Pampered Pets

Meat and eggs are two benefits that come from raising chickens, but they do need shelter. You do not have to be a professional carpenter to accomplish this. It does not require excessively expensive building materials or complex plans. Chicken coops can be very simple to construct as long as you follow the suggested tips below.

It is vital you try to do some planning first. First you will need to place it on high ground, or elevate the coop. This will ensure rain does not puddle around the structure or the chicken pen. The chickens need about one and one half to two square feet of area in the coop per bird. The area surrounding the coop needs eight to ten square feet per chicken.

Next, sketch your design on paper. You will need to occasionally clean the coop and collect eggs, so be certain to build a door large enough to use. If you put windows in they need to face the south. This gives good ventilation when it is hot, and the sun will warm the eggs when it is cold.

Supplies are important, but it is not necessary that they be costly. Scrap wood, plywood, or even a structure that you no longer use, such as a shed, will work. The next step is to map the inner space of the chicken coop, and keep in mind that laying hens are going to need a nest box. For about every fourth or fifth bird, one box will be required. Perches are important, so be sure to have six to ten inches of perch space available per bird.

The next step is to buy any materials that you currently do not have. Chicken wire will be vital, for it encloses the yard of the chicken coop. Other materials will be necessary, too, like straw, feeders, and watering providers. Once you have your plan on paper and materials purchased, start to build the structure. Remember to build the coop with its front and yard facing south.

Remember, too, that you probably do not want rain pouring over the entrance of the door, so while you are constructing the roof make sure it has a good slope to it. If possible try and cover the windows with chicken wire, for this will aid in ensuring predators stay out of the coop. A latch on the door is important since it will let you secure it when you want. Nesting boxes and perches should be put by the coop’s inner walls. Also be sure the perches are three to four feet high, and the boxes contain straw.

After the structure is completed, enclose the outer yard with either chicken wire or fencing materials. The fence should be a minimum of four feet high. It is important that the fence is buried a foot below ground and tilted away from the yard area. This will assist in keeping predators away, for it will then be more difficult to dig beneath the fence. Birds of prey are also an issue, and to keep them at bay it is important that you cover the yard area with some type of netting. Planting high growing grass will also give your birds a place to hide.

Be certain that the watering providers and feeders are set up rather higher, usually at about the chicken’s back. This can assist in producing certain the water and food aren’t tainted by debris or dirt, and when you do that, you’re done. Constructing hen houses doesn’t have to become a difficult or taxing procedure. Merely adhere towards the easy ideas noted above and your birds will rapidly be able to appreciate their new coop.

You already know that the economic system is tough. It seems Americans everywhere have realized that elevating chickens is an effective way to change into extra self-sufficient.

Unfortunately, many people soar right in, buy plans, and construct their very own rooster pens — only to discover some extraordinarily frustrating truths about conserving chickens.

Some folks even give up after they spend cash and find out about these items the hard way…

Want to keep away from having an “if solely any person would have informed me upfront” second? Earlier than you spend a dime constructing your hen pens, let’s speak about 5 soiled little secrets:

1. Some chickens hate each other.

Well, hate is possibly too strong a word. But there may be undoubtedly a pecking order. Ever wonder the place the saying “hen pecked” came from? Hens which might be low within the pecking order should look forward to the others to eat. Sometimes the low hen on the totem pole will get left with nothing. Plan for this by utilizing a feeder with sufficient room for all of your birds to make use of it at the same time. For example, lots of individuals drill one or [two] inch holes around the bottom of a five gallon bucket, then bolt or glue a big, round planter base to the underside of the bucket. The planter base ought to extend out about 4 or 5 inches from the bucket’s bottom — and also be deep enough to maintain feed from being scattered everywhere. Fill the bucket with feed and presto: Several birds can feed concurrently with out crowding each other out. Use multiple feeders if in case you have a bigger flock.

2. Predators are a problem — even in the city.

Next to canine, raccoons are the most typical urban chicken predators. They’ll rip the heads off your birds. No, really, they will. Your finest protection is a sturdy hen home — with screened windows — that may maintain your chickens in and predators out. And do not forget essentially the most dangerous predator of all of them: Man. Not even the perfect rooster pens can stand up to a determined human thief.

3. Roosters crow. All day.

Besides making sure your native legal guidelines permit you to maintain chickens, it is best to check along with your neighbors. Occasional free eggs go a great distance towards protecting the peace. However healthy roosters is not going to solely crow at dawn, they will crow at any time when they feel like it. Think twice before shopping for a rooster in case your neighbors dwell close by.

4. You do not need a rooster to get eggs.

Don’t let the earlier soiled secret deter you. Hens lay eggs whether or not there is a rooster round or not — their hormones demand it. You solely want a rooster if you would like fertilized eggs that would hatch.

5. Rats. Mice. Snakes.

Imagine you are a rodent or a snake: You see a nice bag of scrumptious chicken feed sitting up against a hen pen. And there’s a bag of hay subsequent to it. Yummy! You’d hiss for joy, and inform all your friends. To avoid making your chicken pens into truck stops for the neighborhood vermin, keep your feed in steel trash cans (rats and mice will gnaw by means of plastic and rubber). Some individuals also use an old freezer with drilled-in air flow holes, however I feel it is too risky — the one time you neglect to place the lock on is the one time a small little one might climb in and get trapped.

Good rooster house plans will provide step-by-step instructions to build your individual inexpensive chicken pens. Remembering the above secrets will help you have a profitable begin to conserving backyard chickens.

At Breedingchickens.org find out all about chicken feed sack, how much does it cost to feed a chicken, and how much chicken feed.

When’s the last time you had eggs so fresh you might still see the dust on the shell?  When’s the last time you had breakfast at no cost to yourself?  If I had to guess, I’d say never to both of those questions.  Do you want fresh free eggs laid each day?  Naturally you do!  You need a hen house at home! 

Why do I really need a hen house?  I just told you!  If you build, or purchase a hen house of your own, dependent on the size, you could have free fresh eggs each morning.  If you’ll continue to read I’ll explain the various and assorted benefits that you obtain when you build a hen house. 

First let me make this clear.  I am not talking about some massive industrial hen laying factory.  Those poor hens are always cramped up in their own little cells with barely sufficient room to open wide their wings, if that.  Animal cruelty comes to mind when I think of factories like that.  No, we are talking a little, solid so to speak, hen house you can make yourself.  The hens you’ll be keeping will number between one to however many you would like depending on the scale of the coop.  These hens will be free to stroll around and be content, laying eggs for your eating pleasure.  So there’s your first benefit, you’ll make quite a large number of hens happy! 

Next is the benefit of saving you money.  Sure you’ll have to spend a couple of bucks to start up the entire process.  But once the primary money is spent, you are done spending money!  Once you get your hens ecstatic and laying every day, it’s only a matter of a few days before they make your cash back.  Then after they make your cash back, you begin to make more than you spent on the hens itself!  Everybody knows that the economy is tough these days.  Why not save some money by building a hen house at home? 

This next benefit is one of my favorites.  It’s fun!  Building something you can see day to day and you benefit from is a satisfying process.  You’ll feel better about what you did and you’ll want to do it again!  Spread the word to your neighbors!  Make a hen house at home is the way to go!

There is plenty of information out there that will help you on Plans for chicken coops. More info at Building Chicken Coops.

There’s no doubt that just about all children want a pet. Whether it be feathered or furry they just want one. But the range of choices for a parent considering buying a pet for their children is enormous. Why does a rabbit make a great pet for children and how do you buy, or build the perfect rabbit hutch to house the rabbit.

Rabbits make wonderful pets for kids. They are very social, fun to be with and love spending time with people. They can be house trained so you don’t need to worry about mess, and kids love a rabbit as a pet. A pet rabbit generally lives around 10 years so you need to understand that once you have a pet rabbit you will have one for quite some time.

Rabbits have a simple diet. It is perfectly fine to feed them dedicated rabbit pellets which you can buy from a pet shop, as well as complementing that feed with fresh hay and vegetables. A rabbit loves many dark green vegetables like spinach, broccoli leaves and carrots and is also very happy to eat various fruits such as apples and pears. Rabbits are simple and cheap to feed.

If you’re thinking of getting a rabbit for a pet for your children there are some things to consider before you rush in and buy your first rabbit. The main consideration is housing the rabbit. You will need a rabbit cage, or what is often known as a rabbit hutch. A rabbit hutch is a simple construction that allows your rabbit to browse outdoors on grass whilst also having shelter from the elements in a part of the hutch.

Most rabbit hutches provide a sheltered area where the rabbit can sleep out of the weather as well as an area where you can hop around during the day to exercise and browse on grass. Good rabbit hutches can be moved around from place to place.

It’s important to choose the right floor for your cage. Many people use wire which is fine if your rabbit hutch is to be placed on the ground. Using wire allows your rabbit to eat the grass through the wire. However wire is an uncomfortable thing for rabbits to walk on and they don’t particularly like walking on wire. So if you’re hutch is off the ground and you use wire on the floor your rabbit will probably spend most of his time in his compartment.

There is an advantage to having a wire floor with a hutch above the ground. The droppings fall through making it much easier to clean. However you wish to do this look for a material which has much wider areas for the rabbits feet and much smaller holes. Plastic slats may well do the job better.

You can use a solid material like wood or metal. Metal doesn’t soak up urine like wood so doesn’t smell as wood can do, and so is easier to clean, but neither metal or wood allows the rabbit to eat grass off the ground.

What about the size of the cage? Suggestions I have seen is that it should be 3 or 4 times the size of the rabbit, but to me that is way too small. If you have a rabbit hutch this small you must allow your rabbit out to exercise every day.

And build a hutch with a good door as you need to clean the hutch and replace the hay each day.

A rabbit is an excellent pet for kids. Do your research on rabbit breeds, and give yourself plenty of time before you buy one to sort out a solid, effective and well built rabbit hutch.

Why not build a hutch for your rabbit yourself? That just adds to the fun.

A chicken pen is an enclosed space specifically for the breeding of chickens. It is also known as a chicken house or chicken coop. Chicken pens can house or accommodate from as little as one chicken to as many as 1000 chickens or more. It can be made on both small scale and large scale, depending on the number of chickens it intends to hold.

There are a number of different ways to build a chicken pen. The differences can be found in the materials used to erect the pens depending on how many the chickens are and for which purposes they are being kept. Different material needs may be needed for each of these. Fenced pens are the most common type of pens. Usually a gauze wire is used. Chicken gauze wire. Other common materials are bricks and wood plank.

Space is important for chickens to mature nicely and healthily. They require  room to move close to. The region within the chicken pen ought to not be too  restrictive. Egg laying chickens particularly require room to move close to and  lay their eggs when they desire. Fresh air and a whole lot of direct sunlight  are also important for the growth of these chickens. Ensuring chickens have  sufficient room also prevent high mortality as instances of stamping and  squashing are reduced.

Environmental factors are necessary to consider when building or buying a chicken pen such as temperature and humidity. It is important to understand and gather knowledge on the type of weather conditions in your area to know what type of chicken pen best suits the environment. It is very important to overcome environmental factors and using the right materials to suit you location. Fitting in heaters or fans in the pens may be an example of trying to overcome the weather element.

Chicken pens also keep chickens away from hungry predators. There are a lot of animals that may find the small chickens as prey this makes the chickens vulnerable. Dogs, cats, snakes and other animals may find chickens as an easily target and therefore a meal.

There are certain features which are universal to almost all type of pens. These are water holes or water containers, feeding stations and egg laying nests. Egg laying nests however may only be found in chicken pens were egg layers are kept. Feeding structures should always be kept clean, and checked if there is still an adequate amount of food since chickens feed throughout the day. Adequate amounts of food stations should also be there so that all the chickens will have a turn to feed. With the same importance is water. The same type of care must be taken with the water. Water stations must also be checked regularly. Chicken nests are important as chickens need a safe place to lay their eggs.

Chickens need to be in a clear spacious environment to grow healthily. The pens should always be kept clean. It is important that the chicken pen design allows accessibility for cleaning chicken droppings, changing water containers and also cleaning and filling up food stations. Some chicken pens are elevated and have wire mesh floors which make cleaning easier as the droppings pass through the mesh to the ground.

No matter what kind or style or problems set inside a chicken pen, at the end  of the day what truly matters is that regardless of whether sufficient is  becoming done to maintain chickens secure, wholesome and ultimately profitable.

If you’re searching for chicken coop plans on the internet, then you’re probably looking for the best way to build a chicken coop.  However, there are fundamental things you have to know in order to choose the best plans that fit your situation. 

Tip 1 – Build Your Coop for straightforward upkeep

One of the largest stumbling blocks when maintaining a chicken coop is cleaning it.  Some people do not build their coops without effort of upkeep under consideration, and suffer the results later.  But you can learn from their mistakes, and ensure that your coop will be straightforward to clean in the future.  One vital feature is to be certain the floor of the coop is sloped downward toward the primary door.  When you wash the inside of the coop, the water will automatically drain outside, rather than puddling in the middle. 

Tip 2 – Guarantee Enough Space

Do not skimp on the scale of your chicken coop.  Chickens that live in undersized coops resort to unnatural pecking and even cannibalism.  You do not want this!  As a rule of thumb, you need to allot about 4 square feet per chicken.  So if you have a coop holding 10 chickens, 40 square feet will be ample room for your chickens to grow, feed, and produce. 

Tip 3 – Guard Your Coop from Weather and Predators

It is vital that you build your chicken coop with protection in mind.  Both weather and predators can do serious damage to your coop, so build it with these tips in mind. 

Build the coop on a high area with sufficient drainage and find it facing the sun.  In the event that it rains, this location won’t only make sure that the coop doesn’t get flooded, but that it dries quickly when the sun comes out. 

Build your doors with correct strength mesh wire.  Believe it or not, this step is one of the commonest mistakes people make when building their coop.  Without the proper strength, your mesh wire will surrender to even the tiniest of predators, letting them simple access to your chickens. 

These are simply a few of many tips that will allow you to punctiliously choose the best chicken coop plans.

build chicken coop: Discover how to build a chicken coop and  more info on How to build a small chicken house

If you are thinking about keeping chickens you’ll want to start by preparing a coop for them. Too many floor plans and layouts choices can seem perplexing. This article will cover several of the different types of chicken pens and their purposes.

Click Here for plans for a chicken coop and blueprints.

It’s simple to decide which type of chicken house to use when you consider some details. Such as: Does it need to be portable? How many chickens will it hold? How much space is available? These are all essential things to consider. An example would be if you only have a handful of hens and want to be able to move your chicken house, then you would probably want a portable chicken arc.

Let’s look at the small coop design first. Small coops will hold only a handful of chickens. Small chicken pens hold around two to six hens. These are not chicken coops designed for raising hens for profit. A common way to make these small coops is to use fencing all around it. Keeping your hens from escaping and wandering about your neighbor’s yard.

More details about the pet chicken coop can be found on our website Keeping Chickens with Duke.

Mid-sized chicken coops are designed basically the same way, but hold a greater number of chickens. Even though a midium sized chicken coop can hold two times the amount of hens as the small coop, it is not adequate for raising chickens for profit. Whether from the chickens themselves or their eggs, the number of chickens you can raise in a small or medium pen will not make enough of either to be profitable.

Small and medium sized coops are best if you plan to make them moveable. If you want to raise numerous hens but still want the freedom of a portable chicken cage, then it would be best to build several mid-sized coops.

finally the large hen cage designs. There are no limitations when it comes to the large coop. You simple construct them as large as needed to accommodate the number of hens you are raising. The standard for the run is 6 sq ft per chook, but enthusiasts vouch for 10 sq ft. For twenty chickens that would add up to 200 sq ft of area outside of the coop’s footage, for run space.

An metropolitan setting lends itself to an enclosed portable chicken ark. Closing in the coop area will prevent your chickens from becoming your neighbor’s pests, as well as reduce the chances of them getting loose and getting hit by passing cars or neighborhood pets such as dogs or cats. This is not as big of an issue in the country.

To learn more about keeping chickens visit www.keepingchickenswithduke.com and pick up our How to Chickens Tips and Resources Guide.

If you’re inquisitive about building chicken coops and hunting for some basic instructions you have come to the right place.  Everyone that’s attempting chicken coop construction has to start in the same place, with printable plans for building a chicken coop.  Yep, that’s right, that is my one suggested tip!  Printable plans!  This will save you hours of frustration, and pricey mend bills down the line.  There’s nothing more to it than that; everyone should start with a good set of instructions before they begin this project. 

With ever project we do around the house we find ourselves beginning the project with the concept we don’t need any instructions to complete it.  However just like any other project we find that we are wishing we’d have started correctly in the first place because it would have saved time and money in the long run. 

Over the years I have run into many people that did just that started off without any instructions and found themselves with all types of hot water.  Some simply never got it off the ground, while others were full into raising chickens when they realized what their coop was missing. 

Building chicken coops does not need to be hard at all, it should be a fast and pain free project that anybody can do, but if you are not a professional yard farmer, it is highly recommended that you do begin with some printable plans. 

A good set of plans can help you avoid:

Unhealthy chickens

Low egg production

Tough to clean coops

Irritated, pecking chickens

A partially build coop

Dear repairs

Remember you aren’t predicted to grasp exactly what goes into a coop, and for most of us, we almost certainly have very little concept what chickens need in the 1st place.  Yes, they’re easy to house, and easy to raise, but what makes them that way is a good home to house them in. 

Now there are lots and lots of diagrams for building a chicken coop out there.  Most can be discovered here online, and are nearly all are deserving plans that will satisfy the requirements of your chickens as well as yourself.  It is critical that you select one and as a minimum follow thru with some suggestions of the ones that have built many coops and have experience raising chickens.

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These days more folks are returning back to the land to help support their families.  For many, one of their fondest memories is the old hen house in the back yard.  The idea of fresh eggs from your own hen house for breakfast is intriguing.  However before you can kick back and enjoy these glorious eggs you have to know the way to build a chicken pen and house. 

There are several methods to build a chicken pen and house and many alternative ideas with no 2 are similar.  Many factors must be considered before starting out to design your hen house.  Perhaps the most important factor to consider is how many chickens you plan to have.  This correlates straight to the size of both the hen house and the chicken run you’ll need to have. 

You also need to decide what your most important goal in raising chickens is, are you planning on raising your chickens essentially for their eggs or are you raising them as a source of meat for the table?  You need to take into account that they will need somewhere that they can roost and lay their eggs when you build a chicken pen.  Your hen house plans must take into account that laying hens need approximately 1.5 square feet each of space within the henhouse. 

When it is time to plan your outside run remember again that each type of chicken has different space wishes a laying hen wishes about 8 sq.  feet, whereas a big chicken wants nearer to 10 feet of space.  This much space is needed in order for them to get enough room to exercise and to lower the risk of your hens and chickens fighting each other causing injury or potentially death, all this must be taken into consideration when you build a chicken pen. 

When you build a chicken pen you must design it in such a manner that your chickens can seek shelter from the elements and provide them with places they can shelter from both the sun and the rain to keep them healthy year round and you well supplied with fresh eggs.

There’s plenty of data out there that may assist you on Chicken Coops Plans. Much more info at Building Chicken Coops.

There’s nothing like raising your own birds, you can enjoy fresh eggs and meat for a fraction of the price of buying them in the grocers.  Your chickens are going to need a place to live that is warm and dry year round.  A good set of chicken’s house plans is important to be in a position to build them a safe and secure coop which will last for many years. 

Bird’s house plans come in numerous shapes and sizes depending on the number of birds you intend to have in your flock.  The type of chickens you’re planning on raising will also make a real difference in the kind of house that you build.  If you’re planning on raising hens mainly for their eggs then you’ll need to have nesting boxes for them to lay their eggs in.  For every 4 to 5 laying hens you have you’ll need to provide one nesting box that is layered with wood shavings or other nesting material. 

Your chicken’s house plans should ensure that your birds have masses of places to perch.  Gurus endorse that your birds have 6 to 10 inches of perch space each and that none of the perches is way more than 4 feet off the ground.  A feeding tray should be included that is no higher than the top of your hens’ backs and can be removed for simple cleaning. 

Your chicken’s house plans should walk you through the selection of materials from the floor to the roof.  A good strong wood or cement floor is recommended to make it easier to keep clean and to keep predators out.  The walls and roof can be made from wood or metal so long as they are powerful enough to keep your chickens in and vermin out.  If you live in a cold climate you must insulate the walls and roof to help to keep your poultry warm in the winter. 

A well built chicken’s house will keep your chickens safe and warm all year round.  This will keep you and your folks well supplied with fresh meat and eggs for many years to come.

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