Pat, Cat & Dog

Posts Tagged ‘chicken house plans’

Like many people, you probably love the idea of keeping free range poultry in your backyard or garden.  The eggs will be fresh and taste delicious. If you intend to raise your hens as pets you will not think about having the occasional Sunday roast dinner courtesy of your feathered flock, but this is an option particularly for any surplus cockerels.

But, whatever your plans or aims, you must raise and keep your chickens properly in order to achieve them. These, then, are the vital steps for getting and keeping your flock in tip top condition.

Step 1, choose the breed. It is very important to get the right birds for your particular location and circumstances.  Preference for warmer or cooler climes, egg-layer or dinner table, pet or farmyard bird – there are many aspects you need to consider carefully at the outset.  You can get good advice from your local hen supplier and from poultry farmers in your area.  

Step 2, select the right number of birds. Hens must have enough room to forage and nest. Plan on about one square meter or 10 square feet for each bird.  This will govern the maximum number of chickens you should plan on getting, based on the available space you have. Three is considered the minimum, because hens like company.

Step 3, decide how much time you will have available. Your hens will need you to allocate some time every day for providing food and water, cleaning out the coop and other jobs such as inspection of perimeter fencing. Allow 10 or 15 minutes for a small flock, and expect them to follow you closely as you walk around their pen.

Step 4, build shelter and housing.  Hens need somewhere to roost safely at night, with perches and nesting boxes. You should provide fresh water and shelter from hot sunshine. Buy or make a hen house that has good access for cleaning and collecting eggs without upsetting the birds too much.

Step 5, provide security. Safety from predators is vital, and threats come from many creatures including rodents, domestic animals such as dogs and cats, foxes, birds of prey, possibly snakes and other unwanted intruders.  Many of these are expert at getting through, under or over fences given time.  You need a secure hen house, at least, and should also consider providing a fenced run or pen with chicken wire sides buried to at least 12 inches.  The chicken run will need a top as well, if there are birds of prey around or the run is close to trees – to prevent your chickens taking flight!

Step 6, consider health precautions. Hens can get sick quite easily, so you should find out what diseases are likely in your neighborhood.  Try speaking to local chicken farmers and vets, as well as online forums – you will get a lot of help from the chicken-keeping community.  

Step 7, identify applicable regulations.  You must comply with all national and local regulations relating to raising or keeping poultry, although these are seldom very demanding.  Your local town hall or government offices should be able to give you all the guidance and information you need.  

Step 8, provide a good diet.  Poultry must have access to a mixed diet of proteins, greens and grain, as well as fresh water. A good protein diet is important, and your local feed store will be able to advise on this.  You might need to include protein supplements and grit in the hen food, but usually free range hens will get enough from their own foraging. Fresh, clean water must be available at all times.  If you are going to be away you might need to fit automatic water dispensers for the chickens. The rest of your hens’ diet should be met by foraging around their pen area.  

Step 9, consider weather and climate.  So long as they have shelter from hot, midday sun, most chicken varieties are able to adapt to a wide range of weather and climactic conditions. They can take a surprising amount of cold but they need to keep their feet dry.  

Step 10, consider the local environment. Keeping chickens is usually regarded favorably by most people, so you should not face any problems here.  It is sensible to involve your neighbors, who may be concerned about noise (hens are quiet, cocks or roosters are not!) and mess (hens in small quantities are very clean).  They might like the thought of a supply of free range eggs on their doorstep!

Actually most of these vital steps are common sense and are not difficult.  Follow them and you will enjoy happy, healthy chickens for years to come. Oh, one more thing – a happy hen should lay 6 eggs a week during the spring and summer months!

Please visit us if you would like more information about keeping hens, such as how to build a chicken coop and where to get the best chicken house plans. Good luck with your birds – we know you will enjoy them!

If you are going to produce chicks, you must know how to build a chicken coop for them. If you desire to know more on how to construct a chick coop, there are few specific issues you must ask yourself before you get started with chick cook building. 

If dealing with how to build or construct a chick coop, ask yourself this first: are you going to be reuse the chick coop for the next batch of chicks? If yes, you need a permanent structure for these chicks. But if you are planning on producing your adult chickens as layers or as egg producers, then your original chick coop must be constructed small and should not be a lasting structure type built to be permanent.  You will build a permanent structure for your mature chickens that are already able to produce eggs.

The other issue if you must be studying how to build a chick coop is the location of the chick coop on your land.  You chick coop should be close enough to your household for security and for maintenance. You must have a special place for brooding or incubation as well. Ensure that the chick coop is a warm and dry place. Furthermore, it should be provided with good amount of sunshine. 

Lastly, when establishing the chick coop, make sure you build it in a way that the cleaning process is convenient enough to maintain the cleanliness. You want to preserve your chick coop very clean to prevent diseases. You want the chick coop to be as pristinely clean as a baby's room. Your incubation area should always be free from dirt as well. Even after the chicks developed the full feathers, cleanliness is still a must to keep them healthy. You can do this by having a way to efficiently absorb the waste and moisture that are remained behind by the chicks.Moreover, the chicken droppings are good forms of fertilizers for your vegetable or flower gardens.

Check out mychickenhouseplans.org for information on Chicken House Plans and designs.

For related topics to this posts, check out how to Build Chicken Coop Blog for more reference. Also see Plans Chicken Coop for related articles.

If you are interested in building a chicken house in your property, you will need to have a solid chicken house plan in order to make most of this project as this will be your starting point. The internet nevertheless provides a good source of valuable information. There are many websites that are devoted to this topic of chicken house plans.

The new way of saving money is producing your own food by placing a chicken house on your place. Chickens will offer fresh eggs and meat to save on your food expenses on the long run. 

Before using whatever chicken house plans, ascertain that the chicken house plans can easily be understood. Looking at them but cannot discern what they are trying to teach is a clear indication to proceed to the next plan. You will not be able to make your own chicken house with chicken house plans that do not make any sense.

You do not want to be in the middle of construction just to notice that the plans neglected to note many serious parts required for the design. You must also ensure the chicken house plans also hold a full list of materials necessary for the project.   

When you acquire your chicken house plans, make it sure they are complete and that no measures have been excluded before you lead off building on your chicken house.  It is serious to do all of your homework before ever starting the project.

Lastly, make sure your chicken house plans don't cost a lot. As a comparison, the cost must always be lesser than the actual building of the chicken house. As a matter of fact, there are sites dedicated to giving away free chicken house plans.

Check out mychickenhouseplans.org for information on Chicken House Plans and designs.

For related topics to this posts, check out how to Chicken Coop Designs Blog for more reference. Also see Plans Chicken Coop for related articles.