To successfully breed chickens, you need to provide the right conditions for them. There are no trifles in this case. It is extremely important to choose the right place to build a chicken coop. Inside, it is necessary to maintain the required level of lighting and temperature. The right chicken coop is the key to good egg production even in winter.
You can make it yourself. This does not require large material investments. All you need is enough free time. How to build a chicken coop with your own hands will be discussed in the article.
Basic requirements for a chicken coop
To make a chicken coop with your own hands (photo options are presented below), you need to consider the basic requirements for such a building. It depends on the correctness of its design whether the hens will lay eggs, whether they will get sick, etc.
In the country house or garden plot, you can equip a summer or winter chicken coop. It all depends on the needs of the owners of the mini-farm. A good chicken coop should be spacious enough. Otherwiseits inhabitants will often get sick. High egg-laying rates are out of the question in this case.
It is important to pay attention to the location of the chicken coop on the site, to provide for the presence of a fence. Inside such a bird house, the necessary conditions should be created. This is especially important in winter. Inside the seats must be located correctly. You will need to provide proper ventilation, lighting and heating during the cold season.
Fencing and site selection
To build a DIY chicken coop for 10, 20 or more birds, you will need to approach the planning process carefully. You need to start by choosing the right place. It is better that this building is located away from home. Otherwise, the residents will hear noise, feel a specific smell. This will cause some discomfort.
Having chosen a remote site, it will be necessary to provide adequate protection for the inhabitants of the building from gusty winds and scorching sunlight. It is welcome if trees or tall shrubs grow near the chicken coop.
Chickens will need to provide space for walking. This area needs to be fenced off. He will not allow chickens to scatter around the site. It should be noted that even with clipped wings, this bird can fly up to a height of 2 m. Also, the fence should protect the inhabitants of the building from various predators. These are rats, hedgehogs, foxes, as well as domestic cats and dogs.
Area and orientation of the chicken coop in space
Toharmoniously fit the building on the site, it is necessary to calculate its dimensions. This parameter is determined by the number of birds that will live here. Each chicken requires at least 0.5 m² of floor space. If it is planned to build an insulated object, it should also include a vestibule.
So, for example, if you plan to create a do-it-yourself summer chicken coop for 20 chickens, its total area should be at least 10 m². For 10 chickens, a 5 m² house is enough. However, increasing the space inside the building is not prohibited. The winter chicken coop for 20 chickens should be even larger. Its area cannot be less than 11 m². For 10 chickens, the winter version of the building should have dimensions of 6 m² or more.
Usually the chicken coop has a rectangular shape. Most often it is located on a site in length from east to west. It is desirable that the windows face south, and the door faces east. This will ensure that enough sunlight enters the house. If the weather is hot, dry, the windows should be covered with curtains. If there is not enough light, the hens do not lay well.
Microclimate
Building a chicken coop with your own hands (see the review for a photo of the structures) is easy. However, it is necessary to provide normal living conditions for its inhabitants. This task is more difficult to deal with. The optimum temperature for breeding chickens is in the range of 15-28 ºС. If it gets hotter or colder, the hens stop actively laying eggs.
Summerwhen the temperature rises, it is required to create good ventilation and shading of the chicken coop. In winter, additional heating will be required. To keep energy costs to a minimum, the chicken coop will need to be insulated. Its walls should not be thinner than 20 cm. The floor, ceiling, and roof are also covered with a layer of thermal insulation. The cracks must be carefully sealed. At the same time, we must not forget about high-quality ventilation. For this, ventilation ducts are created, a window is being equipped.
It is forbidden to create chicken coops with the help of stoves and potbelly stoves. They often cause fires. The best option for creating the right microclimate conditions in winter is the use of infrared heaters. They can be UV lamps or a special film. The second option is preferable. Infrared film requires less energy, provides uniform heating of the room.
Inner space
When creating a do-it-yourself summer or winter chicken coop for 20 chickens or fewer birds, you need to think about the correct layout of the space inside. There must be perches, drinkers and feeders. Chickens that lay eggs need nests. Laying hens and brood hens should be housed in a dedicated, clutter-free area.
It is necessary to follow all the rules for planning the internal space of the chicken coop. All perches must be on the side opposite the entrance. Their sizes should correspond to the size of chickens of a certain breed, as well as their number.
Nests are installed in a darkened, protected fromwind and other adverse effects of the place. Their sizes are also determined by the characteristics of the bird breed. Each hen should have a separate nest. The security of this zone should be maximum. Otherwise, the hens will not lay.
Other interior elements of the chicken coop
Summer or winter chicken coop for 20, 10 or other number of birds should have drinkers and feeders inside. They must be installed so that the passage is not cluttered or obstructed. Also, feeders and drinkers should not interfere with cleaning inside the building.
For different types of feed, certain containers must be used. They need to be placed in different areas of the chicken coop. At the same time, the approach to them should be open from all sides. To create the right feeders, you will need several containers. They differ in material and application.
Wooden oblong containers will be required for dry food. They should be long enough for the bird to have free access to the contents from any direction. Wet food needs plastic containers. Fresh grass should be covered with metal wire nets.
In the chicken coop, an additional hole should be equipped for the chickens to go outside. In winter, this object will need additional insulation.
Lighting, ventilation
Do-it-yourself chicken coop for 10 chickens or more must be built in accordance with all requirements. In order for a bird to lay eggs, it needs about 10 hours of daylight hours. If this indicator is increased by another 2 hours,productivity will increase by another 30%. However, a longer duration of illumination is not required. Otherwise, the chickens will become weak and sick.
Summer chicken coop does not need additional lighting. For winter construction, additional lamps are used. Suitable fluorescent devices with a power of not more than 40 V, as well as incandescent lamps up to 60 V. Energy-saving illuminators are the best option. Their spectrum is as close as possible to daylight.
Ventilation must be created in any chicken coop. It could be a piping system. Also, a window is necessarily made in the building. It is insulated for the winter. In the summer, it will become a source of light in the room. This is an important building element.
Tools and materials
To create a do-it-yourself chicken coop for 20 chickens or a different number of birds, you will need to prepare the appropriate material and all the necessary tools. You will need boards and bars. Roof, floor, walls will be created from them.
Brick and cement mortar must be prepared to create a foundation. In addition, insulating materials will be required. It can be mineral wool, roofing felt, etc. To create an aviary for bird walks on the site, a metal mesh is used. Cells should be small.
In addition to materials, you will need the appropriate tools. It is necessary to prepare a saw, a hammer, a screwdriver, self-tapping screws and nails, a ruler and a building level. You will also need a shovel, a container for mixing cement mortar. After that it will be possiblestart construction work.
Foundation
To build a winter chicken coop with your own hands, you will definitely need to create a foundation. For summer buildings with large dimensions, this is also a must. For such structures, the foundation must be of a support-columnar type. It is made up of blocks. This method is highly reliable. This will create additional ventilation.
You need to markup in accordance with the developed construction plan. In this area, the top layer of soil is removed. Next, mark the location of the recesses. In these places, recesses are made. Their length and width is 40 cm. The depth should be 60 cm. There should be a distance of 1.5-2 m between each support. They should stand in a row.
At the bottom you need to pour crushed stone, and then sand. This pillow should be 20 cm high. The surface is rammed. A small amount of cement mortar is poured to the bottom. 2 bricks are laid out on it. They are covered with a layer of cement. Then 2 more bricks are laid across the first layer. The height of the pedestals should be 20-25 cm. They should dry well. Next, the columns are treated with bitumen.
Walls
Considering the technology of how to build a chicken coop with your own hands, you should delve into the process of building walls. First, a floor is laid out from a thick beam. Their ends must be joined in half. For the floor log, a beam laid on the edge is used. Its cross section should be 100x150 mm. Between the lags make a distance of 50 cm. The resulting gaps must be closed with scraps of timber.
Walls shouldbe at least 1.8 m high. To create them, the beam is sequentially placed, connecting the corners with the help of groove-thorn locks. Using the same technology, the corners of the beam are connected in subsequent rows. A fiber based on jute and flax is used as a sealant.
Negels are used for timber of natural moisture level. This will prevent deformation during the drying process of the material. Holes are made under them at a distance of 1 m. Their depth should be 2.5 beams. Such holes are made in a checkerboard pattern. Nagels are hammered into the wood by 7 cm.
Gender
Creating a chicken coop with your own hands, you need to build a floor. Under the installed lags, insulation is stretched, which will protect the premises from the wind. It is fixed with boards measuring 25x100 mm. Next, you need to apply a heater. It is best to use mineral wool. It fills the space between the lags.
Across the log you need to sew boards. This is done at a distance of 10 cm. Boards with a cross section of 50x150 mm are used. A layer of waterproof plywood is laid on top.
Roof
When building a chicken coop with your own hands, the next step is the arrangement of the roof. It can be single or double. The first option is suitable for beginner builders. A gable roof is more difficult to build, but it better protects the interior from temperature changes, allowing you to reduce energy costs in the winter.
To create a gable roof, you need to fix the ceiling beams. Further, a truss system is installed on the horizontally located logs. She must haveangle 35-50º. A crate is mounted on the rafter system. On top you need to lay a layer of waterproofing. Next, the insulation is mounted.
The top of the roof is covered with a special material. It can be tiles, slate, etc. The ceiling must be sheathed with chipboard sheets on both sides. A layer of mineral wool is also laid between the lags.
Ventilation
Ventilation is often arranged when creating windows. In winter types of buildings, it will be necessary to create a system of channels through which air will be exchanged. For this, plastic or galvanized pipes with a diameter of 140 mm are suitable. They should be on different sides of the building.
The end of one pipe should be at a distance of 20 cm from the floor, and the second - at a height of 10 cm from the ceiling. The street part of the pipe should be high. The exhaust channel should be away from perches, nests. After that, the arrangement of the internal space is carried out.
Having considered how to create a chicken coop with your own hands, you can build it yourself. At the same time, optimal conditions will be created for its inhabitants.
