How to choose a chicken coop

If you decide to start laying hens, you will definitely have to build a chicken coop. Its dimensions will depend on the number of heads. However, calculating the size of the house is not the whole story. To get a good result, you need to take care of walking, make nests, perches, install feeders and drinkers, and also learn how to properly feed the bird. Experienced poultry farmers can boast of different chicken coops, and we will now try to consider the most interesting designs.

Everything you need to know about chicken coops

Most experienced farmers do not recommend choosing poultry house designs from the Internet or another source and copying them completely. Building a chicken coop is a personal matter. The characteristics of the poultry house, as well as the choice of a place for it in the yard, depend on the number of chickens, the owner’s budget, landscape features of the site, design, etc. You can take someone’s favorite poultry house project as a standard, but it will have to be finalized to suit your needs.

For those who do not know how to choose the best chicken coop project and do not know how to develop it on their own, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the general recommendations:

• A poultry house is not just a barn in which chickens have to spend the night. Inside the room, a microclimate is created that is optimal for the life of the bird. The chicken coop should always be dry, light, warm in winter and cool in summer. This is achieved by insulating all elements of the house, arranging ventilation and artificial lighting. The chicken coop must reliably protect the bird from the encroachments of predatory animals.
• The size of the poultry house is calculated by the number of hens. For an overnight stay, one bird needs about 35 cm of free space on the perch, and three laying hens are given at least 1 m for walking² free area. In addition, a section of a shed for chickens is provided, where nests, feeders and drinkers will be located.
• The chicken coop, equipped according to all the rules, consists of two parts: a barn and a paddock. We have already dealt with the premises, but the second part is an aviary or paddock. You can call the paddock in different ways, but its design is the same. The open-air cage for hens represents the site fenced with a metal grid. He is always attached to the poultry house from the side of the manhole. In the fence, chickens walk all day in the summer. The size of the pen is equal to the area of ​​​​the chicken coop, but it is better to double it.
• The design of the poultry house depends on the preferences and financial capabilities of the owner. You can build a traditional rural barn and hide it further behind the house or in the garden. If desired, a designer chicken coop is erected. The photo shows an example of a small egg-shaped poultry house.

  

• The height of the chicken coop depends on its dimensions and the number of livestock. But any barn for chickens is not made below 1 m. For example, a mini-house for 5 chickens is built with a size of 1×2 m or 1,5×1,5 m. The optimal height for this design is 1–1,5 m. A large barn for 20 heads is erected with a size of 3×6 m. Accordingly, the height of the house increases to 2 m.
• With any design, even a mini chicken coop must have a door, and insulated. Just don’t confuse it with a hole. A person needs a door to maintain the chicken coop. Laz equip on the wall, which adjoins the aviary. It serves as the entrance to the chicken shed.
• The floor of the poultry house is made warm so that the layers feel comfortable in winter. A heater is placed under the concrete screed in the barn, and a board is laid on top. The budget floor of the poultry house is obtained from clay with straw. For any floor covering, flooring is used. In summer, it is easier to scatter dried grass or straw on the floor of the barn. However, such flooring often has to be changed, so in winter, poultry farmers prefer to use sawdust.
• Inside any chicken coop you need to install a perch. Chickens sleep only on it at night. The poles are made of timber or round timber 50–60 mm thick. It is important to grind the blanks well so that the birds do not drive a splinter into their paws. If there is a lot of space inside the chicken coop, the perch poles are set horizontally. In mini chicken coops, vertically stepped perches are attached. In any case, 35 cm of free space is allocated per chicken. The same distance is maintained between the poles. The first flooring element rises 40-50 cm from the floor of the house. The outermost pole is removed from the wall by 25 cm. Excellent poles for the house will be obtained from new cuttings for shovels.
• Nests in the house are equipped with at least 30 cm raised from the floor. They are made from boxes, plywood, plastic buckets and other improvised materials. The hens will not all lay at the same time, so 1-2 nests are made for five layers. To prevent eggs from breaking, use soft bedding. The bottom in the nest is covered with sawdust, hay or straw. When soiled, the bedding must be changed.

  

• Now let’s talk more about walking for chickens. The photo shows a mini chicken coop. In such a house, five chickens are usually kept. Economical mini poultry houses are made two-story. From above they equip a house for laying hens, and under it a paddock, fenced with a net. The compact design of the house takes up little space on the site, and if necessary, it can be moved.

  

• Near large sheds, a mesh fence for chickens is attached. The easiest option is to dig up racks of metal pipes and stretch the mesh. However, the manufacture of an aviary must be approached wisely. Chickens have many enemies. In addition to dogs and cats, weasels and ferrets pose a great danger to birds. Only a fine-mesh metal mesh can protect laying hens. Moreover, it must be dug along the perimeter of the fence to a depth of at least 50 cm.

  

• From above, the fence for chickens is also covered with a net, as there is a danger of birds of prey attacking young animals. In addition, laying hens fly well and can leave the enclosure without hindrance. Part of the roof of the fence is covered with a waterproof roof. Under a canopy, chickens will hide from the sun and rain. The aviary must be equipped with doors. Inside put additional feeders and drinkers.

Here’s everything you need to know about chicken coops. Guided by these recommendations, you can begin to develop your own poultry house project.

Overview of beautiful poultry houses

When you have already decided on the characteristics of your chicken coop, you can see the original design ideas in the photo. The presented beautiful poultry houses will bring you inspiration for the construction of the design you like, but according to your own project. Usually the most beautiful chicken coop is small. It is designed for keeping five chickens. Let’s look at some interesting ideas:

• A two-story wooden house is designed for keeping 3-5 layers. The top floor of the poultry house is given over to housing. Here the hens sleep and lay their eggs. There is a mesh paddock under the house. A wooden ladder made of boards with nailed lintels connects the two floors. A feature of the aviary is the absence of a bottom. Chickens get access to fresh grass. As it is eaten, the house is transferred to another place.

  

• The original idea of ​​a beautiful chicken coop is presented in the form of a greenhouse. In principle, it turns out an economical poultry house. An arched frame is made from boards, plastic pipes and plywood. In the spring it can be covered with foil and used as a greenhouse. In the summer, a birdhouse is set up inside. At the same time, part of the frame is covered with polycarbonate, and a mesh is stretched over the paddock.

  

• This poultry house project is designed for keeping chickens in the summer. The basis is a metal frame. The lower tier is traditionally reserved for an aviary. The second floor is given over to the house. There is also a third tier, but chickens are not allowed to go there. This floor was formed by two roofs. The top roof protects the ceiling of the house from the sun. The poultry house is always in the shade and it maintains a favorable temperature for chickens even in hot summers.

  

• An unusual poultry house is presented in the Spanish style. Capital building is made on the foundation. The walls of the chicken coop are plastered on top. For beauty, they can even be painted. In such a house, laying hens will live in the winter. Thick walls, insulated floor and ceiling will keep the birds from freezing.

  

• I would like to complete the review of chicken coops with the most economical option. Such a mini-house can be made from any remnants of building materials. The frame is knocked down from wooden scraps. Covered with mesh on top. The triangular house is made of board. For its maintenance, an opening door is installed.

There are many options for designing chicken coops. However, in addition to bringing beauty, it is worth thinking about automating the process of caring for a bird.

Making your own smart poultry house

Many have heard about smart homes, where everything is controlled by automation. Why not use this technology for a home chicken coop. And for this you do not have to buy expensive electronics. You just need to rummage through old things and spare parts, where you can find something useful.

Regular feeders need to be filled with food daily, or even three times a day. This binds the owner to the house, preventing him from leaving for a long time. Feeders made of PVC sewer pipes with a diameter of 100 mm will help to correct the situation. To do this, a knee and a half-knee are put on a meter pipe, after which they are fixed vertically inside the barn. From above, a large supply of feed is poured into the pipe. From below the feeder is closed by a curtain.

Each curtain has a pull. The opening of the feeder occurs six times a day for 15–20 minutes. For the mechanism, you can use a car wiper with an electric motor connected via a time relay.

The video shows the automatic feeder of the smart chicken coop:

The automatic drinker in the smart poultry house is made from a 30–50 liter galvanized container. Water is supplied through a hose into small cups as it decreases.

A smart chicken coop needs special nests. Their bottom is slanted towards the egg collector. As soon as the chicken was laid, the egg immediately rolled into the compartment, where the bird, with all its desire, would not get it.

Artificial lighting in a smart chicken coop is connected through a photo relay. At nightfall, the light will automatically turn on, and at dawn it will turn off. If you do not need the lighting to shine all night, a time relay is installed with the photocell.

An electric converter can be used as a house heater in winter. For its automatic operation, a temperature sensor is installed inside the barn. The thermostat will control the operation of the heater, turning it on and off at the set parameters.

With the help of an old smartphone, you can even make video surveillance in a smart chicken coop. It turns out a kind of webcam that allows you to watch everything that happens in the barn.

Even a chicken coop hole can be equipped with an automatic lift. For the mechanism, a motor from car wipers and a time relay was used.

A smart chicken coop allows the owner to leave the house for a whole week and even longer. The birds will always be full, and the eggs are intact.