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If you decide to have 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 poultry house is not the whole story. To get a good result, you need to worry about walking, making nests, perches, installing feeders and drinkers, and also learn how to properly feed the birds. Experienced poultry farmers can boast of different chicken coops, and now we will try to look at the most interesting designs.
Everything you need to know about chicken coops
Most experienced farmers do not advise choosing poultry house designs from the Internet or another source and completely copying them. Building a chicken coop is an individual 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 modified to suit your needs.
For those who do not know how to choose the optimal chicken coop design and do not know how to develop it themselves, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the general recommendations:
- A poultry house is not just a barn in which chickens must spend the night. A microclimate is created inside the room 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 poultry house, arranging ventilation and artificial lighting. The chicken coop must reliably protect the birds from attacks by predatory animals.
- The size of the poultry house is calculated by the number of chickens. To roost overnight, one bird needs about 35 cm of free space on the perch, and three laying hens are given at least 1 m2 for walking.2 free space. In addition to this, a section of the barn for chickens will be provided, where there will be nests, feeders and drinking bowls.
- A chicken coop, equipped according to all the rules, consists of two parts: a barn and a run. We have already figured out the premises, but the second part is the enclosure or pen. The walk can be called differently, but its design is the same. An aviary for chickens is an area fenced with a metal mesh. It is always attached to the poultry house from the manhole side. Chickens roam in the fence all day in the summer. The size of the pen is equal to the area of the chicken coop, and 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 country shed and hide it further behind the house or in the garden. If desired, a designer chicken coop can be 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 lower than 1 m. Let’s say a mini poultry house for 5 chickens is built measuring 1x2 m or 1.5x1.5 m. The optimal height for such a design is 1–1.5 m. A large barn for 20 birds is built measuring 3x6 m. Accordingly, the height of the poultry house increases to 2 m.
- With any design, even a mini chicken coop must have a door, and an insulated one.Just don’t confuse it with a hole. A person needs a door to maintain the chicken coop. The manhole is installed on the wall to which the enclosure adjoins. It serves as the entrance to the chicken barn.
- The floor of the poultry house is made warm so that the laying hens feel comfortable in winter. Insulation is placed under the concrete screed in the barn, and a board is laid on top. The budget floor of the poultry house is made of clay and straw. For any floor covering, flooring is used. In summer it is easier to scatter dried grass or straw on the floor of the shed. However, such flooring often has to be changed, so in winter poultry farmers prefer to use sawdust.
- A perch needs to be installed inside any chicken coop. Chickens sleep only on it at night. The poles are made of timber or round timber 50–60 mm thick. It is important to sand the workpieces well so that the birds do not get splinters into their paws. If there is a lot of space inside the chicken coop, the perch poles are installed horizontally. IN mini chicken coops vertically stepped perches are attached. In any case, 35 cm of free space is allocated for one chicken. The same distance is maintained between the poles. The first element of the flooring rises 40–50 cm from the floor of the poultry house. The outermost pole is removed from the wall by 25 cm. Excellent poles for the poultry house will be made from new cuttings for shovels.
- Nests in the poultry house are raised from the floor by at least 30 cm. They are made from boxes, plywood, plastic buckets and other available materials. The hens will not all lay eggs at the same time, so 1-2 nests are made for five laying hens. To prevent eggs from breaking, use soft bedding. The bottom of the nest is covered with sawdust, hay or straw. When soiled, the litter needs to be changed.
- Now let's talk in more detail about walking for chickens. The photo shows a mini chicken coop.This house usually houses five chickens. Economical mini poultry houses are made with two floors. A house for laying hens is set up on top, and under it is a paddock fenced with a net. The compact design of the poultry house takes up little space on the site, and if necessary, it can be moved.
- A mesh fence for chickens is installed near large barns. The simplest option is to dig in racks of metal pipes and stretch the mesh. However, you need to approach the construction of an enclosure 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 needs to be dug around the perimeter of the fence to a depth of at least 50 cm.
- The chicken fence is also covered with a net on top, since there is a danger of birds of prey attacking the young. In addition, laying hens fly well and can easily leave the enclosure. Part of the roof of the fence is covered with a waterproof roof. Under the canopy the chickens will be protected from the sun and rain. The enclosure must be equipped with doors. Additional feeders and drinkers are placed inside.
That's all you need to know about chicken coops. Guided by these recommendations, you can begin to develop your own poultry house project.
Review of beautiful poultry houses
When you have already decided on the characteristics of your chicken coop, you can look at the photos for original design ideas. The presented beautiful poultry houses will give you inspiration to build the structure you like, but according to your own design. Usually the most beautiful chicken coop is small in size. It is designed to house five chickens. Let's look at some interesting ideas:
- The two-story wooden house is designed to house 3–5 laying hens.The top floor of the poultry house is given over to housing. Here the chickens sleep and lay eggs. There is a mesh run under the house. A wooden ladder made of boards with nailed lintels connects the two floors. A special feature of the enclosure is the absence of a bottom. Chickens have access to fresh grass. As it is eaten, the house is moved to another place.
- The original idea of a beautiful chicken coop is presented in the form of a greenhouse. In principle, the result is an economical poultry house. An arched frame is made from boards, plastic pipes and plywood. In spring it can be covered with film and used as a greenhouse. In summer, a bird house is built inside. In this case, part of the frame is covered with polycarbonate, and a mesh is stretched over the paddock.
- This poultry house project is designed for summer chicken keeping. It is based on a metal frame. The lower tier is traditionally reserved for an aviary. The second floor is given over to a house. There is also a third tier, but chickens are not allowed access there. This floor was formed by two roofs. The upper roof protects the ceiling of the house from the sun. The poultry house is always in the shade and maintains a favorable temperature for chickens even in the hot summer.
- The unusual poultry house is presented in the Spanish style. Capital construction is made on a foundation. The walls of the chicken coop are plastered on top. You can even paint them for beauty. Laying hens will live in such a house during the winter. Thick walls, insulated floors and ceilings will prevent the birds from freezing.
- I would like to complete the review of chicken coops with the most economical option. Such a mini poultry house can be made from any leftover building materials. The frame is made from wooden scraps. The top is covered with mesh. The triangular house is made of boards. An opening door is installed for its maintenance.
There are many design options for chicken coops.However, in addition to beauty, it is worth thinking about automating the process of caring for the bird.
Making your own smart poultry house
Many people have heard about smart homes, where everything is controlled by automation. Why not use this technology for a home chicken coop. Moreover, you don’t have to buy expensive electronics for this. 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 every day, or even three times a day. This ties the owner to the house, preventing him from being away for a long time. Feeders made from PVC sewer pipes with a diameter of 100 mm will help correct the situation. To do this, put an elbow and a half-elbow on a meter-long pipe, and then fix it vertically inside the shed. A large supply of feed is poured into the pipe from above. The bottom of the feeder is closed with a curtain.
Each curtain has a pull. The feeder is opened 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 automatic feeder smart chicken coop:
The automatic drinker in a smart poultry house is made of a galvanized container with a capacity of 30–50 liters. Water is supplied through a hose into small cups as it decreases.
A smart chicken coop requires special nests. Their bottom is made at a slope towards the egg collector. As soon as the hen laid eggs, the egg immediately rolled into a compartment where the bird could not reach it even if it wanted to.
Artificial lighting in a smart chicken coop is connected via a photo relay. The light will automatically turn on at nightfall and turn off at dawn. If you do not need the lighting to shine all night, a time relay is installed along with the photocell.
An electric converter can be used as a house heater in winter. For 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 specified parameters.
Using an old smartphone, you can even do video surveillance in a smart chicken coop. It turns out to be a kind of webcam that allows you to watch everything that happens in the barn.
Even the chicken coop manhole can be equipped with an automatic lift. The mechanism uses a motor from car wipers and a time relay.
A smart chicken coop allows the owner to be away from home for a whole week or even longer. The birds will always be full and the eggs will be intact.
