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Build a Chicken House to be Proud Of Free Chicken Coop Plans and All about Chickens I wanted to build a chicken house. Bad. I did not have much money but I did have motivation, as my Baby Chickens were getting mighty big for their baby cage.
Courtesy of M.Dolly When I was researching new chicken house designs, I had trouble finding many good coop plans. We hope this helps get you started on your way to flock keeping and Raising Baby Chicks for years to come. Come, let's build a chicken house! Considerations for your new hen house plans: The NeighborsUnless you live on a personal farm, you may have to consider your neighbors sensibilities regarding your chicken coops attractiveness. We know the chickens don't care if they live in an old bus, but if you want to keep everybody happy (and off your back), you should build a chicken house that is very good looking and well built. You will start a new trend if it has not already taken root in your neighborhood. Then when your friends want to build a chicken house like yours you can give them our coop plans to get started! If you give away free eggs you likely will have happy neighbors with no complaints to the county, just a thought! The LawYou can look up the various city ordinances online by the city code of your town. There may be considerations such as keeping backyard chickens as far as 150-300 feet away from other residences, or a certain distance from the road. There may be a limit on the number you can keep or if you can have a rooster or not. In many cases there is little enforcement unless a neighbor complains.
Courtesy of ecobirdlove Your ClimateConsider the weather in your area before you build a chicken house. Some areas may have high winds, fierce snowstorms, continual heavy rains or long hot dry spells. Chickens, depending somewhat on the Chicken Breeds you select, are usually hardy to cold, but they do not do well at all when wet. Face the door to the South to bring in the most sunlight, and do make sure you have some windows or a skylight installed in your hen house plans so they will lay the most eggs for you year round. Build a chicken house that is dry and draft free, but with windows and/or doors that can be opened for ventilation. Build on the most well drained area of your property. If you are building new chicken coops rather than converting an old building, consider laying a concrete floor. Chickens do not like to be wet, and they will remain healthy if you can prevent dampness and water saturation of their floor. Concrete is another layer of protection from predators, and makes cleaning easier as well.  Courtesy of Royce Bair ProtectionWhen learning all about chickens, take chicken predators seriously. Everybody loves chicken, including predators, which if they get your hens is really going to get you steaming mad. Take the trouble to include in your chicken coops plan a secure outside run that has addressed the problem of predators digging under the fence or flying in from above. If your chicken house plans are new construction, then bury heavy wire fencing down at least 12" and toe the fence outward 6". This way the predator digs into more wire fence. You can also set an electric fence around the perimeter at 4-6" on the outside of the pen. You should be able to find all the Chicken Supplies you need at online stores and Baby Chicken Hatcheries. My chicken run has three layers of protection. Heavy gauge wire dug down, another size heavy wire fastened over that, and a regular chicken wire layer, so when I have very young chicks they are not going to be able to get out. Hawks and owls are chicken predators too, so place chicken wire along the top of your hen house plans when building. All good chicken house plans have a tiny door that the chickens can run in and out of as they see the need for protection. You will often see folks build a chicken house with a ramp they run up, leading to a small trap door that the flock owner can open or close at will. Regardless if you have a secure outdoor run or not, you will need to put your birds to bed inside and lock the door at night against predators. Chicken Tractors are great for mowing the lawn, weeding the garden and feeding your chickens, but they are not for overnight use in high chicken predator areas. When I first started with chickens I thought I would have to catch them! Not so, chickens naturally seek their chicken coops at dusk, all you have to do is remember to shut the door.  Courtesy of young@art Space Per BirdA good rule is 2-3 square feet per chicken inside the hen house, and 4-5 square feet per bird in your outside run. Your chickens need to be able to move around freely, but they do not need a football field. If you give them too much outdoor room they will have great organic eggs from the rich varied diet, however they may expend too much energy running around instead of laying eggs for you. Chickens are happiest when they can roost on perches, so you must provide for them 6-10" of perch space per chicken. Meat and waterfowl birds do not usually require perches. Each laying hen will need to lay eggs of course, and she requires a nesting box. Hens will share boxes, so you can get by with one box for each 4-5 females. Feeding ChickensWhen Feeding Chickens place the feeder and waterer at the level of the hens back. This will keep the feed in the pan to reduce waste, and help keep the water clean. You can use automatic feeders and waterers too, very handy if you want to leave for the weekend! Feeding chickens all your household scraps, your lawn clippings and anything leftover from the garden will reduce your layer pellet cash outlay, and keep them nice and healthy too. Keep the water coming daily, you will be surprised at how much water chickens require to lay eggs.  Courtesy of ianturtan Light
When getting ready for Backyard Chickens we may forget that you need to have a source of electricity when you build a chicken house. In the fall and winter months when sunlight is reduced you will see a sharp drop in egg production. Get around this by installing a regular 100 watt bulb in the chicken coops upper interior. If you will provide light for 14-17 hours per day the hens will respond by continued laying. Put it on a timer if you will not be home to turn it on and off. VentilationChickens need fresh air minus drafts. Cold is not the problem as long as the birds remain dry and out of the wind. Locate windows and doors on the south or east sides, and do not neglect the insulation and vapor barrier materials if you are building new chicken coops. Small chicken house designs should include at least one window on one side as well as a door. Make sure it is big enough that you can get in to clean. Now that you have learned all about chickens and those ever present chicken predators, lets carry on to your first stab at building a chicken house from whatever materials you can find at a reasonable cost. Or better yet, find materials free! We wish you the best as you use our free chicken coop plans to build a chicken house to be proud of.
 Courtesy of aehack Want your hens to weed your garden? Check out chicken tractors here
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