InsaneJournal

Backyard Chicken Coop Designs

Chicken coop plans are usually available in your local building center as well as online. Many online plans are a free download and most have a list of all the materials you'll need for completion. The best chicken coops, however, are built by hand with your own needs in mind.

When you are planning your chicken housing and runs, make sure to plan for your climate as well as the number of hens that you want to provide for. Adult hens require 4 sq ft of space (Bantams require half that). So for every 3 full-grown chickens you plan to keep, you will need twelve square feet of space.

Of course, the more space they have, the happier (and healthier) the chickens will be. Larger spaces means less squabbling, more exercise, and less illness.

Chicken coop kits are available, with all construction materials needed being included. Most backyard coop kits are sized for 3 chickens and anything larger will probably be cost prohibitive.

If you just want a couple of hens, you can buy a ready-made coop and run online. These coops usually sit on the ground and are not secured against most predators. They are convenient, however, because they can be easily moved. As a secondary day pen, they can be perfect as a way to easily allow movement to fresh areas of the yard.

When building your own chicken coop, you should be careful of using building materials that can be a hazard to your birds (and the eggs you will collect). Wood that has been treated to prevent termites and rot can have traces of arsenic in it. Also, be careful you don't:do not use paint that could contain lead. Remember that anything ingested by the chicken can end up in her eggs, and that can end up in your family's food.

Chicken wire is not very good for keeping out predators. Dogs, skunks, opossums, raccoons, and many other predators can tear right through chicken wire with ease.

When putting together the chicken coop plans, chicken wire under the cage is a good idea, but using it elsewhere will probably lead to trouble. It is a good deterrent to digging under the cage because the predator doesn't have the leverage there to break through. He will get discouraged and give up.

Heavier gauge wire should be used on the sides and top of your pen to protect your hens. Even if your coop provides for lock down at night, many predators will still try to get through to eat leftover grain, drink from their water, and will try to get into the coop itself.

Often, you will need a padlock or something sturdier than a latch to keep raccoons out. Veteran racoons will easily defeat a slide bolt or hasp to get at the hens. So be sure to plan for the types of predators in your area.

If you take everything into account and do it right, a diy chicken coop can be the beginning of an enjoyable hobby for you and your family.