Plans For Chicken Coops – Keeping Your Ladies Warm and Comfy!

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I’ve been thinking about plans for chicken coops and keeping the ladies warm in the winter. Last year it got really cold just before Christmas and although I know chickens are tough old birds, I wouldn’t want them freezing their little feathers off!

I know, it’s only late June, but you need to plan ahead right? Well anyway, it was on my mind so there you are. You can always come back and read this again when the frosts arrive 😉

Most of the designs for chicken coops I’ve seen are pretty good. The free chicken coop plans usually leave something to be desired (not surprisingly as they probably couldn’t put the time and detail in that a professional can) but nobody really gets into heating or insulation.

So I had a bit of a search around, as you do. I was initially looking for chicken coop heaters. There are plenty around. Some are ceramic things you plug in like a light bulb – apparently a lot of reptile keepers use them. They can get very hot – like 200+ degrees F. I’m not sure that wouldn’t be a fire risk. Then I found some heated panels – which look great, and safe, but they need to be plugged in and they start at over 50 bucks (if you know of cheaper ones, please let me know).

So then I thought about insulation, and found some great advice over at Chicken Keeping Secrets. It boils down to this:

Like I said before, chickens can take it pretty rough. In either hot or cold conditions they will do OK so long as they have water. That’s not to say they’ll be fine in all conditions, but minus a couple of degrees won’t harm them – they’ll just all cuddle up together for warmth.

If you want to give them some heat, they’ll probably be happier for it – but it probably won’t change the number of eggs they lay in winter – which is more effected by how light the days are than by heat.

If you want to insulate, that can also be a good idea but it’s really important to seal all the insulation in – because chickens will attempt to eat more or less anything. Now I like chickens, but they aren’t the smartest creature ever. They’ll peck at fiberglass, rockwool, or whatever you use – and won’t be able to tell if it’s toxic so they can do themselves a lot of harm.

The other reason to make sure that insulation is well sealed in is parasites. All kinds of bugs will live in it if they can. Some your hens will eat but others, like fleas and ticks, can make your ladies very uncomfortable.

I thought it was a really useful piece, and there’s plenty more great chicken keeping advice so I’ll certainly be keeping Chicken Keeping Secrets on my favorites list.

Automatic Chicken Coop Doors

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An automatic chicken coop door – now why didn’t I think of that ?!?

Maybe you’ve heard of them, but I didn’t know they even existed until yesterday evening when I was round at a chicken-keeping friend’s house. Now I’ve seen one I suppose the idea is pretty obvious, but honestly, I hadn’t even thought of it!

My pal had got his from Germany – and although it was beautifully made and worked well, it was very expensive – over $300.00. I guess he must really value his beauty sleep!

I though there must be cheaper automatic chicken coop doors on the market so I had a bit of a search around online.

Two types of automatic chicken coop door

What I found was that you can do things a lot cheaper if you are a bit handy with motors, timers and such. Alternatively, you can buy an automatic chicken coop door kit. Not quite as cheap as buying all the separate bits and working it out yourself, but much less fiddling about.

There are a few kits around, and they fall into two basic categories. Automatic chicken coop doors with a light sensor, or those with a timer.

At first, I though the light sensor one was a great idea. Sun comes up, automatic chicken coop door opens. Sun goes down, door closes. Excellent, yes?

But what if your chicken coop is shaded by trees or another building? What if it’s cloudy or stormy? Actually the makers say these things needn’t necessarily make that much difference, and they’re probably right, but I’m not sure…

The other kind has a simple timer. Set it to open when you like and close when you like. Now you might need to re-set it a couple of times a year depending on dawn and dusk where you are, but that’s hardly a problem, is it.

The one I’ve seen that I particularly like the look of is made by Automatic Chicken House Doors. It’s mostly made from thick ply that’s been treated for weather protection and there are kits for either sliding or flap-opening doors. They reckon you could install it in around 15 minutes and there’s even a ten minute video on the site showing you exactly how.

Is An Automatic Chicken Coop Door Worth The Money?

Either of the choices from Automatic Chicken House Doors is way less than my friend’s German version, but it’s still a fair few bucks just so you can lie in bed a bit longer in the morning! If you’re up with the dawn anyway, and home at dusk, it might seem like a waste of money.

But a lot of folks have to go a fair distance to work and are often home late. What about if you’re going out to dinner? What about when you’re away on vacation? Maybe a neighbor can do it, maybe not. Anyway, it’s not really for your convenience, as much as anything it’s for the safety of your chickens. There are plenty of predators that can get into a chicken run, but they won’t get into a properly built chicken coop if the door is shut.

A day ago I had never heard of them. Now I have, an automatic chicken coop door is definitely on my shopping list.

Welcome to Best Plans For Chicken Coops

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Hi there, welcome to Best Plans For Chicken Coops!

So why a blog about plans for chicken coops? Well really to try and help folks decide the best chicken coop for them. There’s a lot of stuff around – mobile chicken coops, chicken tractors, back yard chicken coops, city chicken coops… and more. So maybe it’s all a bit confusing and maybe I can help.

It’s also a bit of a personal thing. I was born on a farm – then moved to “the big city”, now I’m back in the countryside. Older and wiser (older certainly, maybe wiser). I’ve got the chance to keep chickens again and to have fresh eggs every morning – which must be one of life’s most affordable luxuries!

The best plans for chicken coops depend on where you live and how many chickens you want to keep, so we’ll have a look at the alternatives and see how we get on. If you’ve got any advice to share or a comment to make, I’d be glad to hear from you.

I was going to say I’ll write again soon, but apparently you’re supposed to say “post” not “write” – so I’ll post again soon :-).