Chook house designs

To get the best chook house for you, you need to be able to answer a few questions.

How many chickens are you wanting?
This will directly affect the size of the coop that you build.

A hutch, ark or tractor;
- will suit someone wanting a couple of chooks
- they are usually easy build, easy to move around and easy care
- ideal for smaller sections.

The medium size coop
- will suit those with a slightly bigger flock of 6-10 birds
- is more permanent,
- can get up to 30-40 square feet - so more care needs to be taken with the style that you choose and how it fits with your area (and your neighbors).
- has a nesting area,
- Is a better option for climates that are cooler or more damp.

The Big Chook House
- For upwards of 10 chooks
- Includes a secure run
- allows more room per bird,
- is ideal if you want to sell the eggs
- make sure that you will like how the house will look before building!,
- the logistics of egg collection and maintaining the coop also becomes important at this level.

No matter what level you are looking at you need a selection of chook house designs to look at and work from so that you get your project up and running as quickly and effortlessly as possible.

So we've covered the main one - size, but there are many other factors which will dictate which plan you decide to use.

1. How much money do you have to spend?
This is actually a biggy. Not only do you have to pay for the chooks and their feed, but you also have to pay for the materials.

There are 3 options here;
You could go it alone and just build any old thing to house your chooks, but statistics say that up to 90% of people that do this end up either re-doing their work or giving up on it (count me in on that stat...)

There are pre-constructed coops available that will set you back anywhere between $50 - $500, they still require some assembly on your part and they may still not be right for your situation.

Both of these usually end up costing you far more in money and in time and effort than you ever anticipated.

Option 3 is to make sure that you choose the right chook house design in the first place and build to it. Most people that do this have a very hassle free time.

Her comfort is all important so you need to take notice of things like where the windows are located, ventilation, heating, insulation and light are incredibly important for the comfort of the chicken - as we know a happy hen is also a laying hen!

You don't want the sun getting in her eyes while she is trying to lay, a draft giving her a chill, wide variances in the temperature within the coop and not enough light.

Her security is also super important. How many times do you hear the woes of those that have not secured their hens well enough and have had them lost to foxes, snakes, owls, dogs, cats or even owls? A good chook house design will take this into account.

Your comfort is also important. It should be really easy for you to collect the eggs and to clean the chook house out. if it is difficult or awkward for yothere is less chance of you cleaning the coop out on a regular basis, meaning that the coop will get dirty for longer...leading to...you guessed it - unhappy chickens!