Poultry Farming: Chicken House Project

A shelter is very important even in a small scale
poultry business. Growing free-range chickens is
great but there are instances that they need to
be sheltered, especially during extreme weather
conditions. You have to ensure that they are
comfortable no matter which way you want to
bring them up because they tend to grow
healthier and more productive when they are
living in convenience. Putting the right
elements in a coop can help you in ensuring
this.

Here are the most important elements that must
be present to make an efficient coop:

Enough Space - every type of bird has their own
space requirements both inside and outside the
coop. It is essential that you give them enough
room so that they can move freely and exercise
as well as to have enough space for nesting and
roosting. Allotting 1 to 2 square feet per
chicken inside the coop and at least 4 square
feet per piece outside would be good enough.

Ease of Access to Feeds and Water - you will
not need to keep monitoring your chickens if you
designed their shelter right. In making sure that
they always have food and water, you must place
the top lip of the feeders and the waterers in a
place that they can easily access, more favorably
outside the runs to prevent contamination and
just along their back levels to make it more
convenient to reach for them.

Protection - you need to protect the flock from
several things such as predators, theft, injuries
and weather elements. In addressing this, you
need to design their shelter accordingly. Some
of the things that need to be done in response
to such factors are burying the runs deep enough
to prevent predators from digging in, surrounding
the coop with fence, choosing the right size of
chicken wire and building it in a dry place.

Ventilation - getting fresh air is as important
to chickens as with human beings. Cool air can be
handled by these animals well but damp and humid
environments can be hazardous to their health.
Thus, you must provide a lot of openings,
preferably on the east and south sides, for a
continuous flow of cool wind.

Source of light - due to the varying weather
conditions, it is vital to have an artificial
light and heat source to maintain the
temperature that your flock can thrive best.
There are certain types of bulbs that you can
affix in the ceiling of the coop for this
purpose. Sometimes, it may be necessary to
change into a different heat source when the
weather becomes more intense, just observe the
response of the flock to determine what to do.

These are the most important things that a
chicken coop must have. So, when you create your
design, just make sure that all of these are
addressed and you are sure of your success.


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Kenny Oliver has been into poultry raising for
more than 20 years now and have mastered the
strategies and techniques in raising healthy
chickens. Visit his website at
http://mychickencoopplans.org/ to get free
information and pieces of advice on this
endeavor to begin your own project today.



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