Construction of onekipcoop is about as simple and complicated as any other carpentry project, with the added concern that this structure is intended to house living creatures.
As such, the stakes are higher to get things right. The perfect chicken coop should be spacious and well-equipped to keep your chickens happy and avoid conflict.
It should also be protected from predators, such as hawks, weasels and snakes, and be well ventilated, dry and easy to clean, which helps prevent disease and illness.parasites.
Fortunately, all of these things are easy to achieve if you follow the right steps and work on your chicken coop carefully.
1. Find the perfect plan
Finding the perfect chicken coop plan is probably easier and cheaper than you think because there are endless options out theredifferent plans available online. When looking for plans, you should consider the needs of your flock, as well as the materials and landscape you will be working with. Another thing to look out for is how well it can withstand the weather in your region.
2. Choose your materials
If you build your own chicken coop, this is almost certainly the caseplan to use wood, but choosing the type of wood and where to get it are actually important decisions. Whatever type of wood you choose to use, you will want to avoid pressure-treated wood as it can release arsenic and toxic copper compounds into the environment and harm your chickens. Instead, tropical hardwood or treated softwood will give you the best durability without the harmful chemicals. What is really good for a chicken coop is used or scrap wood. Scraps from old carpentry projects, wooden pallets, bookshelves and cabinets can all be good (and cheap!) parts for a chicken coop.
3. Determine your ideal location
The ideal location for your home is on high ground so that it will not be flooded, and on a flat, sturdy spot where it will not topple or sink into the ground over the years. The other big consideration is shade, which gets a little trickier. Chickens do not do well in hot weather, so ideally your house would be under a large tree so you get at least partial shade. But building a house directly under overhanging branches can be an invitation to hawks and owls. To combat this, you can build a wooden roof or shelter over part of your run (which will also provide more shade), or use shade cloth to help your chickens beat the heat.
4. Byg The frame of the Coop
Fortunately, building a coop frame isn't much more complicated than building the frame for that house you made in high school shop class. It has to be a cube, all straight lines and right angles. You need to make sure the proportions are correct for the number of chickens you plan to keep. Standard chickens should be four square meters each; bantam breeds can get by with two, although they require more vertical space. Giant breeds should have a floor area of at least eight square meters. After you add the flooring to your chicken coop, cover the underside of the floor with a layer of hardware cloth to keep predators out.
5. Build a running frame
The runner frame is even simpler than the coop frame because it doesn't even have to be strong enough to support exterior walls, just wire fencing. Before flight you should ensure that each bird has approximately 10 square meters of space, although this again depends on the breed size.
6. Add your interior features
These are things like perches and nest boxes. Perches can be as simple as a 2x4 nailed to the top of the chicken coop, as long as each chicken has about a foot of space. Nesting boxes can be a shelf with a small lip in the front for the bedding, a few milk crates, or a pre-purchased product. Whatever you choose, plan for one per three chickens and make sure you don't place them higher than your hands. Chickens like to sleep on the highest available surface, and chickens sleeping in nest boxes are a recipe for a big mess.
7. Build the exterior of the Coop
When building the exterior of your chicken coop, two things are particularly important: weatherproofing and ventilation. In terms ofweather resistance, your home should stay warm in winter, (more importantly) cool in summer and dry all year round. Beware of holes that could let in drafts or predators. When it comes to ventilation, good air circulation is critical to preventing respiratory diseases that can affect even the smallest herds. Having a few vents near the ceiling above the roost will keep clean, healthy air flowing without drafts blowing directly onto your chickens and making them cold.
8. Attach the run
The first product that comes to mind when you think of fencing a chicken coop is probably chicken wire. This is understandable, but chicken wire is actually a pretty poor choice. Chicken wire is an excellent deterrent when it comes to keeping chickens in a run, but a pretty poor deterrent when it comes to keeping predators out; the holes in the wire are simply too big to stop snakes, weasels and other predators. Instead, hardware cloth or chicken wire is the way to go, for at least the bottom three feet of running fences. If you've already purchased the chicken wire, this is one place where it really shineskeeping chickensfrom your garden or from your neighbors' garden.
9. Check the structure again
While you should of course check the quality of your build as you go, now is the time to do one final, thorough quality check before putting your girls in. Look for gaps or holes wider than half an inch, which could allow predators to enter the garden. Run the entire structure thoroughly with a hose or buckets of water, looking for any leaks that could allow rain, moisture or drafts to enter. Triple check all your hardware cloths and fence joints for looseness or holes.
10. Add your finishing touches
You might think this means adding nice touches or making your home look nice, and while that is certainly an option, there are also a few adjustments needed to keep your chickens as safe as possible. There are a wide variety of predator deterrents you can buy or make to scare away birds of prey and other predators - anything shiny and sparkly and likely to move a lot will work. This is also the time to add something like an automatic chicken door opener or outdoor lighting to the structure.
These steps are a good plan for any chicken coop project, but remember that every flock and farm is different.
Approach the project with an open mind, ready to adapt anything to fit your space or plans, as long as the end result ishappy, healthy, productive chickens.
