Homemade Chicken Coops
Chicken coops are useful enclosures that serve a number of functions. When raising chickens that lay eggs, a chicken coop is necessary so that your chickens will have a safe place to rest in at night and lay their eggs. Additionally, a chicken coop provides much needed shelter and protection for your chickens, and there are several aspects to think about if you want to make a homemade chicken coop. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Chicken coop plans or an old shed
- Chicken wire
- Straw
- Chicken feed
- Insulation
- Wall coverings
- Windows
- Small door
- Building tools
- Feed and watering tools
Instructions
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Think about what kind of chickens you want to raise. For example, if you want laying chickens, find out which species do best in your region.
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Choose an appropriate area in your yard for your homemade chicken coop. Make sure to account for an outdoor fenced-in pen because your chickens will need to be outside and in the sunshine when possible.
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Draw a rough design of what you want your coop to look like and include an outdoor pen as well. Or, find plans that you can follow to build a wooden coop (see Resources) or use an old shed as shelter for your chickens. Ensure that your chickens will have a healthy amount of space on a regular basis and think about watering and feeding requirements before you build your coop.
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Add windows that open and close into an existing shed or put them into your design plans. Windows are necessary to aerate the coop on a regular basis and natural light is important if you want to raise healthy animals. In addition, provide your chickens with a doorway that you can close up at night to prevent weasels, foxes and coyotes from getting in and harming them. You will also have to purchase chicken wire to wrap around the outdoor penned area.
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Include straw bales in your design plans and think about installing insulation and appropriate wall coverings to the inside walls of the coop if you live in cold, frigid regions.
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Choose appropriate feed for your chickens. Organic blends are available and make sure to add oyster shells or tiny pebbles into their diet to aid in proper digestion.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit chicken image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
