Chicken Coop Layouts - Free Chicken Coop Designs

If you are thinking about keeping chickens, there are going to be a lot of choices in front of you, but among the most important is going to be how you are going to put together your chicken coop. Choosing the right chicken coop layouts is important when you are thinking about the safety of your chickens as well as your own convenience, and unless you have done this before, you'll find that there are some things that you need to keep in mind. You already understand that a chicken coop is meant to protect your chickens from predators and from the elements, but it also needs to be a clean and comfortable place for them to live.

Start by putting together a blueprint of your coop. You don't need to be a draftsman or an architect to get a good result; there are plenty of chicken coop layouts on the Internet that can help you out. You can find one that suits you as it is, or you can print it out and start modifying it. If you have any experience working with tools and lumber at all, you will discover that putting together a chicken coop for your backyard is a breeze; the only issue that you really have to worry about is designing it well.

First, let's talk about how big your chicken coop should be. When you are looking to raise healthy chickens that get the proper amount of exercise and are going to be sane and unstressed, you ill find that your chickens need a minimum of four square feet per chicken if they have a run to walk around in and ten square feet apiece of they do not. Remember that this does not account for feeders, waterers or nesting boxes. It might seem like a lot of space, but people who have been keeping chickens for years will attest to the improved health and temperament of chickens that have been kept in spacious surroundings.

If you want to make sure that you get eggs for your chickens, make sure that you put in nesting boxes. Nesting boxes should be tucked away in a corner so that they can be given at least a little bit of protection and so they won't be rolled around and possibly broken. When you are putting in the nesting boxes, remember that your chicken coop layouts should have a place where you are going to be able to go in and get the eggs. Some people choose to have hinged roofs that can lift up for this very purpose.

How are you going to ventilate and insulate your chicken coops. Having good ventilation during the summer will ensure that your chickens stay cool and that they are less prone to disease in general, and by installing strips of insulation, you will make sure that they have a warm place to go in the winter. Remember to avoid making the coop to warm because otherwise they may not be inclined to go in even during cold winters!

There are a lot of chicken coop layout designs out there, so take some time and make sure that you get the results that you are after.

I highly recommend the chicken coop layout plans at ChickenCoopLayouts.com