in the chicken coop design, but there is no need to over complicate things-hens are quite happy to nest in an old sturdy cardboard box which has the advantage of being easily replaced with a new one when finished with. Alternatively, you can consider using a plastic cat litter tray. These are very cheap to buy and are easily cleaned and disinfected.
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 designs 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 building a chicken pen 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.
By: Carole M Hopkins
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