Tag Archives: Chicken Coop Design


Chicken Coop Designs

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You’ve had the good idea to rear chooks and are looking at the different hutch plans for them. There are just so many around how are you supposed to know whether you want an ark or a tractor?. All you want is something that will house a few hens safely so which chicken coop designs do you decide on?

Here’s a quick break down on the specifics of each;

This may seem basic but a chicken coop, hen house, chook house are all the same thing. A small building that is intended to keep chickens in – and predators out. But there are a couple of terms that you may have come across and thought “what the hang is that?”

Chicken Hutch; Have you heard of a rabbit hutch? Same thing, only for chickens. A light, portable – usually rectangle – cube that has a covered end and a run end. These are perfect for people that only want to keep one or two girls.

The Ark or Tractor; These are moveable houses which have the feature of not having a floor. This allows your hens to be free-ranging while also being sheltered from predators. They do come in all shapes, but the most common one is an A-Frame.

An Ark is terrific because the chickens can eat the bugs and worms in the soil so they will need less feeding by you. Their manure is also great as a fertiliser.

How Big Does Your Coop Need To Be?
The size of your enclosure directly corresponds to the number of birds that you want to rear.

Up to 5 Chickens?
Go for a small chicken coop design. Look at an ark or tractor design. These are trouble-free to construct, give plenty of light and protection, take up less room and the chickens also spruce up your lawn for you!

Raising 5-10 Chooks?
A medium sized chicken coop design will suit you. These are a more lasting building and will incorporate a area for nesting. They are much larger (around 30-40 square feet) so take this into account when choosing your plans and location. You will also need to allow room for feeders, water troughs and access.

More than 10?
Whoa, you are getting into the full-size stuff now! This chicken house design is rather big, will need more of all of the above and will probably involve a run. All of which makes the large pen more dear so be certain that the plans that you are going to work from are the best for your spot and circumstances. This size coop is ideal if you wanted to trade the eggs.

For a great selection of chicken coop designs that are cheap and easy to build no matter how many chooks you want to farm head to www.HenHousePlansOnline.com

Chicken Coop Plan – It’s All in the Drawing

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Chicken coops are very important when you are raising chickens because this is basically where they live. Usually, these housing structures are built with nesting boxes where the chickens lay their eggs and a bird perch for them to sleep on. There is an ongoing debate as what a chicken coops real purpose is and the side that you choose will tell you the things you need to know about chicken coop building plans.

 

There is a group of people who believe that chickens are strong animals that can withstand outdoor conditions and that they cannot be confined in a chicken coop that is dark and has a poor ventilation system. If you agree to this, then your chicken coop should be built from material that is light and airy. The coop also has to be large enough so your hens can move around. You should calculate at least 4 square feet for every chicken you are going to keep.

Another group of people believe that chickens cannot withstand the outdoors and are prone to illness when exposed to the elements. These people believe that a chicken coop has to be sturdy in order to protect the animals from the climate. This means that the materials you would use are heavy and can prevent wind drafts.

 

The thinking of these 2 groups of people will lead to different designs in chicken coop building plans. One chicken coop design has to be large with windows that allow ventilation and the other chicken coop design has to have windows that can be shut to control the ventilation.

 

It does not matter which arguments you agree to as long as you do not forget about the most important thing: Protecting your chickens welfare.. You should keep in mind that by keeping your chickens healthy and feeling comfortable, you will increase the number of eggs they lay. And in the end this is what you want.