Looking forward to building a chicken coop? Congratulations on a worthwhile undertaking! But before you start, it's vital to keep one thing in mind above all else.
The safety of your chickens.
One big concern are predators.
In planning your chicken coop, keeping predators in mind is very important.
Your dear chickens need a place to stay safe and secure.
They are simply susceptible to stress.
Stress can be due to a selection of things for a chicken starting from shortage of food and water to predators like moggies, dogs and enormous birds.
Being aware of a safe surrounding to keep your chickens in and predators out will produce healthy egg habits.
Choosing an area sheltered from common predators is good.
Wild pussycats, raccoons, massive predatory birds and rabid dogs are the most typical offenders of reducing flock size.
Your coop must be engineered to not only look good, but to secure your pet chickens from predators.
Features like the ability to lock the hens in at night and a solid floor or wire mesh on the ground to stop any predators digging under the coop are extremely critical factors in your chickens security.
Use quality materials in building the coop.
Don't skimp on this.
It is better to spend a bit more from the beginning.
Ensure the doors and windows are fairly strong.
Use tolerably thick wire mesh.
Thin wires and delicate wood will not be able to keep predators away.
These are some of the basics elements to consider when deciding how to keep predators away when building a chicken coop.