Only a few years ago I knew no-one in my neighborhood who kept chickens. Now it seems like the whole of my street have built chicken coops in their backyard. And why not? They’re easy to keep and will provide fresh eggs for you all year round.
In order to provide an environment where your hens are happy you will want to plan and build a chicken coop. Although this might seem like a daunting task to begin with, it is actually quite easy with the right plans and instructions. Let’s take a look at a few tips I’d suggest for building chicken coops and where you can get some excellent plans at the end of this article.
How To Make a Chicken Coop – Tips
Tip #1 – Easy Maintenance
Cleaning your hen coop is one thing you must remember to do. Doing so will help prevent your chickens from falling ill and also make the coop a nicer living environment. One top tip is to position the base of the coop at a slight angle. This will help drain the water out after cleaning. Using a design that makes it easy to clean will save a lot of hassle in the long run.
Tip #2 – Ensure Safety
Make sure you don’t overlook the safety of your chicken coop. Firstly there are the weather conditions that the chickens need to live through, and secondly there might be foxes in the backyard at night.
Position the hen coop off the ground and preferably facing the sun so that the coop can dry off quickly after downpours. During summer time or hot periods, the chicken house needs good ventilation. Opening the door or windows will provide the chickens with good ventilation during hot weather.
The outside run should be properly protected from other animals entering. Surrounding the run with chicken wire, dug deep enough into the ground and high enough into the area will ensure that no predators can get in.
Tip #3 – Provide Light
In addition to proper ventilation, your chicken coop needs light. The obvious way to do this is by placing the coop in the sunlight during daytime. However, if this doesn’t suffice throughout the year then electric light can be purchased relatively cheaply. One ceiling light may be all you need if the coop is quite small, otherwise several may be needed for some of the larger coops.
So there you have a few simple tips that can help you build a hen coop that your chickens will love. To learn how to construct your chicken coop properly, no matter what size, read our chicken coop plans.
