Chicken Coop Plans
When you are looking through your hen house plans you are selecting a home for your chickens and I am betting you only want to build it once. In this article I am going to look into what you should do to maintain the structural integrity of your chicken coop giving it what it needs to last and provide a safe home through age and weather.
Many people are capable of building a hen house but one that doesn’t slowly rot is another thing. Gaining some knowledge of the construction process and the many things needed to build a coop that lasts will ensure you don’t waste money and time.
Proper Landscaping
The first step is preparing the ground. Don't forget to leave room for the run or pen. Many good plans will also include some chicken pen plans or a run for the chickens. Some such plans are these DIY Chicken coop plans.
Starting with a nice flat landscaped ground will prevent many headaches later on. Also be sure the ground is not too low to allow water to drain towards or stand where you plan on placing the chicken coop. Water can cause the ground to be soft and standing water will breed pests causing a health issue for your chickens. Finding a piece of already flat ground will save some time and money however; location may be more important than saving a little work. That’s up to you.
Don’t Go Cheap On The Base Structure
The base of your chicken coop needs to be constructed of quality rot resistant or resistant proofed materials. There are a good number of designs for chicken coops on the market. I would suggest investing in some plans for chicken coops that provide nice images and step-by-step instructions.
Choosing a cheap chicken house design at this point will mostly likely come back to haunt you. You could end up with a chicken coop rotting from the ground up. There are plenty of low cost options available that work well you just need to know where to draw the line.
Wise Use of Windows
Windows are an essential part within any good chicken coop design. They will bring in enough light to allow the chickens to see and by happy. These conditions will provide for a better atmosphere for chickens to lay eggs than a dark doghouse like chicken coop. If you use the proper materials these windows can help save on building costs.
You do need to be a little careful and consider the structural integrity of the building. Placing a window in the wrong spot could possibly decrease the stability of the building, ultimately bringing harm to your chickens. This is why having a proper poultry house design is a requirement to building when adding windows to your chicken coop.
Feeder Placement
The placement and height of the feeder is important to certainly to the chickens. Feeders at an incorrect height will cause the chickens discomfort while eating or could cause them to scatter their food all over the floor. When this happens it will make a mess and to the birds pecking at the floor. This can cause excessive wear on both the floor and your chickens.
By taking the time create or invest in a proper hen house plans you can save, time, headache, and drastically improve the comfort of your chickens. You can find plenty of plans here, many of which will also contain chicken pen plans.