Are you sure your chicken house plan requires more [...]]]> In this post, I will introduce you to methods that will allow you to create a much warmer chicken house plan. This specific article will be devoted to insulation, what it is, how it affects temperature of your coop and when you should use it.

Are you sure your chicken house plan requires more warmth?

Before you begin to modify plan of your chicken house, let’s discuss some important figures. The most important question you should ask yourself before you start to increase the indoor temperature of your chicken house is, What climate do you live in? Is it cold frequently? Do the weather conditions change often? What are the maximal and minimal temperatures you experience throughout the year?

If you are living in a climate that is moderately cold or warm all yearlong, you probably don’t have to worry about temperatures. The thing that many people do not realize is the fact that chickens themselves produce about 10 watts of heat each. Therefore, if you own 10 hens, it’s like having a 100W light bulb on at all times. What does it mean? It means that, unless you experience really low temperatures, your chickens will be able to heat their chicken house all by themselves.

How is your chicken house losing heat?

There are two ways your chicken house plan may be losing heat. First one is by air exchange. It is obvious that if the air inside your coop is warmer than the air outside, the exchange of the two will cause the temperature inside your chicken house to drop. The thing you should look out for are drafts. If outdoor temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit(thermometer unaffected by winds), but the thermometer that is exposed to winds shows 14 degrees Fahrenheit, inside of your coop shouldn’t be lower than 32 F. Why? Because if there are no drafts inside your chicken house, it should have a temperature of still air.

The second way your chicken house can be losing temperature is, radiant heat loss. That is the kind of loss that insulation is supposed to prevent. It is easiest to explain using the example of a cup filled with hot tea. At first your tea is hot, then left for a while, the cup becomes hot but, the tea is getting colder. Leave them for even more time, and you will notice that the surface the cup stands on is, hotter than it used to be and the tea is colder than in the beginning. In short tea(your chicken house) looses its’ temperature in favor of objects in its’ environment.

The physics of chicken house insulation

In the following paragraphs, I will try to explain to you the importance of proper insulation. Many people have false assumptions about how the insulations works. Despite what you may think, insulating your coop doesn’t make it warmer or colder. I understand it may sound weird but, let me elaborate on this issue.

The main purpose of insulation is to protect whatever space is insulated from the outside temperature. In short, if your coop is warm and the outside temperature is cold, insulation protects your chicken house from losing its heat. It doesn’t as many people think, heat it up by itself. That is why, well insulated chicken house plan remains warm in the winter and cold in the summer. If you don’t believe me, grab some ice cream put them on the table and count time required for them to melt. Later grab the same portion of the same ice cream but cover them with a blanket and measure the time again. You will see that ice creams covered with a blanket “survived” longer than the ones’ left in the open.

The only issue with too much insulation is, that if in summer, your chickens will produce a lot of heat, it won’t dissipate as fast as it would without insulation. So in the end the inside of your chicken house will be warmer than it should. That is why installing an insulation should be done only if you are living in really extreme climate.

This is all the information you should know about insulating your chicken house plan to make it warm and pleasurable for your chickens. If you still don’t get some parts of this concept, read this post again, and you should understand it. See you in the next post about how to further preserve the temperature of your chicken house plan.

I like no other [...]]]> Many people decide to face the task of planning their own chicken house. However, their lack of experience and knowledge quickly shows that this task is not as easy as most of them think. There are many variables and important problems you have to address before drawing the first line.

I like no other person understand that. Even though, my first chicken house was built using ready made plans, since then I’ve gained a lot of information and experience in this topic. That is why I’ve decided to write this article, which will be a guide for people who are just starting out.

Location, location, location…

If you want your chicken house plan to be accepted and liked by your chickens, you have to choose the right place to build it. This is very important as even the pretties and well thought through coop won’t be worth a red cent, unless he is located on a safe and even piece of land.

You have to consider things like the kind of soil and climate you have at your disposal. If it rains a lot throughout the year in your area, it is a good idea to elevate your chicken house from the ground a bit. This will prevent flooding. Furthermore, if the soil in your backyard is too soft, house may be sinking into the ground with time under the weight of the chickens and the coop.

You should always pay attention to things like this, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises after a short period of time.

Choose the right size

Size is another very important factor when it comes to building a comfortable chicken house. The last thing you want is a chicken house plan that is too small to hold all of your chickens. That is why you have to create a very detailed blueprint that will allow you to insure everyone of your chickens has enough space to live.

Another thing you need to remember is that you will have to include many accessories like waterers etc. Always make sure they fit your chicken house or else, you will be forced to make many last minute changes and that is the sure fire way to make mistakes.

Build great windows

Light is a very important thing for chickens as their entire day depends on it. Failing to locate windows of appropriate size, will cause your chickens to feel weird and lay eggs during wrong hours.

You should also remember that windows are responsible for ventilation in your chicken house, so placing them wrong may cause drafts or lack of fresh air. Both are wrong, and you have to make sure they aren’t present in your chicken house plan.

Add the chicken run and fence

Your chickens require regular exercise, this need can be easily met by building a chicken run. It doesn’t have to be anything special, just make sure it is large enough, and you protect it with a fence.

Fence is critical to protect your chickens from predators. Don’t get fooled by thinking that natural enemies of chicken are absent in your neighborhood. You simple haven’t seen them yet.

As you can see there are a lot of things you have to remember about while planning your chicken house. That is the exact reason why, I’ve decided to acquire professionally designed chicken house building plans during my first construction. This way I’ve avoided many hassles and made sure my chickens were living in the right environment.