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.
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.
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