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Many owners of country houses, as well as those people who live in rural areas, prefer to make a living by raising valuable breeds of chickens, such as broilers. This option for earning money is really not bad, because meat and chicken eggs are products that are always necessary in any home and in any kitchen. Thanks to such work, you will be able to provide for your family not only financially, but also with the products that you grow at home. However, to be frank, this type of work comes with its challenges that you will face. The first difficulty you may encounter is that you will need to decide on the breed of chickens. The second of these difficulties may be the construction of a chicken coop. Why is this difficult? Because this room is made primarily for living beings, and in order for them to grow and develop normally, it is necessary to properly equip their home.
Most people prefer to raise no more than 50 chickens, so you need to build a chicken coop that can easily accommodate this number of chickens. However, how to build a chicken coop with your own hands for 50 chickens? First, you need to decide on the type of chicken coop, whether it will be a small but compact chicken coop or a chicken coop with wide and spacious rooms.Although this article will not provide drawings that will help you build a chicken coop, you can, however, read tips that will help you complete the job efficiently and in compliance with all the necessary requirements.
Competent calculation of chicken coop design
In order to obtain eggs and meat in the chicken coop, it is necessary to create favorable conditions conducive to this process. A high-quality and well-made chicken coop plays an important role in this. Such a chicken coop serves as a shelter for them from cold winters, hot summer days, predatory animals, as well as a dining room and home at the same time. When building a chicken coop, you should think through all these points.
In order to make a chicken coop with your own hands, you need to follow simple instructions. Remember that a proper chicken coop includes not only a place to sleep and feed, but also an area where the chickens can roam. A significant disadvantage of having so many chickens in their home is the unpleasant odor that comes from the excrement of these birds. Therefore, you need to decide in advance on the place to build the chicken coop.
Decide on the sizes in advance. When planning a place for a chicken coop, keep in mind that 5-7 chickens require an area of at least one square meter. If you're still determined to build chicken coop for 50 chickens, then the area that you need to allocate for it will be 10 square meters. For example, a chicken coop may have dimensions of 4 m by 2.5 m.However, if you plan to raise individuals of several breeds, for example, broilers, then it is worth considering that for these birds one square meter per 5-7 chickens may not be enough.
In the photo below you can see the design of a chicken coop for 50 chickens.
With the variety of building materials available, you may be wondering which ones you need to build your own chicken coop. Another very important point is that the materials should not be very expensive, because a chicken coop deserves less attention than structures such as a house or garage. Be attentive to what you read below and then you will be able to save a lot of money on building a chicken coop. Because every beginner in this business would like to build a chicken coop without investing a lot of money.
Materials
First of all, you should take time to decide on the type of materials from which the walls will be built. For example, you can use the following materials:
- brick;
- cinder blocks
- wood (timbers);
- adobe;
Such materials are easy to buy at an affordable price, however, the materials listed above are not the only ones, because there are others that differ in price, durability, strength, frost resistance and much more. Many owners of summer cottages prefer to build a chicken coop with bricks, however, this building material has one significant drawback - it is not able to retain heat. Due to this phenomenon, the chicken coop will freeze during the winter, which can lead to the birds getting sick and dying. This is why a smart solution would be to make the coop out of wood, such as logs or other sustainable material.
Regardless of what material you choose to build the walls of the chicken coop, you will need additional components, without which the construction cannot be fully completed. These are materials such as:
- Sand.
- Gravel.
- Fittings.
- Boards, plywood.
- Insulation. Expanded clay.
- Wooden beams.
- Iron mesh.
- Sawdust.
- Roofing materials.
In addition to the materials listed above, you need to stock up on the necessary tools, such as a level, trowel, tape measure, hammer, nails, and so on. And also remember that you need to make a diagram according to which the work will be carried out, in this way you can prevent redoing the work. And the main thing is that you can make a chicken coop in the shortest possible time.
Step-by-step instruction
- According to a pre-made drawing, you need to make markings. To do this, you need to drive pegs or reinforcement at each of the corners of the building. Then you need to stretch the fishing line around the entire perimeter and check the diagonals; this work is done using a tape measure. After you have double-checked the markings and made sure that the diagonals and corners are even, you need to drive the pegs into the ground one by one, one meter apart from each other. These will be the future centers of the foundation pillars.
- The next stage will be digging holes half a meter wide by half a meter and the same depth half a meter. Holes must be dug in the places where the pegs were installed. Be careful to maintain distance between the holes and also ensure that the holes are parallel to each other.
- At the bottom of the pits it is necessary to make a cushion by pouring sand. After this, it is necessary to make a solution from cement, crushed stone, water and sand. The holes need to be filled to ground level.After 2-3 days have passed and the mortar has dried, it is necessary to build the columns to a height of 20-30 cm using bricks or other building materials. When building the columns, use a level, this way you can avoid unevenness.
- Cover the foundation with roofing felt. If the roofing material is thin, then fold it in half. The next step will be the installation of the first crown. In order for the material in the corner joints to be more durable, it is necessary to make cuts half the thickness of the timber.
- Installation of floor joists. A beam with a section of 150 by 100 mm is installed on the edge, while maintaining a distance of one meter. For convenience in future use and cleaning the floor, the beams can be installed at an angle. Next, you need to lay a subfloor made of boards on the fixed logs. You need to fill these boards with a waterproofing layer of film and fill them with bars with a section of 100 by 100 mm, maintaining a distance of 70-80 mm. Later, the gaps between the beams must be sealed with insulation, and a finished wooden floor must be placed on top.
- The walls of this type of chicken coop are laid using the tongue-and-groove method. All joints must be properly packed with flax or other insulation. Remember that the minimum height of the walls should be 190 cm. And after the construction of the walls is completed, decorate the walls with lime, which will serve as an antiseptic. And after all the work listed above has been completed, you can begin insulation.
- To make the attic, use beams and boards. After the ceiling is sewn up, it needs to be insulated; this work can be done using expanded clay. It is best to make a gable roof for a chicken coop, so you will have additional space for food and other supplies.
- Think carefully about what kind of fencing you want to make for the chickens, so that it does not take up a lot of space with its dimensions, and is convenient for walking and feeding the chickens. If you raise broiler chickens, then remember that they need constant walking. A large chicken coop will be convenient not only for the chickens, but also for the owners themselves, since they can easily turn around in it.
Chicken coop for 50 chickens photo:
As for the interior of the chicken coop, here you can do whatever is most convenient for you, however, remember that you must ensure that the broilers have such devices as feeders, nests, drinkers and small perches where they can spend the night. Place perches on different walls and levels to prevent birds from dropping droppings on each other. Nests can be made from ordinary boxes lined with hay inside. For 50 chickens, only 10-15 nests will be enough. In addition, not all chickens will lay eggs, because the chicken coop will contain roosters that are raised exclusively for meat.
Conclusion
A do-it-yourself chicken coop for 50 chickens is quite simple. The main thing is to decide on the materials from which it will be built. After all, the materials must be not only cheap, but also reliable, and also suitable for the birds that will live in it. We are confident that if you comply with all the requirements listed above, you will be able to make this building as quickly, efficiently and, most importantly, as comfortable for its residents as possible. Now you just need to decide on the breed of birds, buy food and start making money from it. If you properly care for these animals, you will have a good income, which is what we wish for you.
