Building A Backyard Chicken Coop

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In these days of food miles and recessions the focus is on saving money and saving the environment.

A great way to do both is to build a backyard chicken coop.

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Not only will you help the environment, have great tasting fresh eggs – at a fraction of the cost of store bought ones – but you will also have some gorgeous new pets that your kids will love!

Now, you could buy a brand new coop, but taking the time to build a backyard chicken coop all of your own makes great sense economically. You can build a coop that suits your needs and even the kids can get involved adding their own creative flair.

Besides, most store bought backyard chicken coops need to be assembled from a flat pack anyway, so you would really just save money on materials by building one all of your own.

So what do you need to do to build a backyard chicken coop?

As with anything remotely DIY, you do need to be able to use a hammer, count to a little over 100 and be willing to spend a bit of time, maybe a weekend, building your coop.

There are some basic rules for designing, building and running a good healthy chook house that you should keep in mind when you get started.

Space
Make sure that there is adequate floor space per bird. A minimum of 4 square feet per bird is the recommended amount for the coop. This will ensure that they have plenty of room to move.

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Exercise
Happy healthy birds need lots of exercise so if your birds won’t be free range, a good sized chicken run is a necessity. The happier your birds are the more regularly they will lay eggs and the better their eggs will taste!

Ventilation
Air is essential for three reasons.

Bird droppings can accumulate a toxic ammonia-like fume that can actually be dangerous to the birds and to you and your family when they are allowed to build up.
Chickens are also prone to sickness caused by damp air and damp coops, by allowing for adequate ventilation you will not only minimize the gas in the chicken coop but you will also help to keep it dry.
Allowing air into the coop will also help to keep the temperature within to be comfortable for your chooks, especially on hot days.

Make sure that any ventilation you put in is designed in such a way that it doesn’t leak in bad weather or cause cold drafts on the birds.

You also should make sure that when you build a backyard chicken coop that has some sort of temperature control. It can be as simple as ventilation in hot climates or insulation in cold climates. If you live in climates that are prone to extreme cold you might even need a heat lamp to make sure that your chickens are comfortable.

Elevating your backyard chicken coop is also a really good idea. This will help to prevent the coop flooding during heavy rain.

The final thing that you need to consider is how you are going to protect your flock from predators.
Measures like fully enclosing your chicken run, closing windows and doors at night and digging the enclosure fence at least 1 foot under the ground, will really make a difference toward keeping your flock safe.

As a final point, once your chickens have moved into their wonderful new home you should ensure that they regularly have fresh water and food available and that their coop is cleaned regularly. Like any pets they need to be taken care of so that they have a happy healthy life.

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