Saturday, November 17, 2012

Tips To Set Up A Chicken Coop

By Steve Zones


A multitude of factors has to be taken into thoughts if you are intending to make a chicken house that would be sturdy and safe. Among the many factors you want to give thought to before you begin your hen house would be the design and size. Do you need a compact chicken house or a large one? Moveable chicken coops are desirable as you're able easily move the coop to fresh ground each alternate week.

Decide how much time the chickens will remain inside their chicken coop. Whether they will be inside it full-time or allowed to roam on open land. Keeping the chickens ventilated for the changing climate is vital; you should take a look at just how you want your doors and windows to function, using a hinge or sliding? How would you lock them at nighttime for proper safety measures?

The second factor could be the location of your hen house. Often times though many individuals have a tendency to side step this step and so they end up having flooded coops. Constructing your coop on higher ground near a drainage system will save you from hassle later on. Building your coop along with a slight slope towards the door enables piled up water/waste to empty properly also. Litter collection is an additional design factor to prevent diseases, pine shavings and saw dust are most often the best because they are cheap and absorb odors very quickly. Daily stir the mulch as a technique of recycling used mulch for that fresh mulch at the base. Construct your coop 10sq ft per chicken in order to avoid overcrowding; this makes your litter control more controllable.

Many backyard chicken coops need durable chicken wire to keep harmful animals away from nesting chickens. Digging a hole one foot deep is the minimum depth needed to construct a chicken house. This depth will guarantee safety from snakes and other borrowing predators. To prevent other animals which can include dogs and foxes from getting under the fence, placing cement bricks along at the base of the chicken wire is an efficient prevention. Do not forget your roosting post that need to be 4 feet above the ground and preferably dark, it generates it a peaceful environment for your hens to lay their eggs. The dimension of the box would depend upon the size of your hen chickens; they have to be able to rise up inside the box without the need of effort.

Last of all if you are living within a environment that is likely to change in seasons, insulating your hen house is important. To make the expense low, cardboard boxes and a warming light is wonderful for winter months and straw while in the warmer months to freshen the smell, and sustain the temperature. Recycling old structures works too in case you are short on money and time. Have an old shed or baby gates? You possibly can use them to construct a hen house in one day using the same steps. Chicken coops usually are easy to build, so don't trouble yourself, a specialized hand seriously isn't needed, just patience, together with the right tools.




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