Chicken Coop Hen House
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
by Kor Rassad
Design Tips for Building a Backyard Hen House
If you wish to raise chickens in your home, then constructing a backyard chicken coop or a hen house is a must. Only healthy and comfortable chickens who feel safe in their environment produce the optimal eggs and keeping them in a pen built of just chicken wire will not make them feel this way.
When designing your hen house, predators should be on the top of your list of priorities. Foxes, dogs, raccoons, weasels and other wily creatures are a great menace to the safety of your chickens, and keeping them penned in a simple wire structure if of no value if you want to keep these predatory animals out. In order to maximize the safety of your hens, you need to have a coop built out quality material, with strong doors and wire layering the windows. Also, put chicken wire around the chicken run sunk one ft deep into the base to keep these predators from digging their way through to your chickens.
When thinking about the comfort of the chickens, consider them the way you would think about the comfort of people. They don't want to be in a place which is too hot, or damp or too cold, as exposure to such extreme conditions can badly affect their wellness. This is why the purpose of the chicken coop demands to be so that they are preserved from extreme weather conditions.
Add the windows so that they face south, as this will allow plenty of sunshine to enter the coop, keeping the coop warm in the winter months. During summer, these windows will let in fresh air, as ventilation is fundamental for the coop to remain dry and cool.
Keep these aspects in mind when your are projecting the chicken coop, or better yet, buy a chicken coop design plan and make small amendments to fit your specific needs. With the correct plans that have instructions which are easy to follow, you will save plenty of money. Just remember, only the most comfortable and healthy chickens lay the best eggs.
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