Many beginning farmers, or people who wish to raise chickens at home, sooner or later come to the question: “how to make a chicken coop your own hands.” The fact that the content of poultry without proper facilities is impossible.
Such animals need to provide special housing with stable access to food and water, and optimal temperature. Fortunately, to build a chicken coop for chickens can with your hands.
The main thing when building is to find the appropriate schematic and follow the instructions that are available for free use. You should also have basic construction skills, tools and set of materials.
All the design features of the upcoming construction directly depend on the number of birds that will live in it. For example, if you want to build a chicken coop for 5 chickens with their hands, the amount of materials used and the structure dimensions will vary from premises to 20 or more individuals. Before starting work it is important to consider the advice of experienced professionals. This will avoid possible difficulties in the future.
The main requirements for the arrangement of the henhouse
To successfully complete the construction of the house, you need to pay attention to a number of basic requirements and standards that must be met for the construction.
Otherwise, it will not be able to provide favorable conditions for keeping of domestic fowl, egg production and hatchability of young animals significantly reduced, and the expected income to fall several times, making the contents loss
- To avoid the extermination of chickens of different small and large predators that love chicken, it is important to take responsibility for the security of the inhabitants of the buildings. To do this, you should close all the cracks and strengthen the door and to cover the floor with boards or cement.
- You also need to take care of normal climatic regime. You should close all the cracks and open holes to solve the problem with drafts, which are often the cause of high mortality of birds. The most difficult and incurable diseases are explained by the intense wind.
- The question of insulation must be treated correctly. If you plan to keep chickens for the year and not during the “summer season”, should make the right heating system. You can cover the floor with sawdust, straw or peat. On the walls you can install the foam.
- The ventilation properties of the chicken coop should be appropriate. For the normal development of birds it is important to ensure a stable flow of clean air. Otherwise the birds will die like flies.
- You should also make sure of adequate lighting. In the house must present required amount of light, otherwise, egg production will drop significantly.
Before you begin to create a project, you need to consider a lot of details, view dozens of photos with diagrams and instructions.
How to make a project of a chicken coop
The first thing you need to determine the square footage that will host the building. It is important to pay attention not only to the coop, but the area for walking chickens. It is important to choose a kind of sublimity, but in any case it is impossible to put the design in the valley. This will lead to increased dampness and humidity.
Having defined the place you can start to calculate the upcoming of the building, no matter whether it’s winter or summer roost. For example, if we are talking about a chicken coop for 5 chickens, they will have enough of 3 square meters, and the dimensions of the room can be 1500х2000 mm. If you are going to build winter chicken coop with your own hands 20 chickens, the area of the structure can reach 10 square meters.
It is necessary to observe the optimum size to provide the bird enough space for easy movement. We must not forget about one feature – the more the chickens are moving, the higher their egg production.
Square footage for walking is also determined by the number of individuals who will live in the house. For example, five birds enough 7 square meters of space. Very well, if the site is protected from exposure to open winds and is located on the South side of the building. Over the aviary, you can install a canopy which will serve as a reliable protection from the hot sun or intense precipitation in the form of rain.
Tips on arrangement of the henhouse with your own hands
- If the land remains relatively flat, it would be nice to arrange a kind of dais, poured a few layers of sand and medium gravel fraction. To protect the area from many small rodents, it is possible to strew one layer of clay mixed with broken glass.
- Care must be taken about the optimal lighting conditions. For normal daylight is enough to put a glass window on the Southeast side of the structure, since from this side the sun shines most of the day.
- The ceiling height should not exceed 2-2,2 meters. This is enough for full ventilation and free flow of fresh air.
- In the summer, nests for eggs set in the outside of the building, and the walls are cut with appropriate openings for the entrance of birds. The roof extensions have to do removable. In this case, you will be able to get fresh eggs without having to go inside the house.
The size of nests for egg laying should be at least 40 x 40 inches.
Construction of Foundation for a chicken coop
If we are talking about the construction of frame buildings, the use of concrete foundations will be optional. Enough to occupy under the design of artificial litter in the form of a mixture of sand, gravel and clay.
In this case it is important to raise the coop at least 30 centimetres from ground level and the window space close to chicken wire mesh-netting. Using this technology it will be possible to ensure protection of the house from all sorts of rodents and other small predators. Under the lower frame the frame should be made to cover the clay layer mixed with broken glass. The top is filled with fine gravel, and at the level above is a mound of fine clay, which is not much like rodents.
In the construction of concrete or brick construction the use of durable and reliable Foundation – a prerequisite. As a basis it is possible to use any of the variety of foundations including strip, monolithic or columnar.
If you prefer columnar structures under them it is necessary to make the aforementioned mound of mixtures of sand, gravel and clay with glass. Instead of a grid you can use sheet metal with the deepening of 30-40 centimeters in the ground.
For wooden constructions suitable for all types of Foundation, but when building from wood, it is important to take care of the normal waterproofing. As a waterproofing material you can use roofing felt.
Features floor
- If the house is on a low strip Foundation, the floor covered with clay or earth. The first type involves the use of a mixture of fat clay and finely notched straw. In the process laid several layers of mortar, which is thoroughly compacted and dries out.
- Also when constructing the floor you can use a concrete screed or design boards. It is important that the floor remained smooth and did not have any significant deformations.
- To ensure perfect waterproofing of the floor is covered with a layer of tar paper with creases on wall 15-20 cm.
- If you are going to build winter chicken coop, you will need to create an effective top coat and the floor is insulated with mineral wool or Styrofoam.
- On top of the waterproofing layer overlaps with a temporary layer of sand, sawdust, straw or hay. Straw and hay should be used only in the absence of sand and sawdust. The fact that these materials are very long and poorly dry, accumulating moisture. As a result, they can start to rot or serve as a medium for development of various fungi and microorganisms, which is extremely dangerous for poultry. Very often, bacteria cause mass mortality of the offspring.
- If you have no other insulation except straw, it is necessary to lay a thin layer of regularly changing the material at least 3-4 times a week.
The arrangement of the coop inside with his hands – photo
Walls should be warm. The best material for finishing works inside is wood. You can use timber or quality of timber. Often farmers use frame construction, which used wooden beams.
In the latter case, the walls are covered with clapboard, planed boards or plywood, with a diameter of 10 mm. Between the walls is laid insulating material, in which you can use foam or mineral wool.
Before the external cladding works construction process wind-proof and vapor-proof material. Inside the coop, too, lay a thick vapor barrier wrap and top set wooden battens.
More reliable material for building walls is the stone or brick. But due to bad insulation and the ability to absorb moisture do not use them. In winter the hen house of bricks will have to equip a quality heating system that will increase costs.
Construction of ceiling and roof
In the construction of the chicken coop with your own hands, it is important to take responsibility for the arrangement of the roof. A reliable solution will be the gable roof, which adds volume to the attic space.
If we talk about the small building, then the installation of the roof it is possible to dispense with the use of attic floor, and insulation material fixed directly under the roof. The availability of free space under the roof will positively affect the inflow of fresh air into the coop.
If for roofing used slate, decking or metal, the sheets are installed directly on a truss system.
If you are going to equip the roof of the additional niche for storage of sawdust or feed, then the side walls it is important to set beams, and from the side of the building to fix plywood sheets.
Fortunately, the available large variety of photo and video materials, which will help to equip reliable and quality roof for the prolonged use of a chicken coop at any time of the year.
Ventilation and arrangement of the room inside
When the content of poultry it is important to ensure normal ventilation conditions. The lack of adequate ventilation will affect the life cycle of animals and vyvodyaschy offspring. There should be a steady flow of fresh air in the otherwise musty smell would entail dire consequences. At elevated temperatures in the hot summer time ventilation is a must.
Ventilation can be done natural. It is enough to drill some holes in the corners of the structure. Holes to hang gate valve for easy adjustment of the intensity of the air.
Such ventilation is the most simple and effective. It ensures a stable air circulation due to the circulation of fresh air masses.
You can equip and forced ventilation. It is set in the same wayas natural, but instead of holes you can use an electric fan that serves as hood.
An important stage of work inside the coop is adequate lighting. As already mentioned, a day can illuminate the room with natural light, and night to use extra lamps.
When performing any work on the construction and arrangement of the chicken coop it is important to carefully follow the instructions and watch instructional photos, videos and other collateral material. In this case, you will be able to avoid various difficulties in the process.
