Build a Simple Chicken Coop Yourself - No Headaches!
You are a handy guy or gal, you like to do things yourself, and you have decided to have some hens in your backyard.
Great idea.
But where can you find a variety of small backyard chicken coop plans to study, in order to find the right one for you? Here are some ideas to think about when you pick a plan.
Yesterday I was looking at chicken coop plans and started to laugh - a few of them were so big and fancy that I had to wonder whether any hens ever had lived in them! Probably not.
Let's get reasonable here, and find some great plans that have been pre-tested with real chickens.
And, plans that allow you to get started over one weekend.
After all, you are busy, maybe you have kids to get off to school as well as yourself to work.
You do not want a project that will take a month or so to finish.
The link below is the best source I have found to date on how to build simple chicken coops, attractive, practical, and detailed with clear steps.
Wow - I wish I had written this handy book - but that is okay, I can follow an expert as well as the next person.
Who said I had to know everything? Remember that you will want to make some decisions first, before you decide on a particular plan.
For instance, how many hens do you think you can handle in a backyard coop? Two? Five? Ten? Have you checked with your city health officials about what the maximum allowed number is? Better do that right away.
Another important idea is to look at your backyard in terms of feeding your hens.
Chickens are great foragers, finding food everywhere in and on the ground: seeds, bugs, weeds and more.
If you have a garden, you may want to make sure the chicken run goes over a portion of the garden, and then move it around regularly.
Automatic weeding and bug-cleaning - if you have a good practical moveable plan.
Even in the middle of a city there can be various critters that love your chickens, or love any chicken feed or seeds that you give them.
In our area of town, there are skunks, rats, squirrels, coyotes, and even raccoons.
So of course, any chicken coop plan needs to have the right design to keep any of those critters on the outside! Check with your city officials about the approximate numbers of such animals in your neighborhood.
Then assume you may have these unwelcome visitors try to get in, and keep gates closed, with strong high fences.
If you have children and want them to help with the chickens, where are you going to get the right information to teach them? Luckily there are several sites - see link below - with excellent details on care and feeding, health problems, even information on the most family-friendly breeds of chicken.
My favorites: Buff Orpingtons or Plyimouth Rocks, but there are several other great breeds! Make sure your small chicken coop plans are going to allow your children to get in and out of the coop, and gather eggs safely.
Once you have decided on a simple chicken coop that you can build yourself, spend the weekend and get it done.
You should be able to finish a coop in about 3 days.
Over time, you will find that your hens provide you with great fresh organic eggs, as well as the ability to be even more independent of that expensive mega-grocery store down the road! Teach your kids about what self-reliance and independence really is with your backyard chicken flock and the coop you built yourself.
Great idea.
But where can you find a variety of small backyard chicken coop plans to study, in order to find the right one for you? Here are some ideas to think about when you pick a plan.
Yesterday I was looking at chicken coop plans and started to laugh - a few of them were so big and fancy that I had to wonder whether any hens ever had lived in them! Probably not.
Let's get reasonable here, and find some great plans that have been pre-tested with real chickens.
And, plans that allow you to get started over one weekend.
After all, you are busy, maybe you have kids to get off to school as well as yourself to work.
You do not want a project that will take a month or so to finish.
The link below is the best source I have found to date on how to build simple chicken coops, attractive, practical, and detailed with clear steps.
Wow - I wish I had written this handy book - but that is okay, I can follow an expert as well as the next person.
Who said I had to know everything? Remember that you will want to make some decisions first, before you decide on a particular plan.
For instance, how many hens do you think you can handle in a backyard coop? Two? Five? Ten? Have you checked with your city health officials about what the maximum allowed number is? Better do that right away.
Another important idea is to look at your backyard in terms of feeding your hens.
Chickens are great foragers, finding food everywhere in and on the ground: seeds, bugs, weeds and more.
If you have a garden, you may want to make sure the chicken run goes over a portion of the garden, and then move it around regularly.
Automatic weeding and bug-cleaning - if you have a good practical moveable plan.
Even in the middle of a city there can be various critters that love your chickens, or love any chicken feed or seeds that you give them.
In our area of town, there are skunks, rats, squirrels, coyotes, and even raccoons.
So of course, any chicken coop plan needs to have the right design to keep any of those critters on the outside! Check with your city officials about the approximate numbers of such animals in your neighborhood.
Then assume you may have these unwelcome visitors try to get in, and keep gates closed, with strong high fences.
If you have children and want them to help with the chickens, where are you going to get the right information to teach them? Luckily there are several sites - see link below - with excellent details on care and feeding, health problems, even information on the most family-friendly breeds of chicken.
My favorites: Buff Orpingtons or Plyimouth Rocks, but there are several other great breeds! Make sure your small chicken coop plans are going to allow your children to get in and out of the coop, and gather eggs safely.
Once you have decided on a simple chicken coop that you can build yourself, spend the weekend and get it done.
You should be able to finish a coop in about 3 days.
Over time, you will find that your hens provide you with great fresh organic eggs, as well as the ability to be even more independent of that expensive mega-grocery store down the road! Teach your kids about what self-reliance and independence really is with your backyard chicken flock and the coop you built yourself.