Chicken House Plans » how to build a chicken house

Electrical Heating Inside Your Chicken House Plan

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:02:44 +0000

In this article, we will take a closer look at using electrical heating inside your chicken house. If you are among the people who despite their desperate tries, can’t manage to heat up their chicken coop using passive methods, it might be a good idea to install some kind of electric heating device. But you have to be certain that you need it, any kind of artificial source of heat can be dangerous in an environment like your chicken coop.

What device should you use?

If you will look around, you will find many devices that are designed to heat up your chicken coop. However, we will take a look at the most popular ones like heat lamps, ceramic heat emitters and oil-filled electric radiators. These are the three devices you should be considering while trying to increase the temperature inside your chicken house.

Heat lamps

Heat lamps are by far the most popular way to make your chicken house plan warmer. However, they are also the most dangerous solution from the three I’ve mentioned above. The immense heat they produce will warm your chicken house fast but, in case of a failure or if the lamp falls down onto the coops’ bedding, it will most likely cause a fire. Considering the small size of most chicken houses, your flock has no chances of survival in such a case…

It is important to take every precaution you can. Keep the heat lamp at least 18″ from any combustible materials. You should also screw the lamp in two points(like ceiling and a nearby wall). This will insure it remains in safe distance from the bedding, even if one screw fails.

Ceramic heat emitters

This kind of heating devices have a very similar shape to light bulbs, but they do not emit any kind of light. They get very hot so it is important to separate them from your chickens. They also have a flow, because the heat they produce fails to radiate on greater lengths. This means they give heat but only at short distances, so if you have bigger coop it might not be a good idea to invest in them.

Oil-filled electric radiators

This is the last method of heating the chicken house plan, and it is by far the safest one. The biggest advantage of electric radiators is the fact, they don’t emit very high temperatures so the risk of your chickens getting burned is minimal. However, they cost much more than the other two solutions so if you are on a budget this may not be for you.

What to avoid

The biggest no-no are all kinds of air blowing heating machines. You have to remember that there is a lot of dust inside your chicken house so you face the risk of the heating device getting clogged up. This, on the other hand creates a risk of fire.

Some safety tips

The most important safety measure is protecting your chickens from intensive heat these devices produce. Another thing you should remember is hiding all the wires from your chickens. Chickens are very curious animals, and they like to peck on things. Therefore, if they choose to “try-out” a wire, they will most likely get electrocuted and die. Furthermore, avoid using extension cords inside your chicken house, they often get overheated and may be a fire threat.

I do believe it is all you need to know about installing heating inside the chicken house. If for some reason, you still have some questions about this topic, feel free to post a comment. I will try to answer it to the best of my abilities.

Chicken House Plans – Chicken House Building Plans

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:28:22 +0000

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.

Build a Chicken House – How To Build a Chicken House Quickly

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:29:49 +0000

Many people think that building a chicken house is a very hard, time consuming and draining process. But, as with everything in life, things are just the way you want them to see. Truth is that you can build your chicken house quickly and easily without loosing too much of your time and energy. If you will approach this topic in the right manner, you will finish your first chicken house in as little as three days.

Always plan before working

As old saying goes:”Failing to plan is planning to fail.” It is especially true when you plan to build a chicken house. They require a lot of planning, mainly when it comes to space. Even before you decide, what kind of a chicken house you want, you should establish how many chickens will inhabit it. Based on that, you can start to plan how big your chicken coop should be.

You have to take into consideration, how much space will all the necessary equipment like feeders, waterers or perches, take. It isn’t something that you want to surprise you after you finish to build your chicken house.

The easiest solution is to draw the plan of your chicken coop before you begin to build it. However if you have no experience at planning a chicken house, I would recommend you to find ready made plans. This way you will ensure that your animals will feel comfortable in results of your work.

Turn the light on

Chicken require light in order to feel good. The easiest and probably only way to accomplish that goal is make sure, you have included enough windows in your chicken house.

Location is the other very important thing. You can’t place your windows too low or in a way that will make the sun shine directly at your chickens. It is important if you don’t want to make your chickens feel uncomfortable. In short you want windows that allow in a lot of light that isn’t directed at your chickens.

Go big

The most common mistake people make when they start to build their first chicken house, is choosing a plan that doesn’t offer enough space. Don’t stop yourself from building something a bit bigger than you need. This way you insure there will be enough space for other useful gadgets you may include with time or additional chickens.

Organize your work

Efficiently managing your time during your construction is something that will allow you to finish to build your chicken house fast and without any serious problems. Try to group your tasks into similar categories and estimate time needed to finish each one of them. Always leave some time for mishaps or unplanned delays. This is the only way you can be sure you will finish your project in designated time.

Building a Chicken House – How To Build a Chicken House

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:27:44 +0000

If you have taken the decision it is time to start building your own chicken house, there are few things you have to keep in mind before you start. It is much better to get through your plans to build a chicken house once again, just to insure everything is in place. This will prevent you from making mistakes that later would cost you many hours of additional work.

1. Size is very important

Size is probably the single most important factor, that you should examine one more time before you start building your chicken house. It is your obligation to make sure your chicken house will be spacious enough for your chickens.

You should provide your flock with at least 3 to 5 square feet per every chicken. If you wonder how big your chicken house should exactly be, you have to establish the breed of your bird and then choose the minimal space required for its size.

The last tip I have on this matter is building your chicken house bigger than what you need. This is a wise thing to do, because more space won’t hurt you and if your chickens will grow bigger, or you will want to get more of them your already build chicken house won’t require costly modifications.

2. Protection from weather conditions

The second thing you have to take care before you build a chicken house is protecting your chickens from harsh weather conditions. This includes, rains, strong winds, low temperatures etc.

The basic action to insure your flock is safe and happy is making your chicken house waterproof. It means you have to make the roof, floor, windows and all the other parts of the coop resistant to water.

As to protection from the winds, you have to make sure your construction is durable and heavy enough to withhold them. Making a chicken house that is too light will allow a stronger gust to destroy or at least throw your chicken house around.

As to protection from low temperatures, if you live in a cold climate you have to install some kind of insulation. This will make sure your chickens won’t suffer from cold.

3. Create easy access points

You should choose a chicken house plan that has a lot of handy access points, for your own sake. It will allow you to clean your chicken house much easier as well as collect the eggs without too much effort.

4. Give your chickens some fresh air

The forth thing you have to think about before you begin building your chicken house are windows. You have to provide enough sunlight into your coop, which by the way, is very important for proper health of your flock. Windows are also sources of fresh air, which as you may realize is crucial to remain healthy.

Design your chicken house in a way that prevents drafts inside of it. Too much air flow may make your chickens sick and that is something you would like to avoid.

5. Protect your chickens from predators

You should keep in mind that your chickens are a tasty prey for many animals that live in your environment. That is why you should always provide enough protection for your birds, or some day they will be gone.

Plan a fence before building a chicken house and use durable materials that will withhold attacks of larger aggressors. The other thing you should do is dig some of the fence of your chicken run into the ground to protect your flock from predators that would like to dig underneath it.

Above you have a list of some of the most common mistakes people make building a chicken house. Make sure your chicken house plan is up to job, before you start banging nails and cutting wood. This will help you to avoid a lot of problems later.