- The number of wild birds am i going to have eventually?
You could begin by helping cover their only 5 hens, what if you wish to expand
your flock each year or more, or give a rooster? You shouldn’t haveto begin again or perhaps be renovating a coop having a flock residing in it. In the
very minimum, the ‘average’ adult chicken needs 7.5 square ft
(each) between outside and indoor space its whether it’s penned constantly,
and three square ft each if free varying regularly. Bigger breeds require a
the least 10 square ft penned and 4 square ft if normally free
varying, and bantams 5 square ft penned and a pair of square ft the opportunity.
They require less space within their secure bedroom than their ‘day
space’, but this is a typical. Bear in mind this is actually the minimum.
Overcrowding of wild birds may cause not just social problems (pecking and
fighting, and also the resultant injuries you’ll then suffer from), but
results in a situation ripe for disease transmission too. Make certain
your wild birds have sufficient space!
- What breed is going to be residing in your coop/run?
Different species prosper in various conditions, so wild birds that
want more space for max health will not prosper in additional
limited spaces. Make sure to consider the needs for that wild birds
you will be contributing to your flock. Most books and most of the top websites
around the subject may have all of this information for you personally. Try
backyardchickens.com for every type of information about breeds and coops.
- What’s the topography of your dwelling?
Our 6+ acres are hilly and mostly forested – not too great for portable
moving pens. If you have a set property, it certainly increases
your choices.
- Have you got room close to the house to produce your chicken housing?
Well, wrong beside your home, but if you reside in a place with
predators (and a lot of us do), you’ll wish to be within earshot from the
chickens so you will be awake and aware should something with teeth go
marauding within the dead of night. Many people claim you are able to leave
chickens for several days should they have the best housing, but that is simply not
something I’d advise if you are encircled by big, opportunistic
predators (yes, even if you have a animals dog).
- What types of predators live in your town?
This can dictate how secure your housing must be. We’ve
weasels, raccoons, fishers, coyotes, bears and cougars to worry
about, as well as flying predators like red tailed hawks and
ravens. Plenty of coop plans have exterior doorways for being able to access the nest
boxes – within our situation, we made the decision against that style, because it might have
managed to get simpler pickin’s for that resident black bears (they’re weirdly
dexterous using their mouths and paws). You’ll also see lots of plans
with open flooring therefore the poop doesn’t happen into some kind of
collection space – apparently this reduces cleaning needs, however it
wouldn’t be whatsoever safe within our neck from the forest, just like any guage of wire
mesh that might be large enough to allow feces fall through would also
permit the resident weasels a wide open door to the hens and rooster. I
don’t think so… Plus the thought of the wild birds getting just to walk on wire just
appears wrong in my experience.
- What’s your financial allowance? You are able to
spend $2000 on the fancy coop with the features, or
convert a current building for $100 or fewer. We built a sturdy,
predator-proof coop for approximately $200, plus another $100 for water founts,
feeders along with a rubber trough. But we’d our very own lumber and shingles
and used many re-purposed building materials (concrete board, trailer
trusses, roosts, home windows). The only real factor we’d to purchase was a few of the
hardware cloth and chicken wire, and all sorts of hinges and locks, too
because the linoleum for that floor. Make sure to be aware of all of the costs so
there aren’t any surprises in the middle of the work.
- Do you can get reused materials?
This could save you lots of money, and can potentially add lots of
time for you to any project. Plus you will want to make certain the re-used
materials are neat and that they may keep the wild birds protected from
predators. Free materials aren’t an excellent deal should you lose your
wild birds, however they could make your coop unique and can pull things
from the waste stream that may otherwise go to landfill (or
languished in someone’s shed for many years).
- Would you like a pre-designed plan, to personalize an agenda based on your personal needs, or purchase a pre-built coop?
This can clearly rely on your financial allowance, the length of time you’ve
available, and just how good your constructions skills are. The quickest
option is to find a pre-built unit, but that won’t fit your specific
situation, nor your financial allowance. If you opt to construct your own, make sure to
assess (realistically) the length of time it will require and for those who have that
open to build an adquate shelter for the wild birds. Otherwise, consider
benefiting from help. Particularly if your wild birds are enroute… )
Answering
these questions honestly will give you a good base that you should evaluate
all individuals funky, stylin’ coop plans you’ve bookmarked.
Resourse: http://motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-animals/
Simply the best chicken coop, Ever!
Video COMMENTS:
Growing With God: I like this. Obviously a warm climate design. I can modify that
Scoville Technologies: +Growing With God We're in Central GA, so it is warm most of the time. We do get some days in winter with lows in the mid teens. I put up plywood around the bottom wire of the coop just to keep the wind out of the coop/nest part. So far, that has served well.
fattybgood: How much?
Patricia Flores: +fattybgood from the website: "The Coop D Villa Deluxe 8′ x 12′ x 7′-4″ Very Nice all-in-one coop and run *price $2,200.00"
True Grit: This is one of the best coops I've seen on youtube. Great job!
Marti woodchip: It is indeed very well built although it is missing access ramps for the chickens to be able to get to the nesting boxes and also no access ramp for them to get up to the roosting bars and that is something every hen house must have, remember chickens cannot fly and tend to even have a hard time hopping up a couple feet depending on the breed. One more thing The main doors do seem to be adequate but for here in Santa Cruz California one would want to put a lock or good clip in through that hasp on the door because the raccoons around here make use of all their fingers and would have that thing opened up the first night as for the nest boxes you had better put some clasps on those too because underestimating the cleverness of a hungry coon will only lead to a sad ending for many of your hens. I assume that you do realize night time critters also know how to dig and skunks are pro at digging, they would dig under the edge within minutes depending on what kind of soil you have so do keep that in mind. Most of these floorless coops are really designed to be placed upon a concrete pad allowing an open floor design but when placed on soft ground it could be a recipe for disaster so all you viewers and readers please keep these pointers in mind. Over all it is a very high quality built coop and is very chicken worthy but a couple small mods would only make it perfect!.
Scoville Technologies: I hate to tell you, but you're wrong there. Chickens have absolutely no problems whatsoever flying up to the roost bars or the nest boxes. Access ramps are not needed at all.\n\nOver a year and a half and no coon, fox, snake, or other varmint problems. Haven't lost a single hen yet.
buckeyelady65: where's protection from predators? In due time, there won't be a blade of grass left, and your chickens will dig out wallows all around the edge inside. And at anytime a fox, raccoon, or something will dig from the outside and get in very easily. I disagree, not the best chicken coop ever unless you do something about that. Here's a helpful idea, put heavy flag stone all around the outside edge. Or pour concrete. It's over a year later, hows it going? Not trying to be "nasty" but seriously there are tons of coop designs but if there's no protection from predators (cuz they will come sooner or later) then saying this is the best chicken coop ever is BS. I do hope all the chickens are doing great! Let us know how it's going. Been over a year.
buckeyelady65: +Scoville Technologies Very nice coop, I mean it precious, just love it, but without predator protection it doesn't matter how nice or well built it a coop is. Very happy to hear they're all doing good. But all it takes is one night for the fox to come and dig right under those 4 x 4's. Or figure out how to open it. They're clever and good at digging (fox's dens).If you already know the foxes are around, you can be sure they're watching and waiting. Flagstones, concrete, or an electric wire at the base are good deterrents.
Scarlett Scoville: buckeyelady65, no coop is 100% predator proof, and he is right that we have foxes, hawks, snakes, neighborhood dogs, etc., and have not lost one chicken to any of them. The gentleman that built this coop was the only one we found in our state that even used hardware cloth, though, so that is a definite plus. Should we add something to prevent digging under and in the coop? Probably, and probably still will. Part of what makes this coop great though is how easy it is to make those little changes. For instance, the coop is great and well ventilated for our incredibly hot summers here in middle Georgia, and since we have moderate winters we simply staple a windblock to the bottom of the coop during those windy months. You are correct that there is no grass anymore, but we knew that would happen and use sand in both the coop and run area anyways. We bought this coop as first time chicken owners, after buying a piece of junk through the internet, and for any first time owners who are not up to building a coop yet, and live in an area where heat is a major concern, we highly reccommend this coop and know it is the best we can get prebuilt in this area. A year later? We still LOVE this coop, our hens are happy and healthy, and I'm already planning to purchase another in the future. Thank you for your feedback, and feel free to ask any other questions.
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