Two things you should always consider when planning to build a backyard chicken coop are comfort and health of your chickens. That is one reason why we are building a house for them. Chickens need not to be stressed and they should stay healthy.
SAFE FROM PREDATORS
Your chickens should be comfortable and they should not be afraid that there will be predators attacking at any time. There are many different types of predators like foxes, coyotes, snakes and hawks. Build solid barriers from foxes and coyotes that are buried two feet deep in the ground. You can prevent eagles and hawks from grabbing your chickens from the top with good chicken wires or sold roofs. Your chicken coop should be located far from bushy areas and junk piles where rats and snakes might attack.
PERCH
Chickens love to perch. It is important to consider it for your them. Young chickens do not perch much. They start perching in their own phase at around 6 months old, some earlier and some later. As they grow older, they find the most comfortable place to perch, and they mostly prefer the top-most perch. It helps the chickens to stay active and happy. Active and happy chickens are healthy chickens producing good consistent eggs. They become good meat or even pets.
These two things are often overlooked at and considered least but these are as important as the basic food, water and care that chickens need.
It may not only be necessary to build a chicken coop but you should also consider the necessity of building your own poultry run.
Chickens still need an area that they can be allowed to roam free while still being kept in a contained area which is where your poultry run comes into place.
It is important that the chickens are not overcrowded and the run should contain the following safeguards.
1) Predators can dig under your run in order to kill your chickens so to combat this, you sink wire into the ground that points inwards towards the coop. Most animals would then
hit the wire and give up.
2) Also, many predators are able to lift latches (crafty beggars) so to avid this pitfall, buy a latch that locks with a pin so that it can’t be lifted.
3) Add a sensor-monitored security light to the outside of the house so that a bright light shines on any potential predators which will scare them away.
4) One other tip is to collect hair from your hairbrush, put it in a cloth bag or pillowcase and put it in the coop. This actually scares away many predators as they are experienced enough to fear humans.
Chicken coop building takes from half a day to a week. It depends on the complexity of your chicken coop design, how good and knowledgeable you are in carpentry and woodwork and hot organized and laid out your plans are.
A chicken coop ark is so simple that it will take you about half a day building it. A chicken house in rectangular shape would probably take you two to three days. If you are building a complex chicken house that has a pitched roof, it might take you more than three days.
If it will be your first time to build a chicken coop, try the chicken ark. You can always rebuild a better one next time.
For more info, why not check out Chicken Coop on wikipedia
