Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Andrew Alford Shows How To Build A Chicken Coop

By Andrew Alford


To begin the process, your first decision is selecting the best coop. Sketch the design you have in mind for your coop. If you live in the town, check on zoning regulations that will apply. If you have close neighbors, confirm your chicken coop design fits the aesthetics of your neighborhood.Your chicken enclosure will need weekly cleaning and sanitizing. Build your coop to make this cleaning as fast and easy as practicable.

If you slope the floors a touch toward the door, hosing out your coop becomes a snap. Also, don't install a door threshold. No threshold means you can hose everything straight out the door.A note about cleaning - place a slightly little mesh screen on the ground at the door when hosing out the coop. The screen will catch the chicken droppings while the water simply runs thru. Makes getting rid of the crap really easy.A word of advice - be careful about putting fresh chicken crap into your compost bin. Chicken droppings are high in ammonia. Perform a little research before you add chicken droppings to your compost bin.Make your chicken cage a safe haven for your birds. Your coop will have to shield your chickens from the elements, and from hungry predators.

For perfect health, chickens, just as humans, need draft free fresh air and oxygen. Build your coop with good ventilation features. Windows and doors that open easily. Proper roof ventilation is also a good concept. A good ventilation system will get rid of the deadly accumulation of ammonia, CO2, and moisture.Moisture is an enemy to chickens in summer or winter.

As long as chickens are dry, with plenty of clean water to drink, they can handle most climate conditions, heat or cold. However , you need to insulate your coop against winter cold. Insulated walls, floors, and ceilings are a must. Additionally, you need to ensure your coop is sealed tight against winter winds.To prevent standing water around your coop, build on high ground, if at all possible.

Additionally, place your chicken shack in a sunny spot with windows on the sunny side of the coop. This will aid in keeping the coop warm and dry. Chickens attract a lot of hungry predators, raccoons, possums, skunks, dogs, pussies, and so on. Build your coop well with no gaps in the floor or lower walls. Snakes love eggs. A tight coop will forestall snakes from entering.Some animals will try digging under the coop or fence. To stop this, bury chicken wire about one foot deep.If you're looking for optimum egg production, think about installing a light, or lights in your chicken coop.

Add a timer connected to the illumination source. Long days and short nights make chickens very happy. Satisfied chickens lay more eggs.Speaking of satisfied chickens, well fed and watered chickens are also satisfied chickens. So make plenty of great quality fresh food and fresh water available to your chickens.However, use caution where you place the feeders and water sources. Chickens love to get their feet in their food. Their natural instinct is to scrape for their food. If feeders are put too low, your chickens will instinctively scratch while they're eating and scatter feed throughout the chickien pen.




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