How to Build a Hen House

By Janet Patrick

When it comes to deciding how to build a hen house there a plenty of different ideas depending on who you talk to and of course the type of birds you are planning to build the house for. Your hen house is a place for your hens to sleep at night and for them to seek shelter in case of inclement weather. Their hen house is also where the nesting boxes are for them to lay their eggs.

When looking at how to build a hen house you should first consider how many hens you are going to have as you should allow for 1.5 square feet of space for each hen inside the house. This will prevent overcrowding that can result not only in fights but reduced egg production. You will need to build one nesting box for every 4 to 5 hens so that are plenty of places for them to lay their eggs. Enough perches should be available to provide 6 to 10 inches of space for each bird.

Material selection is an important part of how to build a hen house. Wood is the ideal medium as it is easy to work with and does not take a lot of time to cut and assemble. With a little hard work you should be able to complete construction in one or two weekends. Your hen house needs to have plenty of ventilation to keep your hens from overheating in the summer and to keep the odors from building. A good window with chicken wire over it works fine.

Part of learning how to build a hen house is taking care of feeding your hens and supplying them with water. Your feeding tray should be designed so that it sits at about the same height as your hens' back, this will help keep the feed and trays clean. You should provide 2 to 3 inches of tray per bird for both feed and water to give them adequate room. A warm dry comfortable home will keep your birds healthy and supplying you with fresh eggs year round.

For expert and detailed step by step instruction on how to construct your own Chicken Coop visit How To Build A Hen House
Buying a Chicken Coop can be quite costly, and you can easily build one for a quarter of the cost of buying...plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself. Check out how to build it now at How To Build A Hen House

Hen Houses - Building a Hen House by the Book

Hen houses are without a doubt a worthy endeavor. When you build them they not only need to be able to sustain your chickens, they also need to look good. For this reason it would be best for you to follow a plan and of course take a few simple tips into consideration when building hen houses.

The first thing you need to do is determine exactly how you are going to feed your chickens. You have a few choices, but the last thing you ever want to do is provide your chickens with an open bowl. Yes, you can do this with other animals but chickens are unique in the fact that they have absolutely no common sense. Though it is ill advised in any species, they will put anything and everything into their food. This can include wood shavings, feces, water, dirt, feathers, etc. If it exists in the coop, they will find a way to get it into their food.
Automatic feeders and trough feeders are the best choice. Naturally you should go with an automatic feeder in any case, but if you insist on getting a trough, then you need to make sure it is elongated, and of course make sure that it is covered. In other words, you want all of your chickens to be able to eat at the same time, and you don't want them fighting over the food. This can lead to some serious problems because if one of your hens is not being fed its performance will suffer.

Water is also very important. As you probably know, everything needs water to survive, and when you are dealing with chickens, they rely on you and only you. If you do not give them water, they will not ask for it - you need to know their needs and provide for them.

There are many things that your chickens are going to need besides, that one of those things being a decent heat lamp. It isn't economical to provide central heat for the coop, so a heat lamp will work wonders. During the winter this will keep them warm, but during the summer you might want to swap for a less intensive bulb.
Making sure that your hen house is easy to clean is very important. You will need to clean it out at least once per week, and that means you will need to have a decent sized door on the coop. You need to be able to easily shovel the bedding, waste, and other items out of the coop, and most importantly you need a place for your hens to be while you are doing that. You could either let them out, or you could put them into the coop yard. Remember to design your hen houses around these ideas when you are building.

Building a chicken coop doesn't have to be difficult. All you need is a little help, and there is plenty available. Remember that when you use instructions, you don't always have to follow them to the letter. You can improvise and try new ideas as you go along. Just make sure you build a solid coop, and of course check out sites like http://www.buildchickencoopsite.info for loads of new ideas and information. That being said, get to it, and make the best chicken coop possible.

Building A Garden Greenhouse

If you’re looking to get started with building a garden greenhouse in your small space garden, there are a few important requirements that you should know about and make sure that are in place so that you can see the results you’re after with this project.

Some people jump in too fast when they try and build a garden greenhouse without doing enough thorough research first and this will really hinder them in the long run.  You must remember that since you’re going to be growing delicate garden produce, you’re going to have to have ideal conditions in order for them to grow properly.  If you don’t, you’re going to be left with little to no results.
Here are some of the most important things to consider when you build a garden greenhouse.

Locate An Area With Enough Direct Sunlight
The very first thing that you should be doing is making sure that you locate an area that has enough direct sunlight.  You would be surprised at how many people skip this step when they go to build a garden greenhouse and it’s really going to hold them back from making progress.
If you want your produce to grow to its full extent, be sure that you’re getting them into an area that gets at least seven hours of direct sunlight a day.  You can do this by avoiding any tall buildings or trees in the nearby area.


Find A Flat Piece Of Land
Second, also be sure that you find a flat piece of land for your garden greenhouse.  If you’re on an uneven piece of land, rain water will constantly be running in that direction and over time it could erode the base of the greenhouse.

Choose Your Size Wisely
Finally, think about your size selection very wisely. You must not build something too small and try and overcrowd your plans in because the minute you do that is the minute they stop growing properly.
You need to allow enough space for them to breathe as well as grow, so don’t forget to take that into account.  Many people forget that their plants will grow considerably in width and don’t leave enough total square area for them in the garden greenhouse.
So be sure to keep these points in mind as you go about building your garden greenhouse. If you do, you can be sure that you’re going to see success.

How to Choose a Chicken Coop

Everything You Need to Know to Give Your Chickens a Great Chicken Coop

By Lauren Ware, About.com Guide

Your chicks are on order and the brooder tub is all set up and ready for them. Now you just need a place to put them when they're ready to move outdoors. You need a chicken coop, a henhouse, a chicken tractor -- but which one? And how big should it be? Can you convert an old shed to a chicken coop?

Decide on Management Method
The type of coop you choose depends on whether the chickens will live full-time in it, have access to an outside run or all of the great outdoors, or whether it will be a movable coop that can be relocated frequently for fresh ground.

Decide on Square Footage
You will then need to determine the amount of space you need for the number of chickens you have. One especially important consideration is how many chickens you plan to keep on an ongoing basis. You might want to build on the large side, allowing for new baby chicks either bred or bought, or for future flock expansion.

If your birds will have access to an outdoor run, you'll want to allow for a minimum of 2-3 square feet per bird inside the coop, and aim for about 4 square feet per bird in the run. The higher you can go, the better, though. If your birds will be cooped all winter (chickens don't like to go out onto snowy surfaces), allow for 5-10 square feet per chicken. For birds that will be completely confined in a chicken tractor without an outdoor pen, give a minimum of 5 square feet per bird. These are just general guidelines. The bigger the chicken, the more space it needs - so meat birds in general require more space than laying hens, and full-grown pullets need more space than baby chicks. Most annoying chicken problems like pecking and aggressiveness can be cured with more space, so plan for as generously-sized a coop as you can fit or afford.

Consider Which Features You Need
Chicken coops vary from a very simple floorless wooden box with chicken wire surrounding it and a piece of roofing on it, to some digs that are more spacious than some human habitats! There are so many options, and it can seem daunting to choose a design.

If you are an urban or suburban homesteader, you may need to consider aesthetics and security of the flock (from escaping into neighbors' gardens) more highly than those in a rural setting. There are many plans for chicken coops that look attractive. Sometimes they have a whimsical design aesthetic.
If you have laying hens, they will need one nest box or one square foot of community nesting space per 4-5 hens. Most laying chickens like to roost. A good rule of thumb is 6-10 inches of roosting space per bird. Roosts should be at least 2 feet off the ground, as should nest boxes. Nest boxes should be about 1 foot square, or "community" nests should have at least one 9 by 12 inch opening every 20 square feet of nest space.

Roosts can be as simple as a ladder fastened to the wall at an angle, or twigs attached to the walls of the coop. Milk crates or plastic tubs lined with shavings or straw make fine nest boxes; just attach them to a shelf or to the wall directly.

Coops and tractors must have ventilation, so that gases from birds' respiration and poop don't build up inside. Chickens love shade, so a coop and run should include shady spots. Areas where hens can dust bathe is a nice addition. This can be as simple as a box filled with dirt or sand if there isn't a spot on the floor of the coop. Hens with access to outdoors will find places for their dust baths. In winter, my hens just pick a clean spot somewhere in the coop, usually a corner.

Decide Whether to Reuse, Build or Buy
Do you have a doghouse or shed that can be repurposed into a coop? Don't build a new structure if you don't have to. If you're not a builder, you can search craigslist or other classifieds for potential coop buildings small enough to be moved to your property. A new coat of paint, some ventilation put in (cut holes and cover with chicken wire or install windows), and some nest boxes and roosts inside, and you're in business. One thing to consider is the floor system - a wood floor can rot if you use the deep litter method, so expect more frequent cleanouts. A building without a floor can be put on the earth for the deep litter method, or on a concrete slab.
If you can't find an already-built structure to reuse, consider whether you want to build the coop yourself or buy one premade. For urban homesteaders and hobby farmers with small flocks and aesthetic considerations, buying a premade coop might make sense. For small farmers with a few dozen hens, building a coop is probably a better economic choice.

Raising Chicken Tips: Requirements for Building a Coop

A coop is what you normally call a chicken’s house. It’s their kingdom! A hen’s castle. So you have to make sure to keep their hen house maintained at a four star accreditation for this will help the chickens grow healthy and happy. Therefore, to keep it the way it should be, there are specific requirements to cope up with to build a coop that will satisfy both you and your chickens. You, the poultry owner, of all people should understand this.

Requirement #1

Regarding its design, the chicken coop must be secured from any kind of predator. Every single angle in the pen – sides, below and above, must be structured to withstand the wrath and longing of predators who are always on the lookout for a free meal. When selecting a wire mesh, be sure it is the right one. Predators are more than one. They scour within the area of your coop unnoticed just waiting for the time when they can attack. You have to make sure that the coop is impenetrable because some predators like raccoons just reach out for their prey, easily.

Requirement #2

In connection with requirement number one, this is a continuation. Aside from predators, you have to secure the coop from those nasty rats. They burrow through the ground and come up from below. If the coop floor is not blocked, these rodents will slip into the hen’s quarters. Rodents are attracted to the food you’re giving your chickens and the droppings they excrete.

What’s more devastating is that these pesky rats love eggs. So whenever laying season comes, they gather too. Want to get rid of them? Good idea. But prevention is better than cure. That is why preventing them to come into the pen is better that getting rid of their presence completely. All you need to do is construct a floor within the pen, otherwise, bury a fence about 12 inches deep around the hen’s house. Be sure that the materials you will use for the fence and the floor is thick or hard enough for them to impossibly bite through.

Requirement #3

The way you build your chicken coop must not be drafty or breezy. Subsequently, seasons will change and so would the weather. That is why; your coop must be able to endure any kind of natural effects.

Requirement #4

Roosting poles must be provided for your hens to slumber. It must have an approximate 2-inch wide rounded edges. You allot an 8 to 10 inch space between every bird. Put nest boxes to encourage egg laying. One nest box is equivalent to three to four chickens. Situate the boxes inches above the ground. Do not let it touch the soil. Place these nesting boxes somewhere private where no one can bother them while they’re doing their thing. Safety is the very first policy one should follow.

Requirement #5

Your chicken coop must be roomy. Spacious. You have to allot at least 3 square feet for every bird. There should also be space where the feeder and the waterer can hang to which is 7-8 inches above the ground.

Requirement #6

The chicken coop must be accessible for the owner’s sake ONLY. Predators and rodents not allowed. Easy accessibility can help you clean the chicken coop so that bacteria and bugs do not fester.

Proper Construction of a Pen Suitable for Raising Chickens

Constructing a chicken pen is easier than it seems. You need to pinpoint some important matters like the materials to buy and the tools to use. Plus, you also have to consider the area where to build the suitable pen for raising your chickens.

Alright, the easy yet crucial part begins with planning. First, the area, then the size of the chicken pen. The pen size usually depends on how many chickens will be raised. Look at the option on what kind of birds you are dealing with.

Novice or not, it is still better to start off with the most basic pen – using the wire and post design. Here, the materials that you’ll need are the posts, wire, and staples that can be used for fences. The tools are also basic namely a sledgehammer, the ordinary hammer, wire cutters, and crowbar.

Now that you have gathered all materials and tools, surveyed the area, and is assured that there is none to worry about, it’s time for the construction.

To start with, look at the ground you’re working on. Notice the stiffness and dryness. If it’s anything like that, you have to bring in with you a bucket full of water. This will help soften the ground. Pound the ground using the pointed tip of the crowbar. By doing this, a hole is being formed.

While pounding, occasionally pour few amounts of water in the hole to soften the ground. By leaving your crowbar inside the hole, pull your body against it. By doing so, you’ll widen the proximity of the hole. If the hole is prominent enough and is 20 cm deep, that will be sufficient. Make sure that the hole has a wideness that can hold a pole in place.

You can now put the post inside the hole that you have made, pointed tip first. Using the sledgehammer, pound the pole to the ground. Do the pounding until you are sure that it has remained firm. Sometimes, it is better to have someone hold the post for you to ensure better stability. Always practice caution and focus on what you’re doing because you might pound your assistant instead of your post.

If your first post is standing firmly, you can now start on your second, and third, and fourth, and so on. Give about a meter from where the first post stands. That will determine elaborate spacing. To serve as a gate, let 2 posts stand about 1½ - 2 meters apart.

The moment you have firmly put all the posts in place, it’s time to put the wire around it. For this to be made possible, carry the wire on one corner then using your regular hammer, pound the fence staples at the end of the wire to the post. Once the end is tightly secured, unroll the wire going to the next post then staple the wire that touches the post. Do the unrolling and stapling process till you have completed wrapping around the entire posts. If you ran out of wire, get more then start where you ended.

Making a gate is also easy. All you need to gather are hinges, latch and a particle board. Start by cutting the board to fit the two ends of the posts. Now attach it together with the hinges and the latch.
There you have it. Raising chickens is easy for as long as you know the basics.

Chicken Coop Plans For Any Need

Do you want to raise chickens as a hobby or maybe for the eggs or poultry? You will want to determine how much space you have available for your chicken coop. The size of the coop will determine how may chickens you should have. You should always consider local zoning laws when choosing a chicken coop plan, they can differ from location to location so no plan will cover all local conditions. Verify with your local town hall or building inspectors office.

When you are living in temporary housing you can still raise four or five chickens utilizing a portable chicken coop setup. There are several innovative chicken coop plans for creating portable hen houses, which will allow you to keep chickens for a daily fresh egg supply no matter what area you live in, as long as it is zoned for raising chickens. You may also want to consider acquiring used materials for your chicken coop to keep your costs down. If you can keep more than five chickens, you can find several designs that can accommodate between ten and fifteen chickens comfortably, yet still be compact.

If you plan on having a larger chicken raising enterprise, then you may want to acquire chicken coop plans that include a chicken run for the birds to do some ranging in. There are many informative blogs and videos that contain useful information for setting up various types of chicken coops. Once you know the amount of birds you want to raise, check online for free blueprints with instructions and suggested materials with which to build your coop. Make certain that you know how to keep the birds warm as well as safe from predators, which type of feed you will need to purchase, water and bedding needs and possible medicines.

All it takes is some investigation plus a bit of ingenuity, you are able to use chicken coop plans to produce a viable way to boost chickens for any profitable business as well, by selling your eggs to community markets, or chicks to others who would also like to improve chickens. Keeping chickens is very good for teaching kids responsibility, as long as they're supervised closely. Fresh eggs are better nutritionally than store bought eggs, and meat from home grown chickens is better nutritionally, too. Raising chickens may be rewarding and fun if your prize chickens are entered inside the county fair. Raising chickens empowers 1 to turn out to be much more self sufficient, cuts your grocery bill and increases agrarian skills.

Read more about chicken coop plans from J. Anthony.

Building a Simple DIY Chicken Coop

The Simple Answer to Keeping Happy Egg Producing Chickens is by Building a Simple DIY Chicken Coop

Would you like to be able to provide cost effective, quality poultry housing for your chickens but are a little unsure how to go about it? How about building a simple DIY chicken coop? It is probably far easier than you might imagine it being able to do and you really do not have to have any major DIY skills to build a simple DIY chicken coop.

I think that the idea of picking up your tools and having to build anything puts most people off from the start, especially if you know how important it is to get your poultry accommodation right. So, why not choose the readymade housing option, surely that would be preferable?
Well of course you have a choice, but consider this a readymade coop will be very expensive to buy. You are paying for the privilege of somebody else having measured and cut the timber being used in its construction. The bit they do not always tell you is, that you are going to have to assemble it yourself as 9 times out of 10 it will come flat packed.

Part of the satisfaction of having poultry in your backyard will be knowing that they are healthy and happy in their environment because you took the time to make sure they have more than adequate chicken housing and to actually build it yourself that feeling is going to be awesome.

The global interest in chickens seems to have literally taken off and the biggest bonus to come out of this is the availability of so much poultry keeping knowledge there to use, all at the touch of a button. So many useful hints and tips, not just on feeding and welfare needs but a phenomenal amount of hen house plans and chicken coop kits just waiting to be used to your best advantage.

I think that the more information that you have access to can only be a good thing, after all you are then in a better position to make the most suitable choices for you and your poultry. What a bonus that has to be, no point in making mistakes if you can avoid them altogether.
Being able to look at any number of poultry accommodation ideas and being shown simple, easy to follow instructions that guide you step by step through each stage should not be under estimated. It has to be easier than trying to think of every tiny detail for yourself that is for sure.

The simple DIY chicken coop that you provide for your hens really will be worth your time, you can cater for any eventuality and customise to suit the space you have available in your backyard, no problem. The quality and durability will surpass anything that a readymade coop has to offer and you will be so proud that you chose to build a simple DIY chicken coop when you see the amazing finished result.
Building chicken coops is simple and a great deal of fun when you are given the correct information. They are practical, easy to assemble and can save you a fortune.

There are dozens of poultry related websites that claim to offer visitors great chicken coop plans, but few sadly seem to offer little more than a single basic design. However one of the best chicken coop design websites online that has been endorsed by hundreds of chicken breeders and owners worldwide so far contains a wealth of chicken housing data and related information that is well worth reviewing can be found right here: ( http://www.chickenhousekit.com )