4 Critical Errors to Stay Away From When Building Chicken Coops



Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2010

by Joshua Hardingur
JMS

Countless years ago, when I originally began building chicken coops, I made way too many careless errors. My very first chicken coop was constructed in a location with inadequate drainage, making it unacceptably muddy each time it rained. My hens were less healthy and vigorous and the eggs were constantly dirty and needed cleaning. Also, it was as much as 5 times larger than it needed to be and 5 times more pricey.

In spite of this, through trial and error, it wasn't long before I was building chicken coops that were low-priced and easy to maintain. It became so much fun I began raising a lot of unique varieties of poultry, hatching eggs in an incubator that my very own backyard chickens had laid. Plus, I began raising other types of birds including turkey, quail, duck, and a number of others. Constructing well-designed and functional poultry houses turned my pastime upside down; it became heaps of fun. If you would like to get pleasure from your brand new endeavor, do things correctly on your initial attempt and stay away from pricey rookie errors.

Mistake #1: Not Creating a Good Plan

With a bit of preplanning you will increase your chances of ending up with a pleasurable hobby. At a minimum you will want to sketch a rough illustration of how your coop will appear. You should include where the doors, walls, wire enclosures, windows, poultry nests, poultry feeders, and waterers will be placed. By developing a detailed diagram, including size and dimensions, you can more precisely estimate the amount of materials you will need. Cash will be wasted by buying more materials than are necessary.

When planning where to situate specific items in your poultry house, try to position them in areas that will be convenient for you. For example, putting a tiny door in the right place will make egg collecting a painless chore. Locate the poultry nests on a wall that has a little outside-available door just a smidgen above the height of the poultry nests. Creating coops in this manner will allow you to gather fresh eggs from the exterior without needing to go inside.

Try to use a design where the chicken shed can be a couple of feet higher than the ground with wire for the floor. This will permit the chicken droppings to fall below the wire floor in place of piling up within their home. It will remove the necessity of regular cleaning and keep the pullets away from their droppings.

Mistake #2: Putting It in a Poor Location

Building chicken coops in bad backyard locations is without doubt one of the biggest errors that amateurs make. Picking a poor backyard place can be the reason for unhealthy, diseased, and unproductive pullets. The chicken pen must be in an area with superior drainage. If you don't have decent drainage you will probably end up with a blend of water, sludge, and bird droppings. Drinking this dirty water or tracking it into the nest and feed area will most definitely result in less eggs, health disorders, and even death.

The coop should be built in close proximity to easily accessible water. This will permit you to establish simple automatic watering systems and remove the need for you to give them fresh water each and every day.

Mistake #3: Not Thinking about Correct Lighting Prior to Building

If you expect your birds to lay fresh eggs on a consisten basis they will need at least 14 hours of light each day. So locate your coop facing south for the greatest sunlight exposure. Additionally, it will keep the coop drier which can help it remain cleaner. If you want to gather fresh eggs during the seasons of the year where there are fewer than 14 hours of daylight each day you will have to provide synthetic light in the form of a low wattage light bulb. Placing your chicken shed near an easily reached electrical supply is helpful in these situations.

Mistake #4: Not Providing Decent Air Circulation to the Poultry

For high-quality ventilation you are required to add a window or two. Bird droppings are the source of strong and unpleasant odors that are injurious to their physical condition if permitted to build up. At least one window, but if at all possible two, will be placed in locations that will produce the best ventilation and air circulation. With enhanced ventilation the chicken shed will remain cleaner and drier which can help inhibit diseases.

Joshua has kept poultry for over 25 years and has built all of his own chicken coops throughout those years. He is skilled in raising poultry for meat and egg production. He has a site packed with valuable info on the subject of building chicken coops, raising poultry, and more.
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