Chicken Coops Designs – Key Considerations for a Happy and Healthy Flock of Chickens : chicken coops

Are you thinking about raising chickens? If so, you will be glad to hear there are a lot of different types of chicken coops designs available in the marketplace. Some can be elaborate while others are simple and merely practical. Irrespective of what coop design you finally go for, listed below are some key things to think about. Choosing chicken coop designs is going to be a lot easier once you have read through this.

Making plans in advance

As you’re already making this investment, be certain to plan ahead when you are planning your chicken coop. You may prefer to start out with just two or three chickens for fresh eggs and expand your flock of chickens later on. You will find it is prudent to build-in this option for growth from the outset so you do not have to put together an even bigger coop in the future.

Give your flock of chickens enough space

When considering chicken coops designs, ensure that you select one which will give your chickens lots of space. Overly crowded conditions can create health issues and other problems for your chickens. A flock of chickens which have room to breathe will do much better overall and give you a greater financial return per chicken. A general guideline is 4 square feet per chicken, if they are also allowed to maneuver around the coop. Now if your flock don’t have access to a run to move around in, then you should allocate at least double the square footage per chicken.

Pay attention to the quality of ventilation for your chickens

All living creatures need fresh air and good ventilation to flourish and stay healthy. When you are browsing chicken coops designs, keep in mind that the design should incorporate ample ventilation. That being said, you don’t want your chicken coop to be drafty, as that can be fatal for your birds. Insufficient levels of fresh air may cause sickness in your birds due to levels of toxicity. A good coop construction will have vents that ensure air gets around the construction whilst also not subjecting your chickens to awfully cold drafts. Ensure the vents are secured with a strong mesh to keep predators out.

Protect the coop against the rain

Rain isn’t a good thing for your chickens, so whenever you are choosing chicken coops designs, select one that shields it from this. Again, this is essential to the health of your birds, and consequently you will get more fresh eggs from them.

Stop infestation from rats and other rodents

You don’t want critters like rats coming into the coop, so you need to take preventative measures to ensure this does not occur. Rodents are very keen on burrowing under ground, so this needs to be a line of defence for your birds. They can eat their way through wood and chew all the way through regular chicken wire.

In the event that you are thinking about choosing chicken coops designs which have no floor, you will want to put fencing in place that has top grade meshing which contains very small holes in it. Bury a minimum of 12 inches of it into the ground around the perimeter of your coop. This measure will stop any animals from burrowing their way below the ground and into the chicken coop. It’s important to note that a solid floor made from tiles or even cement will add another layer of defense for your flock.

Ensuring the coop protects against natural predators

Though you may currently not have any problem with coyotes, foxes, hawks or other types of predatory creatures, that can quickly change once you have chickens. This is true even if you live in town, so do not presuppose all chicken coops designs will keep your chickens secure, or you will likely be sorry later on.

It’s also imperative that you observe that ordinary chicken wire has large holes, so don’t rely on this alone to keep your chickens out of trouble. Good quality mesh wire can be securely attached to the wood all the way around the chicken coop. At night you will also want to deter predators by installing lights that go off when motion of the would-be predator is detected.

Choosing the very best of several chicken coops designs may seem rather overwhelming at first. However, if you stick to the guidance and suggestions outlined above, you are not going to go far wrong in building a great coop for your chickens that will keep them safe and sound.

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