Build Your Own Chicken Coop
There are a number of important considerations that need to be looked at if you are considering designing and building a chicken coop. There are a variety of different chicken coops that you can build, but understanding which one is going to best fit your needs and wants is important for getting optimal results.
There are many considerations that you need to work through. The most important of these are size, whether the coop should be portable or fixed, how to protect your chickens against predators, protection against poor weather, and a myriad other things like feeding, watering, cleaning and so on.
Your first consideration should be the size of the chicken coop. It is one of the most important factors to be considered as it plays a major role in determining the health and productivity of your chickens. Normally chicken coop plans come in small, medium, and large sizes.
One of the biggest mistakes that can be made is to opt for a chicken coop that is too small. Chickens require space to move around in. If they are too cramped for space, they often stop laying eggs and you can also expect them to be less healthy. You really should not compromise on space.
It is fare better to err on the side of a bigger coop. It will provide you with healthier more productive chickens, and will also allow you to slightly expand your operation.
Another important consideration is whether the chicken coop should be fixed or mobile. This decision depends largely on whether you are keeping the chickens as pets or whether you are keeping them for egg laying, breeding, and so on. Portable chicken coops provide the advantage of being able to move the coop around and is most suitable if you are keeping chickens as pets.
A benefit of having a mobile chicken coop allows for easier maintenance since you can simply move the chicken coop to wherever you need to clean it. On the downside, watering and feeding becomes more of an effort, and protection against predators is a bit more difficult.
On the other hand, if you're looking for something with a little more structural integrity than you'll likely be better off choosing a fixed chicken house since these will be built sturdier so that they are able to withstand wear and tear.
Protection against the elements and predators are often overlooked. You need to consider what predators you are most likely to encounter. Foxes are a major threat and if they gain access to your coop, you may loose your whole flock in one night, but there are also stray dogs, otters, birds of pray and off course the weather, Carefully evaluate which threats you need to protect against and accommodate it in your design. A solid fencing system will go a long way to keep all varieties of predators out. This will have to be built to match the size of the coop you're building. Caution... if you plan to provide a chicken run as well, and if you are located in an area where birds of prey are in abundance, you need to cover the top of the chicken run as well.
Finally, think about the overall APPEARANCE of what you want your chicken coop to look like. There are a number of different ways you can build the chicken coop which will impact the overall design of the chicken coop. This will also likely influence the cost of the building process, so it's something to think about and work within your budget.
There are definitely cheaper methods to build your chicken coop so understanding the different things that will influence the cost is the first step to making a smart decision.
By dealing with the key considerations that we listed, you should be well on your way to take the correct decision as to the size, type, look and feel of your chicken coop. Getting the information up front will stand you in good stead and will help save money.
If you want to learn more about building your own Chicken Coop, then you will be well advised to stop by Luke Jefferson's blog where you will find out all about building your own Chicken Coop and how to best go about it.
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