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Chicken Coop Construction – Right First Time
By admin | November 28, 2009
Before you rush off and look at your chicken coop construction take some time to think the project through.
How many chickens?
How many chickens are you planning to keep? Will you have the space for them? If you do have plenty of space are you will not want to increase your chicken population in the future?
How Big Do You Need Your Coop To Be?
The run needs to be large enough to let the chickens – well run. The run will take up much more space than the hutch part of your coop. The run needs to have security form predators, both animal and human.
Location, Location, Location
Miserable chickens give you miserable owners and reduced numbers of eggs layed. Much of this can be down to the location of your chicken coop. I recommend that sun for at least the morning is good as it can dry out any night time damp in the run and the hutch. All day sun is fine but you need some shady spots for when the temperatures are really high.
You should consider it being in view of the house so that you can spot predators and other problems early. I set my Coop away from the house so that the smell doesn’t get to strong. (You need to clean the coop often).
Mesh Fencing
This needs to be close woven rather than with big gaps in the mesh. It needs to go below the ground level so that some predators that dig and burrow will not be able to get under the sides. Another option if you have a moveable chicken coop is to mesh the floor. I always worry about damage to the chicken’s feet with this option.
Keeping Your Chicken Coop and Run Clean
The extraordinary amount of waste produced by chickens needs to be held in check on a regular basis. Moving the coop around some set plot can help your ground recover. You can cover the ground with straw to keep damage to a minimum and compost the straw after use for the garden.
A well designed, well built chicken coop and run will mean productive chickens which, after all, is the objective.
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