A Good Home Chicken Coop Makes Your Chickens Happy

Today a lot of folks are considering a home chicken coop for their backyard. They like the idea of fresh eggs daily and access to all natural poultry meat—meat with no growth hormones or antibiotics.And then there are those who like the thought of a chicken or some chickens for pets.

Oh Yeah and this pet can still give you eggs every day! But if you are thinking about putting a home chicken coop in your yard there are some issues you really need to think about first. Number one issue–Does your local municipality allow the raising of chickens in your backyard?

This is the first thing you need to know. Second – what will the purpose of the chickens be? It might seem a little crazy, some people have intentionally built mobile coops specifically to allow their chickens to maintain their grass by eating up the pest insects and naturally fertilizing the the soil.

Most of these people also benefit from the eggs collected. Knowing in advance what you want from from your chickens makes everything so much simpler. If you plan on poultry meat it is bad idea to make them pets. Once you have figured out what you want you can then make plans meet your goals. If your chickens are to be primarily for eggs, you can reasonably expect each (healthy) hen to produce one egg every 26 hours.

The cycle that controls this egg production is daytime light patterns (another reason for making sure, you have set up proper lighting in the coop). How many eggs you want each day will determine how many hens you need. The number of hens will determine the size of the chicken coop required. (Remember each chicken needs adequate space inside the coop)

A third issue to look at is the actual location of the coop in your yard.

You will want to take advantage–if possible–of the natural attributes available. Look for an area close, where you can keep half an eye on the flock, with good drainage and some protection from the wind, if possible.

Take these three concerns in to account and you will feel better and be ready to get started with the design of your home chicken coop. Designing and building your coop will be a lot easier if you have quality building plans. Plans that cover all the issues needed to be covered–in depth. This is especially important for the novice.

Putting up a home chicken coop is supposed to be fun, easy, and shouldn’t cost a lot. Get the right plans and you’ll find that is true.