DIY chicken coop + photo

Content

1 Layout and calculation of chicken coop dimensions
2 Choosing the type of foundation for the poultry house
3 What to make a poultry house floor from
4 We build the walls of the poultry house
5 Construction of the roof and ceiling of the poultry house
6 Poultry house ventilation
7 Making nests and perches for chickens

Owners of private yards try to make the most of their plot, so in addition to growing vegetables, they are engaged in poultry farming and livestock farming. The easiest way is to have chickens at home. There will always be fresh homemade eggs and meat. However, it will not be possible to keep birds in a yard or fence, since in winter they will simply freeze. This means they need to build suitable housing. Now we'll talk about how to build a chicken coop with your own hands, plan it correctly and arrange it inside.

Layout and calculation of chicken coop dimensions

They begin to plan the poultry house after they have precisely determined the number of chickens to keep. The diagram shows a version of a chicken coop with a compartment for chickens, but the room can be planned at your own discretion. It is important to immediately determine the size of the poultry house. So that the chicken can move freely, 1 m is allocated for two heads.² free space. However, this does not mean that if the owner decides to have four laying hens, then a poultry house with an area of 2 m will be enough for them².

Attention! When calculating the size of the poultry house, you need to take into account that part of the free space will be occupied by nests, feeders and drinkers.

Even if the owner decides to have 2–4 laying hens, the minimum area of the chicken coop should be 3 m². We only discussed the dimensions of the house, but the chickens still need to roam. In freedom, they develop, strengthen their muscles, which affects egg production. Chickens should not be allowed into the yard, as they will peck cabbage and other vegetables in the garden. The only way out is to build a fence near the chicken coop. The paddock is made of mesh, where 1–2 m are allocated for each head² free space.

Advice! In practice, a barn measuring 2x2 m is erected for ten chickens, and a fence is 2x7 m. Most often, a household contains about 20 laying hens, then the dimensions of the poultry house and paddock are doubled.

During construction DIY chicken coop The entrance doors of the barn and enclosure should be located on the south side. It is advisable that the poultry house be protected from the winds by other buildings or tree plantings. The mesh walkway is partially covered with lightweight roofing material. Under the roof, chickens will hide in the shade or from the rain.

The site for the construction of the poultry house is chosen on a hill so that rain or melt water does not become a hindrance for the chickens. Drainage is provided around the chicken coop. This could be an ordinary ditch that drains water into a ravine.

Now we will look at how to properly prepare a place for a poultry house. If the site is located on a plain, you will have to make a small artificial embankment. To do this, use any construction waste, stones or just crushed stone. The following layers are poured regardless of where the site is located - in a lowland or on a hill:

You will need a lot of crushed glass and clay. This mixture is spread about 10 cm thick over the entire area of the chicken coop. Thanks to the glass, small rodents will not enter the house.Where there will be a range, there is no need to mix glass into the clay, since the chickens can get to it.
The top layer is made of sand about 15 cm thick.

When the site is ready, you can begin building the foundation.

The video shows a winter poultry house with walking:

Choosing the type of foundation for the poultry house

The construction of a chicken coop begins with the construction of the foundation. Let's look at how to make the right choice of base:

For a small poultry house measuring 2x2 m, built from timber using frame technology, a concrete foundation does not need to be poured. The lightweight structure will be supported by an embankment made of clay, glass, crushed stone and sand. In this case, it is made at least 30 cm high. An example of a frame poultry house is shown in the photo. The chicken coop is installed with the lower frame on an artificial embankment. The gap under the house is sewn up with a mesh that will protect against the penetration of predators. The frame itself and the place under the chicken coop are covered with a small layer of expanded clay.
Under a large wooden chicken coop measuring 4x4 m, you need to build a columnar foundation. To do this, square holes 70 cm deep are dug every 1 m along the perimeter of the future poultry house. 10 cm of sand and crushed stone are poured onto the bottom, after which brick cabinets are laid out. All posts must protrude at least 20 cm from the ground and be at the same level. Brickwork is done using concrete mortar. A sheet of roofing material is laid on top of each cabinet for waterproofing, after which the main frame of the poultry house frame is knocked out of timber.
Stone chicken coops are very heavy. They are rarely built, but such a poultry house option still exists. This type of building is ideal for year-round keeping of chickens in cold regions. A strip foundation is poured under the stone chicken coop.To do this, dig a trench at least 70 cm deep, install formwork, lay a reinforcing frame, and then pour concrete mortar with crushed stone.

There is another type of reliable foundation for which screw piles are used. You can easily screw them into the ground yourself, but the high cost of piles is a luxury for a chicken coop.

What to make a poultry house floor from

Continuing to study chicken coop arrangement we need to touch on the correct arrangement of the floor. The bird stays here all day, and only sleeps on its perch at night.

Let's take a closer look at what and how you can make a warm and durable floor poultry house:

With frame technology When constructing a chicken coop, the floor is made of planks. If the poultry house will be used year-round, the flooring is made double, and insulation is laid between the skins.
In a chicken coop built on a strip foundation, the floor can be left earthen, but the chickens will rake it. An excellent option is clay mixed with straw. The mixture is spread in a thick layer over the entire area of the poultry house. After the mass hardens, a monolithic heated floor is obtained. The strongest material is a concrete screed. However, such a floor will be cold in winter. You will need to lay a thick flooring or knock down a finished floor from boards on top of the concrete.

In a poultry house built on a strip foundation, the floor of any material must be insulated from the ground. Roofing felt sheets are used as waterproofing. They are laid overlapping, wrapping the ends 20 cm onto the walls. The joints of the sheets are glued together with hot bitumen. When using the chicken coop year-round, the floor is additionally insulated with mineral wool or polystyrene foam.Thermal insulation is laid on top of the waterproofing, then it is covered with another layer of waterproofing, after which the floor of the poultry house is equipped.

Later, when the chicken coop is completely ready, the floor is covered with temporary flooring. For this it is better to use sand or sawdust. Fine straw or hay work well, but they will have to be changed frequently. Such flooring quickly gets wet, after which it begins to rot. Hay or straw is scattered on the floor of the poultry house in a thin layer, and after two days they are replaced. Sawdust is what chickens perceive best, and they should be given preference.

We build the walls of the poultry house

The technology for constructing walls depends on the structure of the chicken coop, that is, whether it is stone or wooden. Wooden walls will help to optimally retain heat inside the house. To do this, use a simple edged board, clapboard, plywood or OSB sheets.

We build wooden walls in the chicken coop using frame technology. To do this, we assemble the skeleton of a barn from a beam with a cross-section of 100x100 mm. First, we knock down the lower frame, attach the racks to it, which we connect on top with timber strapping.

The frame completely forms the skeleton of the future chicken coop, so you need to accurately maintain all dimensions. At this stage we provide openings for windows and doors. We cover the finished frame of the poultry house with a vapor barrier from the outside, after which we carry out the sheathing.

Inside the structure, there were cells between the frame posts. You need to lay insulation here, cover it with a vapor barrier, and now you can line the inside of the chicken coop.

For the construction of stone walls of a poultry house, red or sand-lime brick is best suited. But such a chicken coop will turn out to be very cold, and in winter it will require large expenses for heating. The stone walls of the poultry house will have to be insulated from the inside or outside. For these purposes, the same polystyrene foam or mineral wool will be used.

In rural areas, building material for a chicken coop can be made with your own hands. If you place the mixed clay and straw in rectangular molds, you get adobe. After drying in the sun, the blocks will be ready for laying out the walls. But such a chicken coop cannot be left in the rain, otherwise the clay will simply become limp. The adobe walls of the poultry house will definitely have to be sheathed on the outside with any kind of cladding, and they will also have to be insulated.

Whatever the walls of the chicken coop are made of, they should not let cold and dampness into the room. The inside of the poultry house must be whitewashed with lime. It will save the walls from the spread of fungus.

Construction of the roof and ceiling of the poultry house

There are two types of roofs installed on chicken coops:

The most effective is the gable design. Firstly, such a roof forms an attic space on the chicken coop, allowing you to store various equipment. The air space between the ceiling and the roof serves as additional insulation for the poultry house. Secondly, less precipitation accumulates on a gable roof, which reduces the likelihood of a leak. It is better to install such a structure on large poultry houses measuring 4x4 m. To make a gable roof from timber, triangular rafters are knocked down, after which they are attached to the top frame of the barn.
On small chicken coops there is no point in struggling with a complex roof. It is easier to build a single-slope structure here. The slope is made in the opposite direction from the entrance so that rainwater does not flow from the roof near the doors of the poultry house.

Any roofing material is suitable for the roof of a chicken coop. Most often, roofing felt or corrugated sheeting is used for poultry houses.In the past, asbestos-cement slate was popular, but the large weight of the roofing material requires reinforcement of the walls of the poultry house. The roof of the chicken coop must be insulated. To do this, mineral wool is placed between the rafters under the counter-lattice. Thermal insulation from wooden elements, as well as the roof, is covered with vapor and waterproofing.

Even though the roof of the chicken coop is insulated, the ceiling inside still needs to be lined. To do this, plywood or OSB is nailed to the floor beams from below. Foam plastic or mineral wool is placed on top of the skin, after which the top skin is nailed. In principle, it doesn’t need to be attached, but this option is suitable for a pitched roof of a chicken coop. The gable structure of the poultry house forms an attic space, and the upper cladding will act as a floor, protecting the insulation from damage.

Poultry house ventilation

Any outbuilding for keeping poultry or animals is equipped with ventilation. In a home chicken coop, two air ducts are usually installed. They are made from a plastic pipe with a diameter of 100 mm or knocked down into a square box from a board. The air ducts are placed evenly throughout the chicken coop.

Important! No perches should be installed under air ducts. Chickens will catch a cold in a draft and get sick.

Natural ventilation of the poultry house consists of a supply and exhaust pipe. The first is placed 40 cm above the roof, and the second - 1.5 m. To prevent precipitation from getting into the chicken coop through the air ducts, caps are placed on top. For convenience, ventilation pipes should be equipped with dampers to regulate air flow.

In a large poultry house it makes sense to install forced ventilation. This system involves the use of electric fans together with air ducts.

Making nests and perches for chickens

Perches for a chicken are like a sofa for a person. They must be comfortable and reliable. Perches are made from timber with a section of 40x50 or 50x60 mm. The edges of the poles are rounded so that the chickens can comfortably wrap their paws around them. The perch in the chicken coop is installed horizontally. The poles are placed parallel to the floors at a height of 50 cm.

The first pole from the wall is attached at a distance of 25 cm, and all subsequent ones - after 35 cm.

If there is not enough space in the chicken coop, the perches are installed vertically at an angle. It turns out to be a kind of ladder of poles in several tiers. The total length of the perches depends on the number of livestock. One chicken is given 30 cm of free space on the perch.

Nests for laying hens made from boxes or knocked down plywood partitions. They are placed in a dark place in the poultry house. Usually, a minimum of 10 nests are made for 20 laying hens.

The size of the nest is selected according to the breed of chickens. Simple laying hens are usually small. A nest depth of 40 cm is enough for them, and the width and height are kept within 30 cm. The bottom must be covered with sawdust, hay or straw. It is more comfortable for the chicken to sit on the litter, and the eggs will not break on the wooden bottom.

The video tells about the construction of a chicken coop:

Experienced poultry farmers take poultry house arrangement seriously. Automatic drinkers and feeders are installed for chickens, and sensors with regulators are connected to lighting and heating devices. This allows you to visit the chicken coop a couple of times a week to add new food and pick up laid eggs.

How to build a chicken coop