Building the perfect chicken coop in your backyard can be a lot of fun if you have the correct plan for it. The biggest mistake lot of people commit is to start building a chicken house without proper planning. This will not only make it a difficult experience but will also result in you overrunning your budget.
Here are seven key tips that will help you in building the perfect chicken coop:
1) Sizing: Proper sizing of your chicken house needs to be done based on the space availability and the number of chickens you want to have. Always plan for some extra capacity in case you decide to add some more chickens in the future.
2) Orientation: Orientation of your chicken house should be such that you get adequate sunshine and you protect the chickens from the cold draft. This step is very important for building the perfect chicken coop and caring for the health of your birds. Very cold weather and high levels of moisture will make the chickens fall sick. So proper orientation planning is critical. If required take professional help here.
3) Protection: Proper protection for the chicken house is another important aspect of planning. You will have to protect the house from all sides so that it is predator proof. The surrounding area needs to have a wire mesh so that rats and foxes cannot burrow into the house.
4) Roosting: Plan for properly spaced roosting poles for the chickens to sleep. This will ensure good health of the chickens and you will get good quality eggs.
5) Nesting: For the chickens to lay eggs you will require nesting boxes. These boxes should be placed in a dark corner inside the coop. Make sure you have one nest box for every 3 to 4 chickens. These boxes should be at height above the ground but below the height at which you have the roosting poles. This is the normal practice that is followed when building the perfect chicken coop.
6) Feeder: Your plan for the chicken house needs to have feeder and waterer inside the coop. This important for maintaining healthy chickens.
7) Waste Disposal: For easy cleaning and drainage of water it is best to have a slight slope on the floor. Alternately you may plan for placing removable plastic trays below the roosts for timely disposal of droppings.
If you keep these key points in mind when planning the chicken house, then building a chicken coop will be a fun activity.