Chicken House Plans

Today, many people are choosing to raise their own chickens. A lot of people prefer more organic diets and there is no better way to control the quality of your food than to raise it yourself. What could possibly be better on a Sunday morning than fresh eggs from your very own chickens? When most people they think of chickens, they think of farms with lots of chickens clucking about all over. In reality, it can be really difficult to keep track of your chickens if you have them roaming free and they are certainly at risk for predators no matter where you live. Bears, coyotes, foxes, cougars, mountain lines or alligators will all find your chickens quite tasty and too hard to resist if they are just clucking about the yard without the protection of a good chicken house. The better you take care of your chickens, the better they will produce for you.

You can build your own chicken house very easily with the right chicken house plans and it's even pretty inexpensive. Depending on the space you have available, there is a wide variety of chicken coops to choose from. You can even build something portable called a chicken tractor. Some areas might require a permit to build your own chicken coop and raise your own chickens, but in a lot of areas, no such restrictions exist. Some areas will need a building inspector to look over your chicken tractor plans or your chicken coop plans, but this is often not the case. Just be sure to check with your municipality in which you live before starting. No one wants to put in the work of building something only to be told that it is restricted where they live.

So you have decided you want to raise some chickens and you are going to build them a nice house to live in, using some chicken coop plans. But do you know what a chicken needs in a suitable chicken house?

The first thing you want to think about is how many chickens you plan on raising. You want your chickens to have enough "personal space." If your chickens feel crowded they aren't going to produce as well for you, and they will fight. Who wants unhappy, fighting chickens that aren't going to lay any eggs? So you want to make sure that you allow for about 4 square feet for each chicken that you are planning on having. After you decide how many chickens you are going to raise and calculate for each of them to have 4 square feet of space, you might want to add a few additional square feet so that you can add more chickens later. Many people even breed their chickens so that they can increase their flock at the most minimal cost. Don't forget that once you start having those fresh eggs every morning, you might find that you want more chickens to lay more eggs!

Ok, so now you know how many chickens you want to start with and you have figured out the dimensions of the chicken house you want to build, it's time to decide what type of chicken coop you would like to have. below we shall go over several types of chicken living quarters. Beware the next section of this lens is not for any chicken little's ! Lets move on to the fun stuff!

A chicken tractor is actually a type of enclosure that doesn't have a floor. Chicken tractors are also sometimes called "arcs." One of the benefits of chicken tractors is that they are mobile. You can drag it from one place to another. Often, wheels will be installed on one end to make moving your chicken tractor easier. This is especially true if you are going to build a larger model using some chicken tractor plans. This is a favorite for people who prefer their chickens to be "free range." It also will allow you to move your chickens around so they have a fresh area to forage in, and at the same time allow the previous areas to recover.

Other benefits include removing the need for periodic cleanouts, no build up of manure, lots of fresh air for your chickens, as well as having your chickens fertilize the area where the chicken tractor is thereby producing more fertile ground for the future. Since your chickens' diets will be supplemented by the vegetation, worms and other insects, your feed costs can be reduced. One of the downfalls of a chicken tractor is that the enclosed area is smaller, so if you live in a colder climate, it might not be the optimal choice.

If you choose the enclosed chicken house (or chicken coop), the structure is stationary and cannot be moved. Obviously, since it closed in, it will require periodic cleanouts to make sure your chickens stay healthy. You can, however, build a chicken coop that includes a fenced in open area so that your chickens have the best of both worlds, a nice house that will protect them from the elements as well as fresh air and sunshine in their own little "yard."

The climate that you live will be an important factor in deciding not only which type of chicken house you want to build, but elements of the structure as well. If you live in a very warm area, you might want to seriously consider a chicken tractor. This will ensure that your chickens have enough ventilation and fresh air, and moving the tractor often will help to keep your chickens healthy as the heat can cause bacteria to grow more quickly.

If you live in a colder climate, an enclosed chicken house will help to keep your chickens safe from the elements. You will want to make sure that the enclosure is insulated well enough so that their drinking water doesn't freeze and you can minimize the drafts. If you live in an area where the possibility of flooding exists you can also elevate your chicken coop.

You could even provide your chickens with "luxury" housing by building them an elevated enclosed chicken house complete with a fenced in area. This will provide them with protection from the elements of the colder climate, fresh air and sunshine, and they can even go under the coop on a warm day and have shade but still be outside. Imagine the happy, egg laying chickens such a chicken coop would house!

Inside your chicken coop, you will want to build some nesting boxes. This is where your chickens will lay their eggs. Now you would think that each chicken would want their own nesting box, but often more than one chicken will group together in one nesting box so if you decide not to make a nesting box for each chicken, don't worry, your chickens will happily lay their eggs together in the same box. The nesting boxes should be about 15" wide, 15" high and about a foot deep. It's ok if they are a little smaller than that, but you want your chickens to have enough room to nest comfortably. In the bottom of the box you want to make sure that you have something to cushion the eggs as your chickens lay them so they don't break. You could use hay or place padding in the bottom. Either one will work just fine.

You also need to build perches for them to "roost" or sleep on. Some chickens will prefer to roost a few feet off the ground. This is most likely for warmth since heat rises. A board or even a tree branch will work just fine for the perch. If you are going to clip your chickens' wings, you will need to also include a ramp of some sort for them to reach the perch. Keep in mind that droppings will accumulate below the perch, so you will probably want to consider that when deciding where to place the perch inside the coop. Always go over your chicken coop plans to see if it has the features you are looking for.

You can purchase feeders or water containers or you can create your own with large 5 gallon buckets and large planter bases. Simply drill some holes on the sides of the buckets near the bottom and the water and feed will flow through the holes as needed.

Finally, you need to consider how you intend to deal with the droppings of your chickens. If you simply have a solid wooden floor, you will need to clean your chicken coop very often to maintain the health of your chickens. Another method that is popular is instead of having a solid wood floor, you can place wire mesh (conveniently called "chicken wire") on the bottom of the chicken coop and place something underneath the coop that will catch the droppings which you can remove to dispose of the droppings. Keep in mind that in order to use this method, you will need to elevate your chicken house at least high enough off the ground to be able to place something under the coop to catch the droppings.

The least labor intensive method is called the "deep litter" method. This involves placing wood pellets or some other type of bedding on the floor of your chicken coop. To start you simply spread 4-8" of whatever you choose to use on the floor of your chicken house. Every few days, rake the bedding to stir the droppings to the bottom of the pile. The droppings on the bottom will decompose and over time as you continue to stir droppings to the bottom, the level of your bedding will decrease. You can just add fresh bedding on top of the pile. The primary benefits of using the deep litter method is that it really helps to keep the smell to a minimum and you only need to really clean out the whole chicken coop a couple of times a year. If you are into gardening, the compost that it creates will be great for your vegetable garden!