How to equip a chicken coop 

Many summer residents and owners of private houses have chickens on their farms. The content of these unpretentious birds allows you to get a fresh egg and meat. To keep chickens, the owners build a small barn, and this is limited. But with this approach, good results are not achieved. If the arrangement of the chicken coop inside is poorly done, then even the most productive breed of chickens will not work out to get a quick increase and good egg production.

The arrangement of the chicken coop begins with the layout of the space

It is not necessary to build a barn for chickens in the country if there are already outbuildings. Any room is suitable for a chicken coop, most importantly, it must be properly equipped. The layout of the poultry house begins with determining the number of chickens. Allowed for 1 m² free area contain a maximum of 2-3 birds. And then, their number still depends on the breed, since individuals differ in size and habits. When equipping a poultry house, you must immediately decide what time of the year the chickens will be kept. For summer poultry rearing, an ordinary, uninsulated barn is suitable. With year-round keeping of chickens, the thermal insulation of the entire room is performed.

During the planning of the chicken coop space, free space is allocated for walking. Chickens cannot live only in a barn, and they must walk. The paddock is made of a metal mesh stretched over poles. Moreover, its area should be approximately 1,5 times larger than the shed itself. The height of the paddock is about 2 m. From above, the aviary is covered with a net so that predators do not penetrate the chickens. It is desirable to cover part of the paddock with a roof. Here chickens will be able to hide from the sun and rain.

We do the internal arrangement of the poultry house

Now we will try to provide a detailed description, as well as a photo of the arrangement inside the chicken coop with our own hands, and we will start with the very design of the barn.

What to make the walls of the house

Build a barn for chickens from any material. You can use brick, blocks or stone, but such a heavy building will require a strip foundation to be poured. Easier, cheaper and warmer chicken coop walls are made of wood. Such a chicken shed will be very light, and it can be installed on a columnar foundation.

For the construction of a wooden chicken coop, a frame is knocked down from a bar, after which it is sheathed with wooden clapboard, chipboard or plywood. If the house is designed for year-round keeping of chickens, the walls must be insulated. Mineral wool, clay with straw or polystyrene are suitable as thermal insulation for the chicken coop.

Properly made walls of the chicken coop should be with windows. Their size is calculated in relation to the floor approximately 1:10. It is important to carefully caulk all the cracks around the window openings of the chicken coop to avoid drafts.

When the chicken coop is fully completed, the walls are treated with a solution of lime. This will ensure the safety of the wood, plus good disinfection.

Arrangement of the poultry house floor

How to do it right, better, and from what to make the floor in the chicken coop, the owner decides. The main thing is that it should be warm. In general, if a chicken shed is built on a strip foundation, then the floor is usually made of earth, clay or concrete, while they do not forget to lay roofing material waterproofing and thermal insulation under the top screed. During the frame construction of a wooden chicken coop, the floor is knocked down from boards. For the device of such a coating, first a subfloor is knocked down from any board. Gravel is poured from above to insulate the height of the lag. The finished floor of the poultry house is laid from edged boards.

The floors made in the poultry house are not the end of the arrangement of this part of the barn. Now the chickens need to fill the litter. First, the floor of the chicken coop is lightly crushed with lime, and then sawdust or sand is poured on top of 5 cm. Hay or straw can be used for chicken bedding, but they get wet quickly and need to be replaced every two days. In winter, peat is added to the bedding for insulation, as a result of which its thickness increases.

Even during the construction of the walls, it is advisable to equip the chicken coop near the floor with an opening hatch. Through this window it will be convenient to throw out dirty bedding from the house.

Proper placement of perches inside the house

When arranging the house from the inside, it is important to make comfortable perches, because chickens spend most of the day on them. Poles are made from a bar with a section of 4×7 or 5×6 cm. Perches should be comfortable for chickens. Too thick or thin poles the bird will not be able to clasp with its paws, and this will cause its instability. Even thin perches can sag under the weight of chickens if they all pile up on it at once.

In the manufacture of poles for chickens, the timber is processed with a planer to give it a rounded shape. Next, the blanks are polished with sandpaper. Finished perches should be smooth, without sharp protrusions and burrs.

When we equip perches in the poultry house, we always choose their optimal location. The poles can be fixed horizontally or vertically in the form of a ladder, and the appearance of the structure has nothing to do with it. The first type of location is considered the most convenient for chickens, but such a perch takes up a lot of space in the chicken coop. The second type of arrangement is chosen for very small poultry houses. The vertical perch saves space inside the coop, but the birds on it feel uncomfortable.

The equipment of perches in the poultry house requires the correct determination of their length. About 30 cm of free space is allocated to the poles for each chicken. Further, the length of perches is determined by the number of birds. The poles are fixed no closer than 50 cm from the floor. With a horizontal perch for chickens, the first pole is removed from the wall by 25 cm, the rest are fixed in 35 cm increments.

Installation of nests for chickens

During the installation of nests, they try to choose a secluded dark place without drafts inside the chicken coop. In order for the chicken to feel confident and rush calmly, the design must be stable. It is important that the nests are spacious. To do this, they are made 40 cm deep. The width and height of the nest is at least 30 cm. Bedding made of straw or sawdust must be poured inside. You can use hay.

Chicken nests are usually made of wood. You can make them from boards or knock down a frame from a beam, then sheathe it with plywood. Ready-made nests will be obtained from any container or box of the appropriate size. It is also worth providing a small ladder in the form of a ladder. It is installed to each nest so that the chicken can freely enter and exit.

As for quantity, one nest is usually enough for four layers. Although ideally, for example, for 20 chickens it is desirable to provide 10 places for laying eggs.

Feeders and drinkers for chickens

Inside the equipped poultry house, it is also important to properly provide feeders and drinkers. Try to pay attention to the habits of chickens in the summer. Birds are constantly digging the ground in search of food. So it’s better to pour grain on them just on the floor. Chickens will peck food even from under the litter.

In winter, of course, a lot of food will be lost in a large thickness of the litter, and over time it will begin to rot. For this period, the chicken shed should be equipped with feeders. They are bought or made independently. Shop feeders with a mesh division on top have proven themselves to be excellent. The chicken only crawls with its head to the stern, and is not able to pull it out from there. With their own hands, poultry farmers make feeders for chickens from improvised materials. Not bad for these purposes are PVC sewer pipes with elbows. They are fixed in several pieces one next to the wall. An example of such a feeder is shown in the photo.

When arranging a chicken coop inside with your own hands, it is important to provide drinking bowls. Usually poultry farmers put the chickens in an old pot or other similar container. You can do this, but the water will have to be changed often. The disadvantage of such a drinker is the ingress of litter. Water quickly becomes polluted, after which it becomes undrinkable.

It is best to install store-bought drinkers or made from plastic bottles inside the chicken coop. As in the case of the feeder, the chicken’s head only reaches the water. The probability of dropping litter inside the drinker is minimal.

Organization of a bathing place inside the poultry house

Carrying out the internal arrangement of the chicken coop, you need to take into account that birds love to swim very much. Wallowing in the dust, chickens clean their feathers. You can organize such baths inside the house in winter. To do this, put a shallow trough or other free container, half filled with wood ash. Bathing is not just a whim of a bird. The body of the chicken is bitten by lice and other parasites. Wallowing in the ashes, the bird cleans not only its feathers, but also gets rid of uninvited guests.

Mesh paddock for poultry near the chicken coop

Good walking is important not only for chickens, but also for the owner himself. A walking bird in the yard will peck at everything that grows in the garden. To make a simple fence, it is enough to drive 4–6 racks of steel pipe near the chicken coop, after which the sides and top are covered with a metal mesh. They attach a paddock from the side of the entrance doors of the chicken coop. Here they also attach a canopy to shelter from the rain.

poultry house ventilation

Ventilation is needed for air exchange inside the chicken coop. You can use normal ventilation, but in winter, the open doors of the house are very cool. It is optimal to make a supply and exhaust system for a home chicken coop out of two plastic pipes. Air ducts lead through the roof of the poultry house, as shown in the diagram. The exhaust pipe is fixed under the ceiling, leading it above the roof ridge. The supply air duct is lowered to the floor of the chicken coop, leaving a gap of 20–30 cm. The pipe protrudes a maximum of 40 cm above the roof of the poultry house.

Artificial and natural lighting of the poultry house

During the day, the chicken coop is illuminated by natural light through the windows. However, daylight hours are not enough for laying hens, and broilers, in general, eat even at night. The installation of artificial lighting inside the house will help to ensure comfort for the chickens. For these purposes, fluorescent lamps are ideal, giving a white glow. In winter, you can additionally screw in powerful red lamps. They will help raise the air temperature inside the chicken coop to a positive mark.

The video tells about the internal arrangement of the poultry house:

Results

So, we looked at how to equip a chicken coop at home. If you follow these simple rules, you will be able to grow healthy chickens that will provide your family with fresh eggs.