Anyone that raises chickens will need a chicken coop. The question for many is how to build a chicken coop? With a bit of ingenuity and some rather basic materials, you can have a chicken coop in relatively no time at all.

The first two considerations that have to be made are how large you want your coop or coops to be and what type of materials you will be using. The other thing that is really a key factor is the placement of your coop. Everyone’s environment is not the same so the rules and conditions for your chicken coop could vary.

Obviously, the chicken coop is going to provide shelter for your chicken. This is very important because there are many wild animals that could pose a great danger to your chickens. One very important part of any chicken coop is the “run.” This is the area outside of the actual shelter itself where the chickens are free to roam around in.

The standard rule of thumb for how to build a chicken coop is to allow room for eight chickens and three nests. There must also be sufficient area for the chicken to be able to perch too. This would be about nine inches or so of perch space. One of the biggest problems that people make is building a coop that is too small. Doing so will prohibit your chickens from flourishing as well as they could if the coop was the adequate size.

There should be four square feet for every chicken. This simply means that if you plan to house four chickens then you would need an area that is 4×4. The windows of the chicken coop should always face south and it is of the utmost importance that there is sufficient ventilation throughout the coop. As a matter of fact, for a chicken coop to be fully functional then it should have these common characteristics:

Storage space

A proper entrance way

Sufficient ventilation and lighting

An area that accommodates the coop to be properly cleaned

The climate in which you live will dictate to a good degree how you will build your coop. If you reside in a warm climate then you can often get away with wire netting and mesh. However, if you live in a colder climate then you will have to consider actual slider windows.

It is very important that when you make the plans for building your chicken coop that you take into consideration that the chicken coop is at least four feet tall and is also buried at least a foot into the ground. This will stop wild animals from digging underground to get to your coop. It is also a good idea to make sure that the top is covered by mesh or something that will prohibit wild birds from getting in and possibly spreading any disease to your chickens.

Building your own chicken coop is easier than you might think! All you need is the right blueprint. For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Chicken Coop Plans

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandra_Maria_Stammberger

Author: Sandra Maria Stammberger

Is it easy to build a chicken coop by yourself?

You will be glad to hear that it’s very simple to build one in just a couple of hours, especially if you follow the instructions of DIY chicken coop building plans.

There are many benefits in constructing your own coup instead of buying a pre-made one:

1. Prebuilt coops can cost you $500-$1000. On the contrary the cost of DIY coops is at least 50% less.
2. You can include your family members in the building process and have a lot of fun and a sense of accomplishment.
3. You can create a warm and relaxed environment for your chickens and help them lay more eggs.
4. Your flock will be protected from bad weather and predators like foxes, hawks, cats and coyotes.
5. You will help your birds live longer because of the healthy environment you will provide them with.

Some of the materials you are going to need are: corrugated iron to make the wall in the roosting area, any kind of box to make the nesting boxes and some additional easy-to-find and inexpensive items. The tools you are going to need are basic household tools like screwdrivers, handsaws and hammers.

Some things to consider:

• The size of the coop: if you only have 2-3 chickens then you should build a small/portable coop. From 5-9 birds you should go for a mid-sized one. If you have 10 or more chicken then you should definitely construct a large/premium hen house to a give your birds enough space to move.
• Where you are going to put it: you should choose a position where it can get a good amount of sunlight. This way your flock will lay more eggs.
• Find an elevated area to place the hen house, in order to keep your birds dry.
• Make sure you have a good ventilation system: fresh oxygen is vital for your flock.

It will take you less than a day to build your own chicken coop and it can be a very enjoyable activity for you and your family, not to mention that it can save you a lot of money!

Click Here to see the exact Chicken Coop Building Plans we have used to build our own chicken coop, which have helped us get better eggs and keep our chickens safe!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Knight

Author: Jim Knight

Many people are interested in learning how they can be able to build their own chicken coops. However, few realize that it’s actually not as hard as most make it be. While building a chicken coop may seem like it would be too time consuming and tedious, the effort is well worth it.

Raising healthy chickens that produce fresh eggs all year round is a significant achievement indeed. In addition, your chickens will produce high quality fertilizer which can then be used to promote plant growth.

What separates the average chicken coop builder from experienced builders?

The answer may come as extremely obvious and yet many will underestimate how important it really is. The number one factor that determines how successful a coop will be is simply proper planning. As simple as it may seem it is nonetheless important and many will end up spending more time and money for a mediocre chicken coop when they could have had one with half the effort if they had planned ahead of time.

When planning, there are many factors to consider before you go out and purchase the necessary equipment. For example, it is essential to know what size you want your chicken coop to be and whether there is adequate space in your yard.

In addition, an optimum location is a must if you want your chickens to be healthy and to produce fresh eggs. An ideal location is such that there will be adequate sunlight to keep your chickens warm and well protected from hazardous elements and predators.

When building a coop, the most essential factor is planning and to know exactly what you need before embarking on the project. Having an excellent plan will prepare you for what is needed and will significantly cut your efforts in half.

Ready to build your chicken coop?

Having a great chicken coop building plan can vastly cut your time and efforts in half while saving you a significant amount of money.

Learn how to make a chicken coop the easy way and separate yourself from the average person who will end up building a mediocre chicken coop when you could have a much better one.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_J._Fowler

Author: James J. Fowler

Building your own backyard chicken coop offers many rewards. One of which is having chickens that produce freshly organic eggs and another is the high quality fertilizer the chickens produce which you can then use for plant growth.

While building a backyard chicken coop may seem time consuming and tedious, it’s not as bad as most make it out to be. Here are 3 tips to consider when building your chicken coop which can drastically cut your planning time down.

1. Make sure you have adequate space

Chicken coops come in different shapes and sizes so be sure that the one you choose suits your needs and that you have adequate space in your yard. The last thing you want is to begin setting up a chicken coop only to find that it won’t fit in your backyard. Another thing to consider is how many chickens you actually want to raise.

2. Ensure proper ventilation

The importance of proper ventilation should not be taken lightly as chickens need fresh air and oxygen to stay healthy. A backyard chicken coop will have ample air movement flowing throughout the coop. This will help to remove unwanted moisture and carbon dioxide that may cause ammonia to build up.

3. Ensure an adequate light source

Having a good source of light and warmth is essential for your chickens. If your main goal to building a backyard chicken coop is to raise chickens that produce fresh eggs year round, then you will need an electrical source of light which you can install in the ceiling of the coop.

Proper planning is essential if you want to build a backyard chicken coop. While there is some work involved, planning your coop ahead of time will ensure that your chickens will be healthy by having adequate space, proper ventilation and sufficient light source.

Ready to build your chicken coop?

Having a great chicken coop plan can vastly cut your time and efforts in half while saving you a significant amount of money.

Learn how to build a chicken coop the easy way and don’t be like the average person who will spend more time and money than is needed for a mediocre chicken coop.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_J._Fowler

Author: James J. Fowler

If you have some space in your backyard you can learn how to build a chicken coop. This will help having fresh eggs every day. These eggs will be much better compared to what you may be buying from grocery stores in terms of nutrition and taste.

Building a chicken coop on your own will save some money and you may be able to use some material that you may be having. Plus you can decide the exact design you want for your chicken house.

This project will however require some good planning. Here are some guidelines you can use to build a chicken house:

1) To make the chickens comfortable you need to provide them enough space. A space of around 2 to 3 square feet of room per chicken is a good practice.

2) Proper ventilation in the house will prevent build up of toxic fumes. Having vents on the south and east sides of coop will provide good air flow and protect the hens from cold drafts. If you live in a warm place have these vents on north and south sides. Proper ventilation will keep the chickens happy.

3) When you build a chicken coop, proper insulation for the chicken house will prevent it from heating during summers and freezing during winters. Putting a layer of foam between the walls and ceiling should do the job. Painting the coop with white paint during summers will help in reflecting heat. During winters you can have hay bales around the north wall of the house.

4) Another important factor to build  chicken coop is protecting the chickens from animals and predators. Having a concrete floor would be the best. However this can be expensive. Another way is to put a chicken wire one foot below the ground in the house run. This will prevent animals from burrowing underground.

5) You will need to have a roost for the birds to sleep well. This should ideally be made of good smooth wood. When building the roost keep the number of chickens in mind so that you don’t build it too small or too big.

6) For the chicken to lay eggs you will require nests in a dark place. For protecting the eggs this will be an important factor while building a chicken coop. Nests should be around 15 x 15 inches in area and 12 inches deep. Placement of the nests in terms of height will also be important.

Do you know that a good chicken coop plan can cut your time and effort by half and also save you a lot of money on building material? To learn how to build a chicken coop that delivers maximum benefits without investing a huge amount of money and effort – Click here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Veekay

Author: Chris Veekay

Owning Your Own Controls
 by: Eldon Taylor

What makes the difference between two children raised in the same environment with the same parents when one ends up a neuro-surgeon and the other a hardened violent criminal? What makes the difference between two patients suffering in a hospice center from identical conditions when one requires very little medication and is liked by all, while the other suffers bitterly regardless of the medication and no one really wants to be around them? What are the subtle differences that seem to allow one person to live a certain life style free of illness while another doing the same things becomes ill as a result? What defines a stimulus as stressful to one while the same exact stimulus is welcomed with excitement by another? The answer is so simple as to be overly obvious.

In my work, I have had the opportunity to work with a wide range of individuals in differing settings, ranging from the inmate incarcerated in maximum security to the terminal patient in the hospice center. Over the years my observations ultimately led to this hypothesis: the persons who seem to suffer most consider themselves to be victims. The classic victim scenario in the prison generally goes something like this: all but for the grace of God there go you. Translated by the inmate population, this means something like, “What would you do? Where would you be? After all, my daddy was an alcoholic, my mother was a prostitute and the neighbor boy hung heroine on me when I was only eight”.

The fact is, our environment and circumstance do imprint us in profound ways. Our very ability to cope depends in large on our choices and they are predetermined in large by our enculturation process. Thus, what else could the victim of these tragedies do?

We all grow up with some substantially similar ideas and notions about what is fair and acceptable. We all tend to say things like “When I’m a parent, I’ll do it differently”; and yet, when our children act in some way that meets with our disapproval, we respond just as our parents did. Psychologist call this process imprinting. In very simple terms, if you raise a duckling with chickens, it will behave as a chicken. There is a marvelous story that illustrates this point.

It seems one day that an eagle flew over a chicken coop. To his amazement, pecking in the yard below, was a large gathering of chickens and a lone, beautiful female eagle. He swooped down for a closer look and the chickens together with the eagle fled to the chicken house. For days the eagle watched the chickens from a distance until one day he was certain that he could stop the beautiful eagle before she reached the chicken house. With the prowess of an eagle he was suddenly in between the eagle and the chicken house. She trembled. He spoke, “What are you doing living down here like a chicken”. She answered, “I am a chicken”. He argued, showing her the similarities between himself and her. He told her of what it was like to be an eagle and soar high above the earth. His stories only frightened her. Finally she said, “Well if I’m an eagle then you will not harm me”. He responded in the affirmative. She said, “Then step back and show me.” As he stepped backed she seized the opportunity to run into the chicken house. When the other chickens questioned her about the encounter, she told them all of how she had outsmarted the eagle. Of course, all the chickens commended her for tricking the eagle.

Many of us are like the female eagle. We outsmart ourselves with betrayals of who we really are. Our choices are predicated on our beliefs and our beliefs have been adopted from the same process inherent to the story about the chickens and the chicken house. Here is another example of how this kind of reason pervades who and what we are.

One day a man walking the streets of Manhattan passed beneath a high rise complex that consisted of very expensive condominiums. As he passed under the balcony of one of the two story units a flower pot which had been placed precariously close to the balcony edge fell and crashed down on his head. Now imagine this man’s choices. What could he do? What would be the normal thing to do? Well, he could take the broken pot back to its owners and put it guess where. Administer a beating to the idiot that put the flower pot too close to the edge, that’s what most people respond with as their first thought when I have presented this scenario to audiences. What else could he do? Well, he could be metaphysical. You know, kismet, what’s to be will be, after all, maybe the blow to his head rearranged some neurons and now he will experience higher consciousness. So just be metaphysical and act as if it was supposed to happen and just go on down the road. What else could he do? Well, he could be an opportunist. You know that flower pot fell from a wealthy person’s ledge. Whip lash, concussion, something like that—sue the sucker!

What else could he do? What would you do? How about taking the flower to a florist, potting it and returning it as a gift of love? Could you just as well do that? Of all the possibilities, which one do you think would produce the best outcome for yourself in terms of happiness, wholeness and even health?

The fact is, the normal person has been trained to behave in a normal manner. Normal means that they have a right to become angry and exact punishment. Robert Laing once said something like “normal man has educated himself to be normal and thus to become absurd” in his book THE POLITICS OF EXPERIENCE. The emotional reaction termed anger is just one such absurdity. What happens to the body when one becomes normal is no less than a weakening of the immune system and further, suspended states of fight flight, or as we know it in more modern man, anxiety and depression, literally produce chemistry that is toxic to the human condition. As Dr.’s Steven Locke and Douglas Colligan point out in their book, THE HEALER WITHIN, these hostile emotions, victim, if you will, feelings, literally can condition the body in the direction of disease as well as produce certain diseases in and of themselves (1986).

The correct answer in our flower pot analogy is of course, pot the flower and return it as a gift. The idea is not foreign in terms of possible alternatives and yet it is seldom ever considered. Our choices arise from our definitions and they have been incubated all too often in chicken houses, but let’s stop for a moment and look at one of the preferred enculturated choices from the human chicken house. My work and research has demonstrated that for every fear there is an anger response. Sometimes the anger is withheld, turned in, and sometimes it is acted out. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as anger without some fear underpinning it! Now, what exactly is anger? My examination of this cycle of fear and anger has given rise to an acronym that I often use when describing anger. A—a, N—nasty, G—getting, E—even, R—response. A nasty getting even response. If fear and anger are circular, what is it that gives rise to feeling frightened, anxious or nervous, becoming angry and responding in a fight/flight way when the stimulus is something like the way my employer speaks to me, the way my significant other looks at me, or just the stuff one feels when cut off in five o’clock traffic and given the infamous bird. None of these things are truly life threatening and after all, isn’t that what the fight/flight functions are wired in for, the preservation of the species?

Dr. Carl LaPresch used to speak of the four “F’s” in his introductory lectures regarding basic psychology. These four primitive drives were the basis for most behavior. In fact, it was Carl who first suggested to me that perhaps the highest act of human consciousness was cortical inhibition—over riding the wired in responses that can occur in the primitive brain. The four “f’s” are easy to remember and oriented to species preservation: fight, flight, feeding and—well the propagation of the species.

Why then a fight/flight response to a synthetic stimuli—that is a stimuli that is not life threatening? What special lens do we attach to certain events in life that give rise to a perception of threat when indeed the threat is not a tiger in hot pursuit? My early hypothesis regarding the fear/anger loop eventually led to the conclusion that perceived threats were rejection oriented. In other words, our individual intrinsic value was denied. Interestingly though, for most of us, the normal strategy for avoiding rejection is itself the ultimate rejection. There are two ways to be tied up in the world. One is to have someone literally bind you and another is simply to tether oneself to a thread, refusing either to pull hard enough to break it or to let it go. Many of our beliefs are the product of the latter. We refuse to let them go. Like the eagle raised by the chickens, we know what we are expected to do and define our behavior accordingly. Thus, to resolve conflict we establish strategies designed to protect us from rejection. Among these strategies our defense mechanisms function, as well as our attitudes, toward everything we will encounter in our lives.

When I was a boy my definitions included labels and what I have termed for years as the no-don’t syndrome. In my many lectures throughout America and Europe, the audience has repeatedly verified that my experience was not unique. Indeed, it was the rule. If this generalization applies, then most of us were raised with statements like: “You’re not old enough.” “You’re stupid or that’s stupid.” “Children are to be seen and not heard.” “Don’t do this”—”you can’t do that”—and so forth as well as a host of labels.

It was not long before I was wearing glasses and one of my best friends was black. My early definitions were in direct conflict with my experience; still, various strategies for coping with this conflict developed, albeit most unconsciously.

It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I learned that not only did I wear glasses and have black friends, but my grandfather was Jewish and my great grandmother was Native American. For years I had coped by demonstrating that I was “tough enough” to wear glasses and not get called four-eyes and to stand up for what just inherently seemed wrong and later became known to me as bigotry and racism. In other words, my defense strategy was compensatory—aggression would align my inner with the outer—my experience with my training as a child could avoid conflict by simply becoming too tough for someone to challenge my behavior.

The result was devastating. Not only did I poison myself, but the never ending quest to justify my actions produced increasing needs for aggression. My relationships deteriorated and/or were destroyed, and well, you can just imagine the havoc wreaked in my own life. The method of choice for conflict in my particular upbringing was aggressive—and hostility was the norm.

What I have found over the years of life and work is that once again, this was not a unique pattern. Oh, the circumstances may vary from individual to individual, but the essence of the lesson never did. The result for many of us is a mechanism called blame. That brings us right back to our inmate whose daddy was an alcoholic and so forth. Alas, a light went on that set years of work and research into perspective, at least for me.

Now here is the bottom line: as long as one blames anything or anyone they are effectively tied up. There is nothing they can do. They are victims of their circumstances. They can only but whimper. As victims, they are helpless. As victims, perhaps they are even due benefits such as sympathy, attention, special care and so on. But as victims, they are not in charge of their circumstances and/or their responses.

Applying this theory I discovered that regardless of the circumstances, from hospice to prison, the suffering was directly related to blame or “victim-hood”. What is more, I discovered that on the opposite side of this continuum, rested the self responsible. The person who assumed control of their own life and found creative solutions for difficult situations—returning the flower, if you will, replanted in a new flower pot.

These responsible individuals were in charge of their own inner environments. Their secret was simple, they did not become angry and involved in blame. Oh they did not necessarily accept everyone or anything, in fact, quite the contrary in some instances, but they did not waste time eliminating their possibilities by divesting their power via blame. They took the initiative to resolve situations positively and assumed the responsibility for doing so. Unlike the whimpering victim, they were what they made of the stuff of life and accepted so.

There is an interesting experiment that has been replicated many times and perhaps addresses the effect this kind of hopelessness/helplessness mentality can have on physical health. Dogs were placed in Pavlovian slings where they could do nothing when electric shock was administered by psychologist Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania in an experiment to determine the effects of helplessness. Seligman suggests that many of us have learned that nothing can be done in many circumstances to make a difference. Once the dogs were conditioned to the shock they were then placed in cages with floors that on one side of the cage an electric grid could be used to apply shock while on the other side of a low barrier wall the dog could escape the shock. What Seligman discovered has many ramifications. Dogs who had not been conditioned in the sling ran around frantically when shock was first administered. They learned to jump the small wall and escape the shock. They became so good at it that when the electricity was turned on, they simply got up and casually jumped over the wall. However, dogs that had been conditioned to the sling ran frantically at first just as the unconditioned dogs but soon quit and only whimpered. They accepted the shock passively and thus the whimpering shocked dog metaphor (Ibid). This sense or conditioned belief in victim-hood has been demonstrated to effect the immune system in a negative manner. The Institute of Noetic Sciences has funded much of the research in what is now termed PNI or psychoneuroimmunology and this body of work shows clearly, as does the entire body of literature regarding mind/body wellness, that the deleterious effects of certain mental processes on the body can literally kill ( ). Nothing I could do—helplessness—victim-hood—this side of the responsibility equation is among the worst of mental processes one can adopt regardless of its source. In fact, in a paper that is now in press, we learned from a follow-up study of terminally diagnosed patients conducted by PROGRESSIVE AWARENESS RESEARCH, that the physicians attitude is somehow more influential on patient life expectancy than either the treatment modality or the patients attitude toward their future, their responsibility regarding the disease and/or their outcome expectation. Somehow the attitude of the physician is assumed to have been communicated to the patient for in every single instance where the physicians responded to the questionnaire regarding patients role in terms of the positive use of their mind with neutral to negative evaluation, the patient died. The study generally indicated a survival rate of over 30% for all respondents (remission) and an increase in life by up to three years over time given in prognosis for those patients whose physicians generally agreed that the mind has a role in patient health even in the face of “terminal” illness. The assumption suggests that one must fully accept the responsibility for their own lives and mental processes even if that means guarding against the influence of another.

What then is the pragmatic to overcome, or I prefer, to outgrow, this early conditioning. Once again, it’s so simple as to be difficult—difficult to believe and difficult to do. The answer is forgive! In my research we began applying three messages as cognitive tools to untie the victim. They are called the forgiveness set and consist of these three statements: I forgive myself; I forgive all others; and I am forgiven.

When you forgive, you can not blame. If you do not blame it’s exceedingly difficult to become angry. What you cannot become angry about, you do not fear. When there is nothing to fear, there is nothing to become angry about or no one to blame. Life is simply a miracle and living is the process of maximizing the miraculous experience. Every thought or deed becomes therefore differently oriented. When you accept responsibility for everything in your universe, you gain the power to make changes. The real changes are made in you and thus your experience of life and self become qualitatively different almost immediately.

You are in charge of your inner environment, and your beliefs, attitudes and emotions do matter to you. Your health, your enjoyment of life, your ability to become all that you are is inescapably involved in your ability to forgive and let go.

But alas, you may say, that’s all too simple and further life sucks and then we die. And I am sure you can find many that will agree. Still, if you want to see the barnyard from the sky, spread your wings and see for yourself. Seeing is believing. Try it—I promise, you’ll like it. And if necessary, fake it until you make it.

Copyright 2005 Eldon Taylor

About The Author

Eldon Taylor is the author of over 200 books and self improvement programs. His vitae is listed in over a dozen “Who’s Who” publications. He is diplomat in the American Psychotherapy Association and received the 2005 Peace Prize awarded by the United Cultural Convention for his work in teachning self-responsibility around the world. His works are available in five languages and are sold around the world (www.innertalk.com).

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.

Chicken Coop Design

Designing a chicken coop can be a tricky process. To make your life a little easier I’ve laid out some of the things you need to consider when you design your new coop.

Before you set out to look for a chicken coop design, there are some important things that you should be considering to make sure you’re on the right track and are going to build a chicken coop that meets all of your needs. While in some cases you can move a chicken coop at a later date, in most situations it’s a lot easier for you to put in some good thought and consideration beforehand so you’ll be satisfied with your placement decisions.

Here are some of the top things you must consider when planning your chicken coop design.

Breed Of Chicken

Different types of chicken breeds will require different types of plans, so that is the first thing you need to look at. There is no sense coming up with a chicken coop design that is not going to work with your intended chickens, so get this figured out right from the start so you’re on the right track.

The Size of the Chicken Coop

Next up you should look at the size of the chicken coop you want to have. There are different chicken coop designs out there for small, medium, and large coops, making this a highly versatile aspect of the decision.

You’ll want to look at the overall size of your yard, where you are located geographically as weather can come into play with this decision, as well as how much money you’re looking to spend during the construction process.

If you don’t get the size of the coup right you could end up in a lot of trouble as many chickens will not product eggs effectively if they are not comfortable. They tend to be quite picky about their surroundings, so take some time to really think this through.

If you plan on housing ten or more chickens in your coop, you should definitely be opting for a large size as that will give them enough space to run around comfortably.

You’re always smarter to error on the side of slightly bigger than slightly smaller, so keep that in mind. This will give you more options down the road as well if you decide you want to breed more birds at a time.

Positioning of the Chicken Coop

Finally, the third thing to consider when coming up with a chicken coop design is the location of it in your yard. Keep in mind that you will be making numerous trips out to the coop throughout the months ahead so you want to have easy access.

Place the coop in an area that allows for plenty of sunlight as well, since that’s important for keeping the coop dry as well as promoting optimal laying.

By keeping these issues in mind as you go about your chicken coop designing process, you can be sure you’re going to create the optimal coop that keeps your chickens happy. Don’t rush the decision making process because once the coop is built, it’s very hard to go back and make adjustments.

Chicken Coop Design
A guide on building your own chicken coop.

Building a chicken coop does not have to be a hard major task. It is not a complicated thing to build and can be very simple to do. With the right tools and materials, it will be an easy project to take on and when its finished, the bounties that it will produce will be worth it. Having fresh eggs and chickens throughout the year, knowing that you raised them, will give you such pride.

To build a chicken house, you will need to know the number of chickens you want to keep and the size of the coop. The actual size of the building does not need to have a large amount of space but the running area should be a good size because most of their time will be spent outside of the coop.

One of the best ways to cut your cost when building a chicken coop, is to check your local papers, to see if there is sheds, small barns or any wooden building that are for sale. Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful place to check out, and even garage sales. It doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Get creative and use your imagination!

Chickens will also need to have perches put inside of the coop so they have something to rest and sleep on. Using old broom handles or old rake handles will work nicely that have been cut up to the right size.

To build a chicken coop, does not have to be a work of art. If it’s safe, climate controlled, with enough room for them to move and exercise, that is all you need. Happy chickens will produce high quality eggs and that is what we are looking for. If your not an expert, not to worry. It’s all about function!

When selecting your chicken coop plans, if you keep all of this in mind, your chickens will be healthy, happy and will produce an abundance of eggs throughout the year.

Obediah Marsh
http://ChickenCooPlans.weebly.com

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Author: Obediah Marsh

Mobile Chicken Coop Benefits

A mobile chicken coop has man benefits besides the obvious. Here are a few more benefits you may never of taken into consideration.

Building a mobile chicken coop is going to be a very good option if you’re just getting started with breeding chickens and aren’t looking for a large commitment or if you don’t know that you will be on your farm that much longer and don’t want something as permanent. Mobile chicken coops offer a number of benefits, so it’s something to keep in mind as you go about your building plans.

Complete Climate Control

One of the nicest things about mobile chicken coops is that they offer you a much higher degree of climate control. With a stationary chicken coop, if the weather becomes very miserable outside, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it apart from hope that whatever materials you used to build the coop, the chickens will be protected.

With the mobile chicken coop on the other hand, you can easily move the coop indoors into your garage so the chickens can stay there until the weather outside improves. This makes it the ideal type of coop for those in rainy climates or in places where you do tend to get very extreme winds or weather on an occasional basis.

You Can View The Chickens Easier

Another reason you might want to consider a mobile chicken coop is if you wish to watch the chickens every now and then or if you have young children who are taking part in the building and looking after the chickens. The mobile coop will allow you to do this, but then still allow you to move it further away when you don’t want to see the chicken. This is especially good for those who keep other pets who like to roam around close to the house (small dogs or cats) where you don’t want them to have easy access to the chickens.

While the chickens are in sight you can monitor the pets, but if you were to go inside and the pets were within close proximity to the chickens, there is no telling what they may do. The mobile chicken coop will really take a step towards increasing your chicken’s safety.

Easier To Maintain

Finally, the third benefit that a mobile chicken coop will offer is the ease in clean-up and maintenance. You’ll have a much easier time cleaning around and under the coop if you can simply move it to another area of the yard, rather than when it’s stationed in one spot.

Further, if you want to really wash the coop down, with a mobile chicken coop you simply need to just transport it near the house or garage and you’ll have full access to all your cleaning supplies.

This can save you a great deal of time in the long run, so something that many people raising chickens really value.

So, keep these points in mind. While a mobile chicken coop isn’t going to serve every purpose, it does tend to work very well for many cases.

Mobile Chicken Coop Plans
A guide on building your own coop.