Growing chickens at home requires not only careful selection of birds, but also proper care and maintenance. Before starting chickens, it is necessary to build a chicken coop. But before you build housing for the future economy, you need to think about its location, because it depends on the livelihoods and comfort of birds.

Site selection

When choosing the location of the chicken coop, you should first of all pay attention to the landscape. It is not recommended to build housing for birds in low areas, as they collect a lot of moisture and snow melts longer. This can adversely affect the health of birds. It is best to start construction with a slope to the south. Thus, water will not accumulate near the chicken coop - it will be dry and light in it.

The building must be positioned so that the rays of the sun fall inside. For example, place a rectangular structure in length from east to west. It is necessary that throughout the day a sufficient amount of light enters the windows, due to which the laying capacity of chickens will be increased.

Did you know? One chicken can lay between 250 and 300 eggs per year.

Design and Dimensions

First of all, it is necessary to draw up a position plan for the chicken coop in the courtyard of the house or cottage. After choosing a location for the construction of the chicken coop, it is necessary to develop a building design, measure the area, the placement of windows and doors, the location of the nests and perches and draw up a drawing.

At the design stage, it is worth considering the location of the light, the installation of ventilation ducts and the heating system. This placement must be included in the drawing for further work during the construction.

When designing a chicken coop, you can calculate the cost of expenses for the necessary materials, as well as avoid significant expenses.

The area for 50 birds is normally about 10 square meters (2.5x4 m). Suitable height for a good microclimate and comfort of birds - 180 cm.

Materials and Tools

Reliability and durability of the building depend on high-quality materials. The most common raw material for building a chicken coop is a tree. At the moment, the most easily accessible, durable and in demand can be considered OSB (oriented strand tiles). It’s easy to work with this material even in the absence of experience.

For construction, you can also use bricks, expanded clay concrete blocks. It is not worth using sheet iron, since it does not retain heat, but, on the contrary, attracts dampness, moisture and cold, which will adversely affect the health of chickens.

You will need such materials and tools for the construction:

• cement - two bags;
• sand;
• concrete mixer or tank for mixing cement;
• nails, screws;
• hammer, drill, saw and cord;
• building level;
• insulation (expanded clay);
• slate and roofing material;
• light bulb, electrical wire, switch;
• glass;
• boards, beams, bars;
• concrete blocks;
• Rabitz;
• pipe for ventilation;
• shovel, trowel;
• roulette;
• metal grid;
• crushed stone;
• spatula and grater.

We recommend that you read how to disinfect in a chicken coop.

How to make a chicken house for 50 hens with your own hands

When you are convinced of the right construction site, have acquired all the necessary materials and tools, have drafted a chicken coop project, you can proceed with the initial stages of building a chicken house.

Foundation

The foundation provides dryness and protection of birds from predators. There are two types of foundation - slab and columnar. To lay the foundation, you need to follow the step by step instructions:

1. Take the previously drawn drawing and put markup on it. Next, drive the bars in the corners of the dwelling. Then pull the cord all the way around. Length is checked by measuring roulette. After checking the markings one after another, drive in the bars at a distance of one meter. They will be the center of the pillars of the foundation.
   

2. Dig a hole with a volume of 1.5x1.5 meters. Dig a hole in the places where the bars were installed. Watch the distance between the recesses, as well as their parallelism with respect to each other.
   

3. Pour sand at the bottom of the pit to create a pillow. Then mix the mortar of cement, gravel, water and sand. Pour the resulting mass of pit to the bottom of the ground. When after two or three days the solution dries, you can proceed to further work. It is necessary to shape the columns with bricks or blocks with a height of 20-30 cm. During operation, use a level to avoid bumps. Upon completion, cover the foundation with roofing material.
   

Floor

When building a floor, you need to decide what quality the coating should be. Common are wooden and concrete floors. They provide protection, warmth, comfort and cleanliness of the chicken coop. Do not forget that chicken is a heat-loving animal, therefore, for the winter, you need to additionally insulate the floor for it, especially if it is concrete.

Read also how to make an incubator out of the refrigerator with your own hands.

When the foundation is prepared, further construction is allowed to continue. It is necessary to establish a crown. Cut half the thickness of the timber so that the material in the corner joints is strong. Then install the sex lags. Keeping a distance of one meter, put a beam with a cross section of 150x100 mm on the edge. In order to make it easy to clean the chicken coop in the future, you can install the bars under a slope.

Reinforced lags are covered with flooring from the boards. For fixing, use two nails at the beginning and at the end of the board.

Fill on top a layer of waterproofing protection and pieces of wood measuring 100x100 mm 70–80 cm apart. The gaps between the bars can be removed with a heater. On top of this design lay the final version of the floor.

Walls

The wall in the chicken coop is needed both for preserving warm air in the room, and for placing perches and nests. The choice of which material to build from depends on the laying of the foundation.

If it is tiled, you can use blocks or bricks. These materials are thermally conductive, so the walls should be laid with them on both sides - external and internal.

You will be interested to read how to build a winter chicken house with your own hands.

For a columnar foundation, you can use a wooden frame of bars. A wooden structure is laid on top of the installed poles, the whole frame of the building is fixed on it. After installing the walls, they must be greased with lime for disinfection.

Roof and ceiling

The roof structure serves as a weather protection cover. A gable roof is the best option for a chicken coop. Due to its construction, this type of roof increases the height of the ceiling. With proper roof insulation, you will not need a ceiling pad. Recommended materials for the roof are metal and slate.

Before installing the roof, the frame is strengthened with protective layers:

1. Rafter. It is placed on top of the frame.
2. Waterproofing cloth. Stacked on the rafter. Prevents roof leakage.
3. Crate. Stuffs on top of the waterproofing, protecting it from damage.

The above layers form a ceiling. After installing the ceiling, you can start roofing.

Windows and doors

Even the most inexperienced poultry farmers know that there should be windows and a door in good housing for birds. Convenient placement for windows - south side. When installing windows, do not forget to attach additional curtains or flaps to them, which will be closed in winter.

It is better to use a vertical arrangement of windows than horizontal. You can put several doors: the entrance flap for cleaning the chicken coop, ventilation and manhole with a door so that birds can leave the room.

Ventilation

Ventilation regulates the flow of air in the room. In the absence of a ventilation system, chickens can suffer, and with them a person, because bird droppings decompose and emit ammonia.

Also, the construction of ventilation will affect the longevity of the chicken coop. Under the influence of climatic conditions and air intake inside, the materials of which the housing is built can be destroyed.

When designing a ventilation system, some disadvantages must be taken into account. For example, in winter it is necessary to regulate the flow of fresh air in order to avoid cooling the housing of the bird. Avoid drafts, as their presence will adversely affect the health of chickens.

There are two types of organization of the ventilation system:

1. Mechanical Suitable for a large chicken coop. By constructing this type of ventilation, you can control the flow and temperature.
2. Natural. It’s easy to build natural ventilation, and it’s not expensive.

Important! Windows and doors cannot be placed opposite each other, so as not to create a draft.

Additional lighting

The main suppliers of light in the chicken coop are windows. But in cold winter they close, and additional lighting comes to the rescue.

In the chicken coop, you can install three light substitutes:

1. Incandescent lamps. Inexpensive lamps at cost. Suitable for small rooms. Requires frequent replacement.
2. Luminescent. They are easy to install, durable, and also economical. Suitable for rooms of 50 goals.
3. LED light. Expensive at cost, but very quickly pay off. They are energy-saving, well illuminate the room, with their help the degree of illumination is easily regulated.

Egg production requires a minimum of 6 watts per square meter, thus covering an area of ​​10 square meters. m need two bulbs.

Home Improvement

After the construction of the building is completed, the main task is to equip it.

Important! Chicken is always carried only during daylight hours. Even if the ripening time of the egg has already come, the bird will wait for the day or bright lighting to lay the egg.

To ennoble the chicken coop you need to install:

• nests and perches;
• feeder and drinker;
• lighting;
• walking yard;
• ventilation.

There are several options for arranging a chicken coop.

In order to build a bird keeping option that suits you personally, you need to familiarize yourself with the most popular types of chicken coops:

1. Coop Suite. This type of construction was created for the maintenance and breeding of chickens at any time of the year. Protects from significant gusts of wind and wet. As a rule, a walking yard is attached to it.
   

2. Winter house. Most favorable for keeping chickens in autumn and winter. The nests and perches in it are made of resistant materials that hold heat. As an additional light source, infrared lamps are used. It has been proven that such lighting has a direct positive effect on egg production.
   

3. Summer coop. It is intended for rearing birds in a warm seasonal period. The chicken coop consists of a walking platform, nests and perches. The capacity of the chicken coop is 5-6 birds.
   

4. Dodonov's chicken coop. It belongs to the luxury class. It includes a warm floor with protection from rodents, nests, perches. Ventilation is through windows.
   

Did you know? In twenty-four hours, one egg matures in the body of the chicken.

Perches

Rest of birds affects their health and digestive system. A well-equipped sleeping place can provide the bird with a quality rest, as well as save cleaning the chicken coop if it has specially prepared waste compartments.

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Perches can be different depending on the installation location:

1. The little hearts. They are placed at an angle along the wall. This species is the most common. From a hygienic point of view, this option has its drawbacks - there are fights between the birds for the place, because those on top dirty those that rest below.
2. Bars. This type allows you to place birds at the same height throughout the territory. As a result, chickens become calm and non-conflict.
3. Hygienic perch. Includes a moving design of a table and perches. Making such a perch takes a little time. It is convenient to clean.

Important! It is necessary to establish the perch away from the windows, the dark and warm part of the chicken coop is an ideal option. The height of the berths is selected based on the size of the bird.

Nests

The construction of nests is a difficult stage in the arrangement of bird dwellings. Chickens are quite picky in choosing the right place, so it will be difficult to immediately choose a convenient position for the nest.

Calculating the number of nests is simple. In a chicken coop for 10 chickens, you will need to build 2 nests, if you have 50 goals, the formula will be as follows: 50/5 = 10.

Nests are classified according to their appearance into the following types:

1. Simple jacks. Easy to build, requires few materials to make. It resembles a food storage box in shape. Its dimensions are 30 cm wide, 40 cm deep, and its height from the floor is 30 cm.
   

2. A nest with a collection of eggs. Suitable for farmers with large livestock. It is being built simply, the only difference from the previous nest is the bias of an additional cell of 10 degrees for storing eggs in it.
3. The jack is a booth. The appearance of the building does not differ from an ordinary booth. Suitable for small farms.
   

Important! It is not recommended to use hay with straw, as they quickly absorb moisture, which may cause mold or mites.

Feeding troughs and drinking bowls

Proper and timely nutrition affects the health and egg production of chicken. Feeding troughs and drinking bowls can be made independently without investing in their purchase. To begin, think about what size and where you can put drinking bowls and feeders. They should be accessible to all birds so that food intake is equally divided.

Feeders are divided into three types:

• bunker - used for the use of dry feed. They keep food and do not allow the bird to scatter it throughout the chicken coop;
  

• tray - used to feed chickens and hens. They have high sides that do not allow food to be scattered around the feeder;
  

• gutters - are used to use different types of feed. Count a number of containers for serving different types of food.

We advise you to read about how to make a bunker chicken feeder with your own hands.

Drinking bowls are divided into the following types according to the principle of action:

• vacuum;
  

• Automatic
  

• nipple;
  

• simple.

It will be interesting for you to learn how to make a car-drinker for chickens with your own hands.

Litter

The litter is laid to avoid infectious diseases, joint problems, increased mortality of birds in winter.

The litter is divided into the following types:

• deep. It can be made from straw, grass, or finely mowed stems of different plants. A rare change of litter allows you to collect organic substances on it, with the help of which heat is retained in the winter;
  

• shallow. It consists of sawdust and wood shavings, finely chopped straw. This is the cheapest and easiest option. Using wood as a litter, it is necessary to mix it with straw, as the wood absorbs moisture, as a result of which it will rot.
  

The thickness of the litter varies from 10 to 15 cm. With the advent of winter, it is necessary to loosen and mix the filler with droppings, raising the layer of the litter to 25 cm.

Winter insulation of the room

The winter warming of the chicken coop should be taken care of in advance. Warm chicken coop - healthy chickens. The egg production and livelihoods of birds depend on the quality of insulation both outside and inside.

In cold weather, insulation is added to the chicken house on all walls, windows, doors, floors and roofs. Most often, only windows and doors are insulated. To make the walls comfortable for finding birds in winter, the chicken coop is lined with foam blocks on the outside. This material retains heat and prevents the wind from entering the room.

Learn how to insulate the chicken coop for the winter.

Sometimes the walls are covered with shingles, and plaster is applied on top. This is also an effective method of warming. Windows for the winter are tightened with plastic wrap. Doors are also insulated with foil, adding a woolen curtain to it. An empty space between the ceiling and the attic expanded clay is covered in the roof to preserve heat, and during construction they provide thermal insulation.

Walking patio

A walking yard is used to release chickens from the main premises of the chicken coop so that they can graze freely. The size of the courtyard varies from 1.5 m to 1.8 m. It is enclosed with a metal mesh without defects, so that predators can not get into the chicken coop.

In the chicken coop itself there should be a separate door leading to a walking yard. A canopy is often made over it to protect the livestock. And on the territory of the courtyard perches are put.

Chickens are the source of the most popular meat and fresh eggs. In order for the maintenance of the bird to be beneficial, the owner of the yard must take care of the comfort, health and safety of his bird stock.