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If the plans include breeding chickens in your area, then the first thing to take care of is a good chicken coop. In size, it must correspond to the number of chickens that will be contained in it. Such a house must be bright, warm and fully equipped.
It is easy to arrange a chicken coop if several chickens start up, and if there are more of them, then you will have to tinker noticeably. But all efforts will be justified by the result. In this article, we will consider the independent construction of such a structure as a chicken coop for 100 chickens.
Types of chicken coops
A chicken shed can be winter or seasonal, in which chickens can only be in the warm season. In order to understand which type of chicken coop is right for you, you need to learn more about each of the existing types.
Winter chicken coop
During the summer months, chickens can be outside almost all day, which cannot be said about the cold season. For the winter, many breeders try to put chickens in unsuitable outbuildings, but this is not the right solution. Chickens need a home where everything will be created for their comfortable maintenance. Therefore, if you plan to keep them in the winter, you should take care of creating a warm, fully equipped chicken coop in advance.
Since the temperature in winter drops below 0 degrees, you need to make sure that the chickens do not freeze. For them, the optimal temperature is one that is between 15 and 25 degrees. With such a microclimate, the hens will feel comfortable and lay regularly.
In order for the temperature not to fall, the chicken coop is insulated. To do this, it is necessary to finish the roof, walls, as well as all the slightest cracks and holes with insulating material. This design will help to avoid drafts inside the mini-poultry farm and maintain the necessary microclimate.
Since the days are short in winter, and the chickens will be inside the chicken coop all the time, you need to take care of the lighting. Be sure to have a window for natural light and light bulbs under the ceiling. But you should not keep the light in the chicken coop on all day and night – it is turned off at night to bring the conditions closer to natural ones.
But it is not necessary to keep the chickens locked up all through the winter, as this can have a bad effect not only on the well-being of the chickens, but also on their performance. Chickens can be walked under the roof and in the area that is completely closed on all sides from the wind. This can be done even at sub-zero temperatures, but in the absence of strong gusts of wind.
Summer chicken coop
The summer chicken coop is not as capital construction as its winter version. The main time for the chickens to stay in it will be the period from spring to autumn. If the owner does not plan to keep chickens in the winter, then this option will be ideal for him. The chicken housing has the following components: the barn itself, a fenced area for walking, nests, a perch, as well as feeders and drinkers.
The design of a summer house for chickens can be the most diverse, but, most importantly, the walking area should not be located in dampness and shade. The ideal location would be a plot under the trees in partial shade. It is possible to make a low chicken coop or make it raised, it all depends on the number of chickens and the desire of the owner.
For those who have a large number of chickens on the farm, modern chicken coops made of sandwich panels are offered. They can be of different sizes and shapes, and are built quite quickly. Maintenance of such a chicken coop is minimized, since the material does not rot and corrode.
If it is not possible to make a chicken coop with your own hands, then you can buy it disassembled and mount it on the site. Of course, the cost of such a house for chickens will be many times more expensive compared to self-production, but the aesthetic side and ease of use remain at their best.
Building a chicken coop with your own hands
If, nevertheless, it is decided to make a chicken coop for your own livestock of chickens with your own hands, then you need to learn about the technology of this process. For a large number of chickens, in our case 100 heads, you need a room that will correspond to the number in size. To keep such a number of chickens, it is necessary to equip a capital chicken coop with an area of at least 16 square meters. Moreover, the winter chicken coop can be smaller, but in any case, not less than 16 square meters. meters. This is so because in winter the chickens huddle together and bask next to each other. In summer, in hot weather, more space is needed, as the chickens disperse and they need free space.
Foundation installation
Like any capital structure, a chicken shed must necessarily have a foundation, the design of which depends on the configuration and size of the chicken coop and can be pile, columnar or tape.
The first type of base for a chicken coop is the most time-consuming to build. It is used when the bearing capacity of the soil is too low. To install piles, it is necessary to rent heavy equipment and put them strictly vertically. After installation, they are tied with a grillage, which performs the function of connecting all the elements. It can be metal, reinforced concrete or wood.
If the chicken coop is installed on a frame, then a columnar foundation for it will be an excellent solution. A project is created in advance, which indicates the location of each pillar. Pillars can be reinforced concrete, brick or wooden.
A strip foundation is suitable for a brick chicken coop. It will help the load to be evenly distributed around the entire perimeter of the building. According to the scheme, it is necessary to prepare a trench about 50 cm deep, level its bottom and sprinkle it with sand. After that, a formwork is installed in the prepared trench, and a reinforcing cage is installed in it, which is welded in advance. Concrete is poured into the trench and waiting for it to get stronger.
Execution of the walls
Regarding the installation of walls for the poultry house, you can talk for a long time, since they are made from a wide variety of materials that the master has available. The simplest option would be wood, from which you can quickly build a structure. In addition, the chicken coop will turn out to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The only drawback of such walls is fragility. But it can also be minimized if the wood is pre-treated with special protective compounds.
The most convenient option is a chicken coop made of timber. Only coniferous wood is used, but of the correct moisture content. The beam should not be completely dry, as it will dry out even more and deform, resulting in cracks.
An interesting option is a shield chicken coop, the walls of which are made of OSB sheets or plank-type shields. Such a building is mounted quickly and serves for a long time.
Another option for chicken coop walls is blocks. They can be made of aerated concrete, shell rock, brick or foam concrete. Such chicken coops have good thermal insulation, which allows them to be used even as a winter option.
Other materials are also used to make a barn for a hundred chickens. For example, it is clay that has been used since ancient times. And now there are such owners who make a chicken coop from it. To do this, layer by layer of the wall is laid on the prepared wooden frame.
A modern way of building for chickens can be called a chicken coop made of sandwich panels, which inside have a layer of insulation that allows you to keep all the heat inside the room.
Execution of the floor and roof in the poultry house
To create comfortable conditions, a wooden floor is created, which rises several centimeters above the ground. It is considered the warmest, therefore it is used for the poultry house.
To install the floor of the chicken coop, the logs are first laid, and the floorboard is already laid on them. The connection is made with nails. From above, the floor can be sprinkled with sawdust or hay, so that the chickens are as comfortable as possible.
To reproduce the roof of the chicken coop, it should be clarified what type of roof will be used: gable or single-slope. Flat roofs are not used, as the outflow of water from them is difficult. For a barn for 100 or 1000 chickens, a gable design is best suited. In this case, the angle between its slopes is at least 40 degrees. The roof is supported on the Mauerlat and on the run, the rafters must be cut into the corresponding truss elements.
Next, the roof lathing is carried out, on which a vapor barrier is attached, which excludes the occurrence of condensate and moistening of the insulation. After that comes the laying of insulation with a waterproofing layer. Next, the roofing material for the chicken coop is laid. It can be a metal tile, slate, roofing material or other type of roofing.
Doors and interior arrangement of the chicken coop
The front door of the chicken coop must match the height of the owner, so that you can easily enter inside, and be completed according to the project. The canvas is attached so that it opens inward to control the birds at the entrance. A lock is required to prevent intruders from entering.
A vestibule must be provided in the chicken coop so that in winter it does not let the cold into the room at the entrance. Its construction is reflected at the drawing stage.
When the outside of the chicken coop is completed, you can proceed to its internal filling. First of all, a hole is made in the wall through which the chickens go outside. It is additionally supplied with a ladder so that the chicken can climb up and exit calmly.
It is very convenient for a livestock of 100 hens to make an automatic door, which will open at certain periods to ensure that the hens go outside. At the same time, the feeder can be automated.
For laying hens, nests are provided inside the chicken coop, where they can rest and hatch eggs. It is very convenient to bring a tray to each nest, along which the nest can roll to a certain place for collection. The following video provides practical advice on setting up a chicken coop.
Walking installation
In order for the chickens not to scatter around the yard, it is necessary to install a chicken coop with a paddock fenced with a net. Its size is calculated depending on the number of livestock. The paddock may or may not have a roof at all. A chain-link mesh or a fence is used as a fence. The fence is built along the perimeter and, if necessary, from above. The paddock should also have a door for the owner, so that it is possible to clean the territory.
Conclusion
Building a capital chicken coop for 100 chickens is a complex process that has a lot of nuances. If you take them into account in construction, you will get the most convenient house for keeping chickens, in which there will be everything you need. This article gives general advice on the construction of such a structure, so before starting work it will be useful to read it so that the question “How to build a chicken coop?” was not that difficult.