designs for chicken coops

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!

Used Chicken Coops For Sale – Moneysaver or Bad Idea?

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If you live in a rural area like I do it’s not uncommon to see used chicken coops for sale. They’re usually not a lot of money – nothing like buying a new hen house – and you might think about them as a viable alternative to building a chicken coop yourself.

Then I started thinking about used chicken coops a bit more, so here are a few pros and cons.  This is just my opinion of course, but you might want to consider it all the same – if you disagree, by all means have your say 😉

So, first thing you’ll get if you choose a used chicken coop for sale should be a sizable cash saving. It’s possible that you’ll get a better coop than you might have built yourself – although I doubt it if you pick up some good chicken coop plans.

Next… there’s what? Here’s where I run into trouble. I can’t really think of another positive reason for buying a used chicken coop. OK, money’s important, but honestly, that’s about it. Can you think of anything else?

On the not so good side, there’s finding one that suits your needs. No point seeing a used chicken coop for sale and driving over there, only to find it’s really too big or too small. Worse, that it’s in poor condition – some people will try and sell all kinds of junk.

Let’s say that you’re lucky though, the coop is good. How are you getting it home? Have you got a big enough truck? Does it needs to be dismantled and reassembled at your place?

Hold on. You’re not going to make your own, but you’ll take someone else’s apart, move it and put it back together again? That’s starting to look like false economy to me.

The more I think about it, the less good the idea of choosing a used chicken coop for sale seems to be. Even if you find a good one and can get it home relatively easily, do you know it’s clean? Really clean? If there are ticks, lice or other unpleasant beasties lurking in there you’re going to have real problems. On balance, I think I’ll stick with building my own!

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.