chicken coop plans

Chicken Coop Plans – The Art Of The Chicken Coop

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I don’t do a lot of chicken coop plans book reviews – and I’m not likely too – but this one jumped out at me so I thought I’d have a closer look and share what I found.

It’s the cover that first grabs you – but that’s what covers are supposed to do! I thought it looked like an unusual approach to chicken coop plans and worth looking further.

What I discovered was this guy called Chris Gleason: woodworker, chicken keeper, DIY expert – who has written a number of other books as well – all from practical experience. This is the kind of hands-on guy I like – someone who rolls their sleeves up, perfects their plans themselves, then unleashes them on the chicken-keeping world!

You don’t just get an excellent range of different plans (seven) but also how to save on materials by recycling, how to make sturdy but attractive chicken coops, some interesting bits about chicken keeping from other people and even some egg recipes!

The nitty-gritty of the chicken coop plans is all there in step-by-step detail, making this a recommended book for both the experienced chicken keeper looking for something a bit different and those new to chicken coop design. As I write this, the book is  available from Amazon at around 30% off the normal retail price.

 

Plans For Chicken Coops – What Tools Do You Need?

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So you’ve decided you’re going to buy some plans for chicken coops and build your own hen house – great idea. It will save you lots of money and give you a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

If you’ve got some woodworking or DIY experience and a nice shed full of tools, nothing can stop you!

On the other hand, if you’re new to all this but still want to have a go – and why shouldn’t you – there are a few tools that will make putting your chicken coop plans into action a lot easier.

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Plans For Chicken Tractors – A Great Space-Saving Alternative

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If you’ve got a smaller yard or garden then perhaps plans for chicken coops isn’t what you should be looking for – you should probably be concentrating on something designed specifically for the purpose: plans for chicken tractors.

Now if you don’t know what a chicken tractor is (and I’ll admit I hadn’t come across the phrase until a few months ago) it is nothing to do with some kind of motorized buggy for hens! In fact it’s a smaller chicken coop with wheels and quite often a set of handles.


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Plans For Chicken Coops Extras – Top Tips For Nest Boxes

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Unless you want to be looking around everywhere for your eggs, including nest boxes in your plans for chicken coops is an excellent idea. You’ll find some designs – like small portable chicken tractors – often have them already built in, but others leave the choice up to you, or give various options. Following these tips should help you decide which are best for you.

What you want is a sheltered area that your chicken are comfortable to lay in. By sheltered that means even inside a chicken coop it should be a separate boxed off area, shaded if possible to make it darker and again, if possible, away from roosting perches – you don’t actually want the hens to sleep in there because they’ll likely make a mess. 12 inches square is a good size – so your birds can actually stand up if they want to. Bigger is better if you’ve got the space.

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Plans For Chicken Coops – A Comfy Nest Box Or Not?

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When people are looking for good plans for chicken coops, one of the things that comes up is nest boxes. That’s not somewhere for your chickens to sleep – they’ll be perfectly happy roosting on a perch – it’s somewhere convenient for them to lay their eggs. Chicken will lay eggs just about anywhere though, so do you need nest boxes to be part of your chicken coop design or not?

Let’s look at things from the chicken’s point of view. She’s not laying eggs for you at all –  she’s laying eggs to make more chickens! If you don’t take the eggs away, she’ll sit on them and try to hatch them. She’ll stop laying completely. So from her point of view she wants somewhere where she thinks the eggs will be protected – hidden from predators – and warm.

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Plans For Chicken Coops – Concrete Bases?

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I was looking at a couple of other plans for chicken coops websites the other day – as you do – and noticed a number of chicken coop designs were resting on poured concrete bases or slabs.

Plans for chicken coops with concrete bases can prevent predatorsI wondered whether this was a good idea or not. Mine have always been on the ground – with the roosting area raised so at night my birds are out of harm’s way.

Don’t get me wrong – I can see the obvious benefits in keeping predators out of your hen house – always a good idea – but there are a couple of things I’m maybe not so keen on.

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Plans For Chicken Coops – Three Often-Missed Essentials

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When you’re looking for plans for chicken coops there are a few considerations that are obvious: space so your hens aren’t cramped, protection so they’re safe,  and light, because light conditions regulate their laying. There are few other things that are often an afterthought, but are a vitally important part of good chicken coop designs.

The first is air flow. Ventilation if you like. If you’ve ever been passed a big commercial chicken farm, chances are you knew it about half a mile before and some considerable time after. Now I’m as big a fan of chickens as anyone else, but if there’s not enough air flow provided by your chicken coop plans, those ladies are going to smell. Hey, it’s not their fault, they perspire like the rest of us and they’ve got a need to go to the toilet too! Sadly chickens can’t get out a can of air freshener so we have to give them all the help we can. Of course in winter you still want them to be snug and warm so in an ideal world you want designs for chicken coops that incorporate vents or windows that you can open when it’s hot. It’s best to have these on a side that isn’t into the prevailing wind. Those ladies like a refreshing breeze – not a nasty draught up their… feathers.

Second, perches. Chickens will perch pretty much anywhere, so you might wonder why you need to consider perch position when checking out plans for chicken coops. Actually the point is to encourage them not to perch anywhere they like – because they’ll invariably choose places that you don’t want – like feeders, water bowls, nest boxes. You might not think that’s a problem, but to put it delicately, chickens don’t move off their perch to go to the toilet. Anything underneath gets covered in droppings. If you keep chickens, dropping are something you’ve got to get used to but you don’t want them in the feed, water or nest boxes if you can help it. No solution is perfect, but this will minimize the problem. A final point about perches – make sure there’s plenty of space for everyone otherwise you could get “pecking order” problems.

Third, nest boxes. You’ll be amazed the number of chicken coops I’ve seen without nest boxes. Sure, the birds will lay in straw on the floor, but if they don’t have somewhere they consider “right” to lay, and they’ve got access to the great outdoors, they’ll go and lay in a barn, or hedge, or under a car… They don’t need fancy individual “nests” (although you can if you like), it’s sufficient to have boxes that can take several hens so long as they are deep enough (four to six inches) and filled with wood shavings or straw. It’s unlikely your hens will sleep in them – they normally prefer to perch – but they should be discouraged from doing so because they’ll dirty the eggs. It’s not a major problem, just better avoided.

So there you go, a few details when you’re looking for plans for chicken coops that will just make sure the job is finished off nicely and those lovely ladies are as happy as could be. Happy hens give tastier eggs you know!

Plans For Chicken Coops – 4 Top Tips To Make Your Hens (And Your Own) Life Easier.

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Maybe you’re thinking of getting some free plans for chicken coops, maybe you’re going to buy some, maybe you’re going to draw up your own. In either case there are a few simple but important things you can sort out that will make life more pleasant for you – and your hens too!

1. Let’s look at fence design. Whether you’re considering chicken coops with runs, or just the general fencing of the area where you’ll keep your hens, a strong fence or enclosure is vital for their safety. Sadly there are lots of beasts – and a few birds – that will happily make a meal of your chickens or their eggs. Don’t spend ages on the hen house then short cut the fence.

2. When you see chicken coops on sale there are generally two types – big boxy ones and small portable ones (often called chicken tractors). If you’re going to have more than three or four birds you probably want a coop with a nice tall ceiling – because you’re going to have to go in there yourself sometimes. Low ceilings can be a real pain in the back! If you’ve got a dozen birds, walk in chicken coops really are recommended.

3. Think about light. Do the plans for chicken coops you’ve chosen allow for plenty of natural light? If they’re kept in the dark too long, not only will your birds’ health suffer, they won’t lay many eggs. Hens lay less eggs in the winter time mainly because there’s less light. Some people even put electric lighting in their coops. If you’re doing that, make sure you get an expert to do the wiring. If you wouldn’t wire up your house, why would you attempt to do a chicken coop? It’s the same electricity and it’s just as deadly if you get it wrong!

4. Plans should give you lots of useful info about design and construction, but think about finish too and build with care. Some wood treatments are downright poisonous. Also, make sure screws and nails are properly driven home and points don’t come through. Your birds could get a nasty injury and sooner or later you’ll reach in without thinking and tear your hand open. Just because it’s a hen house, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time to do the job properly. Watch out for sharp wire ends as well. Cut them off or bend them over so they’re not going to hurt you or your chickens.

That’s just a few ideas for chicken coops that should help you in the decision-making process, and in putting things together. Personally I would choose a professional set of plans for chicken coops simply because it’s likely the designer will have spent time and effort ironing our potential problems – so you don’t have to! Any of the folks over on the right are worth checking out – and not just because they advertise here!

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.