Content
In addition to growing vegetable plants and harvesting, it is becoming popular to raise various kinds of poultry on a personal plot. The most popular and affordable are chickens, which can become both a source of meat and eggs. As a rule, it is not difficult to build a chicken coop for laying hens with your own hands if you know the main features of the arrangement of this structure, both its design and the internal space.
Purpose and requirements for arrangement
To plan chicken coop arrangement follows based on the following parameters:
- The number of chickens and their age criteria;
- The time of year in which the poultry is expected to be stocked and raised;
- Convenience of carrying out disinfection measures and cleaning work.
To make the chicken coop comfortable for both the inhabitants and those who monitor its condition, you should take care of the following important parameters:
- Ventilation;
- Thermal insulation and waterproofing of the structure, especially when used in winter;
- High-quality and adequate lighting of the chicken coop;
- Materials for interior decoration that are easy to clean and simple to install.
Features of the structure
For laying hens, the construction of a chicken coop requires the presence of nests where they will lay eggs. The dimensions of the building are selected depending on the number of inhabitants. To build a chicken coop, a flat area with a slight slope is usually selected, which will facilitate the natural drainage of water after rain, without trapping it in the ground. The place for the chicken coop should be sunny, without drafts or strong winds.
Since chickens must have the opportunity to roam, it is necessary to equip a place for birds to roam next to the structure. To do this, poles are installed along the perimeter of the walking area and a fence is stretched, usually in the form of a mesh.
An option for how chicken walking can be done is shown in the video:
Features of the interior space
These parameters are the most important when building a chicken coop, and the behavior of chickens and their egg production depend on their correct and high-quality arrangement.
Microclimate
The components of the microclimate are factors such as the air temperature inside the chicken coop, lighting, air humidity and ventilation. The well-being of chickens depends on their correct indicators. Therefore, when equipping a chicken coop, you should provide for maintaining an optimal microclimate at any time of the year.
Depending on what time the built chicken coop will be used and you should choose materials for mounting the walls and roof of the building so that they can provide high-quality temperature conditions and prevent drafts.
If the chicken coop will be used year-round, then installation of a heating system cannot be avoided. It can be either autonomous or connected to the home heating system.
Infrared lamps are very popular among poultry farmers. heating chicken coops. They use electricity sparingly and allow you to heat a room, even if its size is not the smallest. Equipment should only be installed at a safe distance, and lamp bulbs should be covered with protective covers.
Proper organization of lighting is also important for chickens, since they need complete darkness to properly rest. You can save significantly on installing lighting in the chicken coop if you make large windows in the coop.
An option on how to make quality lighting in a chicken coop is given in the video:
And another option on how to make a chicken coop warm and bright is shown in the video:
How to equip a chicken coop inside for laying hens with high-quality ventilation is shown in the video:
A proper ventilation system will help get rid of unpleasant odors and normalize the temperature and humidity in the chicken coop.
A large building requires a high-quality forced-type ventilation device.
The photo shows various arrangement options chicken coop ventilation.
Walls and floor
Walls and floors, regardless of the type of foundation and material used for the walls, must insulate in the event that the chicken coop will be actively used in the winter. Insulation is carried out using various materials, it can be mineral wool, glass wool, sawdust, straw or other types of insulation.
An option for insulating a chicken coop is shown in the video:
In addition to the need for insulation, walls and floors need to be treated with disinfection solutions and protected from parasites that can spread various infections. For this, lime mortar is often used to coat the inside surface of the entire chicken coop.
Nests and perches, feeders and other functional items
When we set up a chicken coop specifically for laying hens, we must provide a place where they will hatch eggs. This function is performed by specially equipped artificial nests, which can simply be prepared from various available materials - boards and boxes, plywood, etc.
Birds perfectly master all nests, the main thing is to lay a bedding of hay or straw on the bottom.
Usually the number of nests is calculated based on the fact that there is one nest for every 4-5 birds. Laying houses are located so that the hens do not see each other and no one disturbs them, in the corner farthest from the entrance, several at a time on the same or different levels.
So that the chickens can rest freely and not disturb each other, as well as sleep, roosts must be installed in the chicken coop. For them, a wooden beam with rounded edges is used, the surface of which is pre-treated with sandpaper, which is installed in several rows near the wall in the chicken coop.
Typically, the first row of perches in a chicken coop is installed 50 cm above the floor surface, and each next row is 30-35 cm from the previous one. Its design resembles a slide, since birds are not allowed to sit on top of each other - this is necessary to prevent contamination of the chickens sitting below with droppings. The perch should be at least 25 cm away from the wall of the chicken coop. To calculate the space of the perch and its length, the number of chickens in the chicken coop should be taken into account. Each inhabitant will need at least 30 cm of free space on the perch.
Requirements for roosts in all chicken coops:
- Durability and reliability. The bars should be of a thickness that can support the weight of several chickens without bending.
- Safety. The entire surface of the timber used must be smooth, without knots and splinters; for this it should be pre-polished;
- Comfort. The birds should be fairly comfortable on the roost.
Important elements for any poultry house are places for chickens to eat and drink. Feeders in the chicken coop can be arranged, or you can sprinkle food on the surface of the straw bedding, and the birds will peck out the grains, which means they will be kept busy. If you plan to make chicken coop feeders with your own hands, then you need to know:
- Due to their quarrelsome nature and carelessness, chickens will fight for a place at the feeder, and also stain food containers with droppings;
- Inattention can result in chickens knocking over feeders;
A variety of materials can be used for feeders in a chicken coop, the main thing is that they are easy to wash and clean from food residues, as well as add new portions.
These rules are also valid for arranging drinking bowls, which must be in the chicken coop without fail. Any capacious container from which it is convenient for chickens to drink water can be used as a drinking bowl.
Secrets of a successful chicken coop for laying hens
Every farmer who has experience in building structures for chickens has some of his own secrets for properly arranging the territory inside the building. The combined experience of such nuances is presented below:
- An important condition for chickens to lay eggs well is their mood. When they are calm and not irritated, then everything is fine. But hens that have not had enough sleep are aggressive individuals, capable of damaging eggs in nests and pecking at other birds. The mood of chickens is affected by the length of daylight hours. It is the excess of light in the chicken coop that causes imbalance and aggressiveness;
- It is better not to make nests level with the floor, as some cunning birds may use them for sleeping rather than hatching eggs;
- To increase the number of eggs, it is worth trying to place the nests in the farthest and darkest corner of the chicken coop;
- Perches in the chicken coop should be installed on the wall, which is located on the opposite side of the nests;
- It is important not to forget about setting up a dust-ash bath, in which the birds are bathed in cleanses of pests and parasites.
- Before you start building a chicken coop, you should decide on the number of its inhabitants and the materials that will be used for the work.
As a rule, setting up a chicken coop with your own hands for laying hens is not a difficult task. The main thing is to correctly and clearly develop a strategy for completing the work, as well as decide on the number of its inhabitants, and then correctly arrange the necessary items and allocate zones for various activities. And then the egg production of the chicken coop will be at the highest level.
