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Eggs are a very valuable and useful product. Breeding laying hens is beneficial from different points of view. They bring fresh eggs and are a source of dietary meat. Natural products are always in demand. Meat and eggs can be sold and served on the table in your home.
In order for the chickens to rush well, it is necessary to build a cozy house for them. To build a chicken coop, you will need to draw up an accurate design of the structure. If you follow the instructions, you can make a do-it-yourself chicken coop for 10 chickens quickly and without any worries. Thanks to high-quality photos, you can understand the features of such structures.
Chicken coop dimensions
The dimensions of the chicken coop are calculated based on the needs of the layers and their need for free space. To correctly determine the size of the structure, it is necessary to consider:
- The purpose for which chickens are bred. There are some differences when it comes to raising chickens to sell eggs or to serve fresh produce daily to your own table.
- The number of layers.
- Features of the site on which it is planned to build a chicken coop.
If the family is large, it is better to keep about 20 heads. If you want to turn chicken breeding into a profitable business, you should start from 50 to 100 chickens.
The large scale of work in the construction of a chicken coop should not be intimidating. If there is no experience in building outbuildings, you can try to install a small chicken coop. When choosing a place, it is necessary to take into account that over time the chicken coop will need to be expanded.
Chicken coop drawings
Any construction process begins with drawing a diagram. This stage is very important when building a chicken coop. The drawing should be as accurate as possible. This will allow you to present the end result of your efforts. In addition, a properly drawn up drawing of a chicken coop will help develop an action plan. To figure out how to build a chicken coop, you should watch the video:
When creating a chicken coop drawing, you should not exactly copy existing diagrams. You can design a house for chickens on your own, taking into account the characteristics of your site. However, when building experience is very small, referring to ready-made drawings helps to find out many of the intricacies of building a chicken coop. If the birds are in a cramped room, they will not feel comfortable, which will affect their productivity.
For example, for 3 chickens it is necessary to allocate 1 square. m of space. Drawing an analogy, for 10 birds you will need a 2×2 m chicken coop. If the farm has 20 chickens, you should make a 3×3 m chicken coop.
When building a poultry house, it must be borne in mind that the bird will live in the house all year round. In winter, chickens are constantly crowded. In this regard, they will need less space than in summer. In winter, one square meter is enough for 4 birds. This means that ten hens will need an area of 2,5 square meters. m.
When creating drawings of a chicken coop for 10 chickens with your own hands, you should definitely take into account the place for walking. The dimensions of the aviary depend on the size of the house. If the chicken coop is 2 m wide, then the walking area should be 2×6 m.
The durability of a winter chicken coop depends on how well the materials are selected. The main ones are: hammer, cement, roofing material, beams and boards. In addition, you will need to conduct light in a chicken coop for 10 chickens. To do this, you need to buy light bulbs and cables.
Determining a place for a chicken coop
When the dimensions of the chicken coop are known and the materials are selected, construction can begin. First choose the place of the future chicken coop. It is very important to choose the optimal position, because this is a house for laying hens. Here they will walk, sleep, rush. It is important that nothing makes them uncomfortable.
When choosing a place for a chicken coop, you must be guided by the following rules:
- You should choose a place that is dry. With high humidity, the health of birds can be undermined.
- It is better that the surface is sloping. This is necessary so that during frequent rains the water leaves faster.
- It is important to ensure that the place is well lit by the sun.
- It is better if the aviary in which the chickens will walk is located on the south side. Under this condition, the sun’s rays will always warm this place.
It is forbidden to install a mini-coop directly on the ground. The building must have a good foundation. How to build a reliable chicken coop, you can learn from the video:
Choosing a foundation for a chicken coop
There are 2 options most suitable for a chicken coop – strip and column foundation. The drawings of a self-built poultry house usually provide a base in the form of pillars. It is best suited for lightweight structures. This foundation has a number of advantages:
- The construction of such a foundation for a chicken coop does not require a long wait until the solution hardens.
- The columnar basis is convenient in installation.
- When creating such a base, natural ventilation is created, which protects the chicken coop from rodents.
The construction of a columnar foundation for a chicken coop does not require much effort. To do this, you will need to perform the following actions:
- Along the perimeter of the chicken coop, it is necessary to drill pits 1 m deep. Each of them should have a diameter of about 20 cm.
- Then you need to complete the formwork. It is usually constructed from asbestos-cement pipes.
- Pipes are inserted into the pit.
- Before pouring concrete, reinforcing bars must be placed in the formwork. They must be threaded.
- After the concrete has hardened, the support beam is attached to the base.
Walls and floors
From the photo of finished structures and drawings, you can find out that a chicken coop on a columnar foundation is being built of a frame type. A feature of this building is the simplicity and high speed of construction. The device of the chicken coop is quite simple, so its work will not take much time.
During the creation of the chicken coop, the home master goes through several stages of work:
- It is necessary to take bars with a section of 70×70.
- When creating a frame, vertical racks are nailed to the support bars.
- Horizontal crossbars are added to the resulting structure, on which the floor and roof are mounted.
When performing such work, it is important to monitor the accuracy of compliance with the dimensions. For example, for a poultry house with 20 hens, it is necessary to calculate the height of the walls if the roof is pitched. Dimensions are selected based on the dimensions of the building. Between the ground and the floor it is necessary to make a distance of at least 35 cm.
You need to take care of creating a window, as well as doors. One of them is intended for the owner of the site, and the second – for the chickens to go out for a paddock. Nests do not always need to be installed in the house. A convenient option when nests are attached to a chicken house (as in the photo below). On them you can make several doors and a rising lid. So, the nests will be easier to clean.
Warming
In addition, in the process of building walls, it must be remembered that the temperature inside the chicken coop should be comfortable for the chickens. It is necessary to consider whether the house will be built for year-round maintenance or whether it will become a seasonal building. In the case of the construction of a winter chicken coop, after sheathing the structure with boards from the outside, care should be taken to ensure proper thermal insulation.
When creating a chicken coop with your own hands, it is better to use ready-made photos, drawings and instructions. This will make the task easier. With the competent creation of a poultry house, thermal insulation is provided for in it. Material for it can serve:
- mineral wool;
- ecowool;
- Styrofoam.
When the insulation is laid, the walls are sewn up from the inside with boards.
However, laying insulation is not enough to create the most favorable living conditions for birds in winter. Therefore, when building a winter chicken coop for 10 chickens with your own hands, you need to create a special heating system. Thanks to this solution, a certain temperature will always be maintained in the chicken coop.
Creating the floor and roof
To create the necessary living conditions for chickens, you will need to perform a double floor. Thanks to him, additional insulation of the chicken coop will be provided. Such a floor is constructed quite easily. From below, boards from a bar are hemmed, insulation is laid on them, and everything is sewn up from above with finishing boards (as in the photo).
Many chicken coops are made without such a floor. Straw or sawdust is used for insulation. If you lay these materials in a thick layer, it will become an excellent heat insulator. It is better if a log or timber is chosen as the material for creating a chicken coop. They are great for poultry houses.
The easiest way is to make a shed roof. To build it, you will need to maintain a distance between the bars of half a meter. Roofing material is used for waterproofing.
To create an additional layer of insulation, the roof from the inside can be sheathed with chipboard panels. For external coating, slate, reed or corrugated board is used.
Interior arrangement
The chicken coop (both summer and winter versions) should be made as carefully as possible both outside and inside. The interior of a poultry house takes a lot of time. A few tips to follow:
- Ventilation must be present in the chicken coop. There must be fresh air in the house. For the construction of ventilation, it is necessary to install 2 pipes: one for supply, the other for outlet.
- In order for sunlight to penetrate the room, it is necessary to make windows of the optimal size.
- Chickens need a roost. The diameter of the poles should be about 3-4 cm. It is better to make a distance of 35 cm between the poles.
- To create nests, you can use improvised materials. These include crates and boxes.
After performing simple calculations, you can decide how many and how long the poles should be made.
Even during construction, it is necessary to think about the place where the birds will feed. It is necessary to make it as convenient as possible for laying hens. The length of the feeder is calculated based on the number of birds. For example, one chicken should be about 15 cm. If possible, it is better to provide a margin of length.
Additional feeders in the form of boxes should be made. They are located at a height of 15 cm above the floor. They should always be small and gravel. Such materials are necessary for every chicken to form eggs.
Another useful design would be a dust bath. They can be set up very easily. To do this, you need to prepare containers and fill them with sand, ash. When bathing in such baths, chickens improve the quality of their plumage. In addition, it allows you to destroy the pests that live on the bird. To figure out how to build a chicken coop for 10 chickens, you should decide on the features of its design and device.
The final stage
After the construction is completed, it is necessary to carry out finishing. Such work consists in trifles, however, they are very important for creating comfortable conditions for laying hens. Thanks to them, the chicken coop will be as functional as possible, and the site will acquire another attractive element.
There are several recommendations regarding finishing:
- After the construction of the house is completed, the aviary must be covered with a net. The roof can not be closed during rain, the chickens will go into the chicken coop.
- It is convenient if the front door is combined with a manhole. For it, a separate hole is made in the door structure. You can carve it into the wall. The main requirement is to comply with the required dimensions. The hole should have dimensions of 35×35 cm.
- To form an approach to the manhole, it is necessary to nail a board upholstered with horizontal slats to it.
- An approach should also be created to the perch. This will allow young laying hens to comfortably climb onto the perches.
- To increase the egg production of chickens, it is necessary to extend the daylight hours for laying hens. To do this, in the autumn and spring periods, you should light a light bulb in the mornings and evenings. To do this, you need to conduct electricity in the chicken coop. You need to prepare the cable. In order not to drill an additional hole, you should run the cable through the ventilation.
You can protect wood from decay with the help of a special composition. Outside, the structure is painted, and inside it is treated with quicklime. This will help eliminate the risk of parasites.
