When one thinks of a
chicken coop, they probably
think of the old red coop in the backyard. Typically
this coop is worn down and needs repainted. If you
want though, you can build chicken coop quite easily
using the most basic materials. The most important
thing when you are building your coop is to make
sure you adhere to a few simple specifications. For
the most part you can build
chicken coop any way you
want, but there are some things you will need to
remember.
The first thing you need to do is make
sure that the roof isn't too low. One thing that you
will learn about chickens is that they love to jump.
There is nothing wrong with this but if they hit
their heads on the ceiling there is a chance that
their necks will break. No, one chicken will not
look at another and learn from its actions. If you
ceiling is too low, then your chickens will jump
into the ceiling one by one until they are all dead
and let's be honest, laying hens do not make for
good meat.
When you build chicken coop you will want to make
sure that the chickens have a way out of the coop on
warm days. This means you will need some sort of pen
outside the coop, and there is chicken wire made for
this exact purpose. It is up to you whether you want
to fence the top of the yard, but if you do not,
then make sure that the fence is high enough that
the chickens cannot simply hop over it.
Your chickens may not always be able to use the
yard. If you live in an area that gets snow, you
will want to make sure that you devise a way to
close the exit when you build chicken coop. There
are a number of ways to do this, and one way would
be to use an old mailbox for the ramp. By using this
method, you can simply shut the mailbox and stuff it
with insulation from the other side to keep your
chickens warm in the winter. Do make sure you close
it at both ends to avoid having the chickens eat the
insulation.
Make sure that there is a fixture for a heat lamp
somewhere in the ceiling. Chickens do need an
adequate amount of light during the day, and the
last thing you want to do is keep them in the dark
all the time and then keep opening the door every
few hours to check on them. Not only is this
unhealthy, it could also cause them to go blind.
