DIY Chicken Coops Plans

When raising chickens, one of the biggest concerns most people have is safeguarding their flock from predators. Predators, animals that eat chickens, include coyotes, minks, red-winged hawks, raccoons, opossums, bears, dogs, skunks, include foxes. Which predators you need to be worried about depends a great deal on where you live. If you are raising your chickens in a backyard coop in an urban area, bears are not likely to visit, but the neighborhood cats and dogs could be a problem.

Having a coop with walls and a roof will protect your flock from flying predators such as the red-winged hawk and owls, but foxes, raccoons, and opossums are able to dig under chicken wire fences to get to your hens. A coop is important to provide the first level of safety, but it is not enough. Remember The Rookie, a 2002 drama sports film that starred Dennis Quaid? In that movie, Quaid used human hair to keep deer from eating the grass in the baseball field. This is an old, old wives tale that seems to actually work. According to many sources, spread human hair around the outside of your coop at least every two weeks, and most of the critters will stay away. This does not work with airborne predators, cats, or dogs, though, so the coop is still essential. Several people reported good results from family dogs that mark their territory, but in the city where there are laws concerning dog poo, this might not be practical.

On a more modern note, others report that using small gauge chicken wire and electric fences are helpful. Ultrasonic devices similar to those used to chase mice from homes might also be helpful.

Photo Credit: Struttin My Stuff by Kim Newberg

Dummies books are the perfect start when trying to learn a new skill. They don't assume you already know anything about the subject, and they cover beginning topics very well.

Children learn a great deal form raising backyard chickens. They learn responsibility by feeding and watering chickens daily. Coops need to be cleaned on a regular basis for chickens to stay healthy. And probably the job children will enjoy the most, eggs must be gathered daily. If you have a rooster, as well as chickens, this provides the basis for a lesson in genetics and life. For the homeschool family, raising chickens lays the groundwork for many science lessons, including the cycle of life and conception. Other lessons that can be based on raising chickens are how to use chicken droppings in compost to enrich garden soil by adding nitrogen to the mixture.

Chickens can also be great pets. They can learn to perform tricks, and if properly trained from a chick, will allow children to carry them around and pet them.

Photo Credit: Shake It To The Right by Kim Newberg

So why would you want a chicken coop? Food prices have spiralled up out of control recently, with no sign of coming back down any time soon. Fresh eggs provide protein, 25% more vitamin E, 75% more beta carotene, and contain more vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids than store bought eggs. Backyard chicken eggs taste much better than stale store-bought eggs, which could be several weeks old, since they have firmer egg whites and bright orange yolks, and have lost none of their nutritional value due to air seeping through the pores of the eggshells.

Nutritional Facts per Serving (About 4 extra large eggs):

• 24g fat (8g saturated fat)
• 1028mg cholesterol
• 240 mg sodium
• total carbohydate 2g
• protein 31g
• Vitamin A 24%
• Calcium 13%
• Iron 25%
• glycemic load 2
• also supplies:
  • iboflavin
  • vitamin B12
  • phosphorus
  • selenium

For information about cooking and freezing eggs, see Egg Food Facts: Freezing and Cooking Tips, and Egg Substitutions.

Photo Credit: Five Eggs by Petr Kratochvil