5 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing the Location for Your Chicken Sheds
Posted: Friday, January 15, 2010
by Joshua Hardingur
JMS
Building your chicken coop in a poor area will end in diseased chickens that give you a small number of fresh eggs. Avoid frequent beginner mistakes and construct chicken coops where your poultry can be healthy and productive. Find handy information for selecting an ideal location.
Is location an important factor when manufacturing chicken sheds? The location of the chicken coop is something that most individuals do not consider important even though it is one of the single most vital items in raising chickens. Making a poor choice, or no choice at all can lead to illness amongst the flock, decreased quantities of eggs, unclean and unsightly eggs, and additional negative consequences.
Certainly the one specific aspect that can take all the fun out of raising chickens is placing your chicken sheds in sites with poor water drainage. This can cause water buildup, sludge, drenched litter, soiled eggs, illness, and fewer eggs produced.
If the water cannot drain appropriately it will most likely result in muddy areas. When droppings are mixed with dirt and water, it can provide you with an unhygienic mire. This can be tracked into the coop where the food, water, nesting boxes, and litter are situated, which will cause the litter to get drenched and the eggs and nesting box to get dirty. Hens must have an unsoiled home to stay happy and healthy and lay large numbers of eggs.
Error #2: Building Poultry Coops that are Facing A Bad Direction
When building a chicken pen it should most often be facing southward if possible. This is crucial in areas where the winter months are harsh. Southward facing hen houses will receive the greatest sunshine which will provide two very important purposes. It will normally keep the chicken sheds warmer during the winter which will normally help keep the interior from getting too moist. And keep in mind, chicken sheds that are drier will supply you with extra eggs and less disease.
Error #3: Not Choosing a Location that will supply First-class Air Movement
First-rate air circulation, as well as correctly positioned windows, will make it possible for clean air to flow through the housing. This will keep pungent odors from rising to poisonous levels and help the litter remain dry.
Moreover, be aware of the wind direction where you reside. Chicken sheds will ideally not be situated in areas with no natural breaks. If powerful winds are a risk place the coop where there is a natural wind break.
Error #4: Not Locating Poultry Sheds Near Electricity and Water
Electrical and water supplies are a couple of factors that are usually not given enough attention previous to the start of construction. Nevertheless, making your chicken house next to these sources can save you lots of labor and help you collect more eggs from your hens.
Being next to a water supply will permit you to add a simple automated watering system, eliminating the need to change or refill the bird's water fountains each day. Electricity will permit you to put artificial light inside the coop if necessary. Pullets need a minimum of 14 hours of light per day if you expect them to supply you with eggs consistently. Throughout the times of the year with fewer than 14 hours of sunlight you can put additional lighting in the poultry housing which will usually keep the chickens laying eggs steadily even throughout the winter. It usually requires just a solitary low-wattage bulb to keep the hens laying efficiently.
Error #5: Not Considering Future Expansion
At all times keep your options open. You might believe that you will never want to grow a greater number than a handful of chickens, but it still pays to set aside some additional breathing room. Even if you don't plan on increasing the quantity of chickens you keep, it is normally a fine plan to set aside enough room to do so if you change your mind.
You may perhaps feel that just a few chickens is plenty and put up your chicken shed in an area where there is no further room for expanding in the future. Then again, if you should change your mind for some reason and decide to raise one or two dozen chickens you will appreciate the additional room, so plan ahead.
Joshua has raised pullets for over 25 years and has made all of his own poultry housing throughout those years. He is proficient in raising poultry for meat and egg production. You can discover more about constructing highly functional chicken sheds , raising chickens, and other helpful information on his site at http://www.chicken-ark.net .
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