3 Steps to Building a Chicken Coop
Are you struggling to build a good chicken coop? Worry not, as we provide you with these 3 easy tips on how to build a good chicken coop today.
Use these 3 easy to follow steps to build a good chicken coop that is both pleasant looking and safe for your chickens.
1. Build A Safe Haven For Your Chooks
Your chickens need all the protection they can get. They need a shelter from marauding predators and at the same time a place where they can rest and be safe in times of rain, heat and cold weather. First, you must consider location – build a chicken coop in an elevated, well-ventilated area, free from moisture so that the coop dry quicker in the event that it gets wet. Ensure that there is adequate fencing around and even under the coop if there is a risk of burrowing predators like foxes.
2. Ensure it Can be Easily Cleaned and Maintained
To prevent disease and illness in your chickens the chicken coop must be manageable and easily maintained and cleaned. Keep in mind, that you must clean your chicken coop as often as possible to do away with harmful bacteria that can spell disease or worse, death for your chickens.
To make cleaning easier, design the chicken coop floor with a low angled slope so that cleaning water and disinfectants will drain quickly with gravity. Building a sloping rooftop in a similar fashion also ensures that rain water runs easily down the sloping rooftop and thus preventing water from pooling and damaging the roof.
3. Make Sure the Chicken Coop is Warm and has Adequate Sunlight
Adequate sun light and ventilation and warmth in a chicken coop is essential for healthy chickens. This is especially important in the colder months as your chickens are essentially exposed outdoors. Insulate your chicken coop walls using thick construction materials and build the living quarter so that it is in an elevated position above the ground. This will help to shield the chickens from the cold wind and wet and cold earth whilst at the same time trap warm heat inside. Windows are also useful as it allows heat from the sun to penetrate heating up the room.
So there you go, 3 important key points to keep in mind when building your very own chicken coop. Involve the family and have some fun as your work together to building something you all can be proud of, your very own chicken coop.
For chicken coop plans and inspiration, visit Howie Kingsly’s guide on chicken coop designs and chicken house designs.