How To Build A Chicken Coop
All Cooped Up!
If you are reading this content, then you no doubt already have a pretty good reason for owning a chicken coop and raising chickens. Nevertheless, there are actually several very good reasons to raise chickens that you haven’t considered. Before going into the actual building process for your chicken coop, let’s discuss the many advantages of raising chickens.
Initially, the most popular reason for owning chickens is for farm fresh eggs. When comparing the price of store bought eggs to the cost of raising chickens, you will find that you can come out way ahead, financially speaking, by choosing to raise your own birds. The same holds true for fresh chicken meat. Many people will raise chickens for the eggs, let the occasional batch of eggs hatch, and split the resulting chicks into two categories. Half will be kept for laying eggs, and the other half will be used for fresh meat. Lastly, some individuals keep chickens for eggs, but not so much to eat as to sell. In today’s strained economy, one could make a pretty good profit off selling eggs by the dozen to family, friends, and others in their immediate community.
So, you are now armed with several excellent reasons to raise your own chickens. All you need now is a place to keep them. This brings us to building your own chicken coop. You should know that you can actually purchase pre-fabricated chicken coops, but in the end it is largely a waste of money. Creating your own chicken coup can be quite simple, and highly affordable.
First, you need to build your frame. The actual coop itself must be kept at least four feet off the ground. The reason behind this is that certain predators, such as foxes, will attempt to catch and eat your chickens while they sleep if not kept high. So, with this in mind, you will need four corner posts that should be at least six foot long. These will serve as your main foundation for you’re your coop. It isn’t absolutely necessary, but it is wise to put these into the ground with cement, roughly one foot down below the surface.
Once you have your foundations set up, put the flooring in, again, about four feet from the ground. You can corner nail the flooring in if you wish, but it is a better idea to place small 2x4 braces under the flooring where they will connect to the foundations. This will give a little extra support and a good spot to put your nails in.
At this point, you can put your roof on about two feet above the flooring; again, using 2x4 braces to nail it to the foundation. On a side note, angle the roof downward in the back so that rain and moisture can easily run off.
Now, simply measure between the walls and floor for height and from foundation to foundation for the back and side walls. Use good thick plywood for this, at least ¾ inch. Do the exact same for the front wall, but cut out several doorways from the plywood so that the chickens can enter and exit. With that, the coop itself is almost finished. Now all you need to do is take some 1x5 boards and run them into the doorways angled to the ground so your chickens can enter and exit easily. A quick wire mesh fence around it all later and you have your completed chicken coop. At the very most, you might have $40.00 invested. Many people even use second-hand lumber to save even more cash.
On a final note, be sure and put a decent amount of hay inside each doorway so that the chickens can use it for nesting. Enjoy your farm fresh eggs, fresh chicken meat, and the cash you make from selling those eggs!
...and by the way .... :-) I ended up downloading "Building a Chicken Coop" manual. It comes with detailed step by step instructions and is easy to follow and understand. It took me just one day to build my own chicken coop! And I took several breaks :-)
As you can see, building your own chicken coop is easier than you might think! All you need is the RIGHT blueprint.
To Download a step by step blueprint on how to build a chicken coop CLICK HERE
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It has been left for the West Virginia experiment station to determine just how much difference there would be in egg production between similar flocks kept in warm and cold houses. Two houses, built exactly alike and situated side by side, were selected for the experiment, in each of which were placed twelve pullets. One house had previously been sheathed on the inside and covered with paper to make it perfectly tight. Both were boarded with matched siding and shingle roofs.
Today, many people are trying to find ways to be better to their bodies and more environmentally friendly all at the same time. One option, which is available to anyone with the outdoor space, is to build a chicken coop using free chicken coop plans. You can taylor these plans to your needs, for the number of chickens you wish to own.
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