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How to build a chicken coop with no trouble and rapidly using tried and tested plans.

By: david rogers



Building a hen coop does not have to be difficult! Anybody with basic do-it-yourself tools and a patch of land can do it! Using thoroughly tried and tested poultry pen plans is simply the best way to get started. Building a chicken coop without the proper plans will result in wasted money,time and effort!. Each chicken, to be happy and healthy and producing eggs consistently will need at least 4 square feet of living space. If there are too many in a small area they become stressed tend not to lay eggs on a regular basis and also can more easily become ill.

A good first step is to make sure you have enough room to house your chickens comfortably. If your space is limited, you need to start from the area available and divide it by 4. This will tell you the number of birds suitable for your given space. For example, a coop measuring 4 feet by 8 feet has an area of 32 square feet. Divide this by 4 32 / 4 = 8. So, you can see that Eight is the greatest number of birds you could keep reasonably in a run of this size.

To ensure success you should always consider the comfort of the chickens. In his excellent book, Bill Keene has done this! Everyone with simple do-it-yourself tools and a patch of land can follow his instructions. The plans are easy to understand and follow and the lists of resources and tools needed are very helpful. Keene also appreciates that the value of using recycled materials in your construction is both cheap and environmentally friendly. Keene encourages responsible husbandry - his reminder of tasks to be completed weekly, monthly and sixth monthly should be incorporated onto the calendar of any careful poultry keeper. The level of detail is just right, from a list of the color of the egg you might expect from your chickens. If you follow his tricks, your happy hens will produce lots of eggs..

For healthy and happy hens you must give them a nice sized coupe with plenty of space The first thing to decide on before building work starts, is how many chickens you will be looking after. Good chicken house plans will also make sure that there is no congestion as a tiny crowded house leads to bad results like diseases, pests and cannibalism. If your birds do not get enough air then they would be more likely to contract all kinds of sicknesses and diseases, they could even become weak and die prematurely.

Keeping eggs clean and free from excreta which is really is just good maintenance.
This means you will need to have a plan as to how to maintain on top of the cleanliness of the chicken coop as chickens make plenty of droppings as well as eggs! With this in mind, it is crucial to think how easy it wil be to get into the coop for regular cleaning. You can make this easier by providing the coop with a small perch which chickens love. You'll like it too because a tray or container can then be placed beneath the perch to collect the droppings which makes for easy cleaning. This is a good way to keep disease free perches.

Without a perch, proper upkeep of sanitation would become difficult because the birds would just leave their droppings anywhere. The best way is to ensure that you have several boxes or any other type of containers under the perches to collect the droppings.
This is why quality plans are essential as each and every one of these difficulties have been considered already!

Each nesting box should have enough space for a maximum of six chickens. Chickens prefer dark nesting boxes.. This makes the chicken feel comfortable and relaxed. Placing straw into the nesting boxes will stop your precious eggs from getting cracked or broken.

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