How to Make Chicken Houses
If you're planning on getting chickens, the first thing you'll need to do is build a coop or chicken house to keep your chickens comfortable and safe. Chickens need shelter from the elements, as well as protection from predators. A chicken coop usually consists of a building where you house the chickens and a yard where your chickens can get fresh air and extra vegetation for their diet. The yard is usually fenced to keep the chickens from wandering or being eaten by predators.
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Things You'll Need
- Chicken coop plans
- Lumber and plywood
- Sliding windows
- Hammer
- Nails
- Measuring tape
- Saw
- Other hardware for coop as required
- Dowels for roosts
- Wood shavings
- Fencing
Instructions
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1
Purchase or look up plans for a chicken coop that will house the number of chickens you're planning on owning. See Backyardchickens.com for free plans. Chickens should have a minimum of two square feet per bird in the coop and four square feet per bird in the yard.
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Locate where your chicken coop will be. A good site will allow breezes in the summer and adequate drainage, but at the same time be sheltered from winter weather.
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Purchase or recycle lumber to make the chicken house.
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4
Follow the design and build the coop. Be sure to erect it above the ground to discourage digging predators. The coop needs to have windows, one nest box per four chickens, and a roost that is at least eight inches per bird. Add an egg door behind the nest boxes to make it easy to gather eggs.
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Install feeders and waterers by either hanging them from the ceiling of the coop or putting them on platforms. Add pine shavings to the floor of the coop.
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Fence around the chicken coop.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to make the coop so that it can be closed up at night to keep predators out.
Be sure to have enough adequate ventilation to keep your birds from overheating.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit galinhas na capoeira image by fran_ from Fotolia.com
