Want To Make The Best Chicken Coop?
Most chicken coops look as if they have been thrown together, without any great plan and with the emphasis on using any old bits of timber and wire lying around the yard at the time.
The result might work, and you could argue that the hens don't care anyway.
But is that true? My experience with chickens is that they are extremely sensitive birds, and will quickly sense if you don't really care for them.
So my assumption is that you will want to make the best chicken coop possible for your precious poultry.
To do that you have to have a plan.
This has to include all aspects of caring for your hens, starting with the chosen breed.
This will dictate the type of coop most suitable, depending on the need for heating, cooling, space, egg laying or meat.
You will have a nominal flock size in mind, which will set the minimum coop size - 8 to 10 square feet per bird is a good rule of thumb.
You will need to determine what predators are likely to go after the hens, which again will have a bearing on pen size, wire mesh dimensions, feeding and watering trays and such like.
You must consider any applicable regulations about breeding and keeping chickens, which you can get from your local government offices or planning department.
For purely hobby purposes, or for non-commercial flocks, there are unlikely to be any difficulties in this area.
And it is a good idea to keep your neighbors in the picture, particularly if they live fairly close by.
Hens can be noisy and smelly, and not everybody loves them! Often the promise of fresh eggs on a regular basis can make all the difference.
Once you have decided on the chicken shed layout you will be ready to start to make the best chicken coop you can.
This is when it is a good idea to get hold of some good chicken coop designs - it is much easier to use someone else's working model than try to design one from scratch, particularly if that someone is a chicken expert who knows what makes the best chicken coop.
Plans for chicken coops are many and varied.
It is quite possible to download drawings for free, and some of these are good.
However I believe that chicken house drawings need to be fully detailed, with clear cut dimensions and comprehensive lists of materials required so that you can assemble everything before starting the build.
It helps, if you are a novice woodworker, to have some step-by-step assembly instructions as well.
Even though hen houses are quite simple structures you can still put things together badly, waste lots of material and get disheartened.
Better to get it right first time.
If you want to make the best chicken coop these are the main points to build into your design.
It is not difficult or expensive, and remember, good plans for chicken coops are a basic requirement and a sensible investment in your hens' future.
The result might work, and you could argue that the hens don't care anyway.
But is that true? My experience with chickens is that they are extremely sensitive birds, and will quickly sense if you don't really care for them.
So my assumption is that you will want to make the best chicken coop possible for your precious poultry.
To do that you have to have a plan.
This has to include all aspects of caring for your hens, starting with the chosen breed.
This will dictate the type of coop most suitable, depending on the need for heating, cooling, space, egg laying or meat.
You will have a nominal flock size in mind, which will set the minimum coop size - 8 to 10 square feet per bird is a good rule of thumb.
You will need to determine what predators are likely to go after the hens, which again will have a bearing on pen size, wire mesh dimensions, feeding and watering trays and such like.
You must consider any applicable regulations about breeding and keeping chickens, which you can get from your local government offices or planning department.
For purely hobby purposes, or for non-commercial flocks, there are unlikely to be any difficulties in this area.
And it is a good idea to keep your neighbors in the picture, particularly if they live fairly close by.
Hens can be noisy and smelly, and not everybody loves them! Often the promise of fresh eggs on a regular basis can make all the difference.
Once you have decided on the chicken shed layout you will be ready to start to make the best chicken coop you can.
This is when it is a good idea to get hold of some good chicken coop designs - it is much easier to use someone else's working model than try to design one from scratch, particularly if that someone is a chicken expert who knows what makes the best chicken coop.
Plans for chicken coops are many and varied.
It is quite possible to download drawings for free, and some of these are good.
However I believe that chicken house drawings need to be fully detailed, with clear cut dimensions and comprehensive lists of materials required so that you can assemble everything before starting the build.
It helps, if you are a novice woodworker, to have some step-by-step assembly instructions as well.
Even though hen houses are quite simple structures you can still put things together badly, waste lots of material and get disheartened.
Better to get it right first time.
If you want to make the best chicken coop these are the main points to build into your design.
It is not difficult or expensive, and remember, good plans for chicken coops are a basic requirement and a sensible investment in your hens' future.
