Saucy Pet

Posts Tagged ‘chicken arks’

Chicken coops runs must be made with the help of a proper planning. The runs are one of the most important areas in the coop. This is where the chickens usually move about. You must ensure free movement for the chickens in the run. So first of all you need to choose a perfect plan for building the run.

The run is the area where the birds can come out and get some fresh air and light. But as the chickens come out you have the fear of the predators. It is therefore vital to make sure your chickens are safe in the run. Your chicken pen should be kept away from predator hotspots such as long grass and trees.

These places are ideal for the predators to hide. As soon the chicken will go out in the run they will jump over them and eat them up. So you need to build the run in an open space which is far from the dense growth. You must try to avoid dangers like fox, snakes, dogs and the some other animals.

Chicken runs can either be a free space or it can also be fenced. It depends on the area where you live. If you have too many predators around then you will surely need a fenced chicken coops runs. On the other hand if the predators come out only at night then you need to lock the chickens up before it gets dark.

In this case the chicken coops runs can have a free range. If you decide to put fencing around the runs then you must make sure that the fencing is installed properly. Strong wire is a must to prevent predators from breaking into your coop. This can assist in the safety and welfare of your flock.

Chicken wires are usually used for fencing. The wire should be buried under the ground. If you do this the predators will not be able to dig under the area of the run. An alternative is to build your chicken coop runs on concrete or paving stones. This will stop unwanted visitors getting to your chickens.

You must also make sure that the chicken coops runs are kept free from any kind of dangerous objects that can cause harm to the chickens. If you find any protruding nails from the fence then you must remove it. Make sure that the electric wiring you use do not cause harm to the chickens.

If you’re just starting to keep chickens, a great way to save money is to build a simple chicken ark. Although there are some good ready-made chicken arks they are expensive, and building a chicken ark is not hard – especially if you’ve got a good set of pans and instructions to follow.

Chicken arks are the simple triangular shaped chicken coops that have an integral run. An easy type to build has a roosting space and covered nesting box at one end with a run attached. Building the chicken ark is less than a day’s work, so yu would also have enough time to go and buy your chickens and get them into their new home , all within a wekend.

For three hens they are a great solution – and if you buy broody hens they will be ready to lay only a few weeks after you get them home.

Get your children involved from the beginning by sharing the project of building the chicken ark, and then they should also get interested in the ongoing care of the chickens. Depending on the ages of your children, they will be able to help building the chicken ark by doing something: fetching and organising the materials, telling you what to do next, assembling some of the pieces or even building the entire chicken ark by themselves.

The principle behind the chicken ark is that you move it each day so the chickens get fresh ground to graze. You can also leave it in one place and allow your chickens to free range. They will clear rough ground for you; scratch up bugs and insects, and clear beds in the autumn.

f you do move the ark every day, you will get fertilised ground, but they won’t clear it completely. If you want you can move the chicken ark on your lawn – but do move it every single day.

If you are thinking of getting started with keeping chickens it is very straightforward and hugely enjoyable. First find some good chicken ark plans so the building is easy and quick, then make sure that you have all the information you need to keep your chickens safe and healthy – look for good plans that come with a complete kit of chicken keeping information,
Then you’ll have a constant supply of beautiful fresh eggs.

Chickens live in flocks as they are social animals. They naturally like to roam free, too. So keeping pet chickens in a confined space is far from ideal. Pet chickens can have new ground to scratch with a chicken ark type hen house.
Chicken arks give hens access to new grazing, as they are moved frequently, allowing the hens to peck and gaze grubs and grass. Your garden is protected from scavenging chickens, and they are protected from over-enthusiatic children.
You children will soon become adept at picking the hens up and will be able to explain to their friends how to approach them. A chicken ark lets children look at the chickens closely, but keeps the hens enclosed.
Pet chickens have a routine, so children will develop an understanding of what is needed and when. Collecting eggs from the nesting part of the chicken ark is an enjoyable activity, but children will also enjoy the responsibility of feeding and may even help with cleaning.
If handled gently, most chicken breeds are perfectly safe to handle. The best plan if you start with laying chickens, is to let them out of the ark for a few hours a day and get used to children, and get the children used to them.
If you start with chicks, children can get familiar with them as they grow, and can handle them if they are well supervised, from a relatively early age.
If you want just a few pet chickens, chicken arks work well as they are small and easy to manage. Children will learn how to treat each bird, and notice the difference in their habits and personalities.

Layers when they first begin laying may start to eat the eggs. You may be able to retrain them, but some chickens can be hard to cure.

When an egg has been dropped or trodden on, a chicken may eat it. Hens forage, so are always interested in something new. Sometimes they’ll eat the shell, other times they’ll leave it. But once they’ve tasted an egg, it can be hard habit to break.

Preventative measures.

Make sure your nest boxes in your chicken ark or hen house have a lip on the bottom of the front so it’s hard to kick eggs out accidentally. Your nestboxes should have enough room for the chicken to step around without damaging the eggs.

Thick bedding in the nestboxes will cushio the eggs.

If shells are thin, eggs are more easily broken. Adequate oyster shell will help develop harder and thicker shells.

If the chickens can roam free so they have more interest, or you have a chicken ark you can move around, they will have more interest and are less likely to get bored.

Ideas for solutions when your chickens are already eating eggs

Collect often. The longer an egg sits, the more likely it will get eaten.
Your hens may all lay at the same time, so collect the eggs as soon as they’ve finished. If they lay throughout the day, check more frequently during the day for a while.

This may break the cycle and you can also keep them in a chicken ark.

Other solutions

You could try putting golf balls in the nesting boxes. The theory is that a few pecks on a hard ball will discourage them, so they’ll lose interest and leave the eggs alone.

Wooden eggs look more like the real think, so make work too.

Another thing to try is to remove an egg and heavily coat it with petroleum jelly and then replace it. When the hen pecks at it, she gets a beak full of goop.

Boredom can be as much a cause of egg pecking as it is of pecking other chickens. Letting them free range or putting them in a chicken ark can work

You may be able to identify one chicken who is the culprit and separate her before she teaches the others.

This is where a chicken ark can be useful, so you can house her separately for a while. She will have interest from being moved around regularly, and if you collect the eggs frequently as well, you may break her of the habit.

Where chicken predators are common, a chicken ark allows them to have new grazing, but keeps them safe as well.

The chicken ark is designed to be moved around, giving chickens new ground to forage and browse on, but as the run is enclosed, it keeps them safe. The roosting and nesting area is integral to the chicken ark so they have a sheltered area for night time. If any predator has a go at getting into the run, it can’t reach the chickens.

Your chickens should be fine when you’re available, just put them in the run if you pop out.

The roosting space is in the pointed part of the ark, in the bigger, taller types, with the open run below. This provides an enclosed run that is also shaded from the sun and provides some shelter in wet weather.

The simple chicken ark has encloded roosting at nesting at one end, then a triangular section run at the other end. This chicken ark design means the run is open to the elements – so the chickens get sun wind and rain, just like the free range outdoors. Your eggs will have all the nutritional value of free range eggs, and your chickens will be safe.

Arks must be moved frquently – often every day.

They can be sited on any sort of ground where chickens can hunt for grubs and bugs or eat the grass or weeds.their diet will consist of a wide varity of foods, so the eggs will have more flavor.

Chicken can be used to hlep clear rougher areas, they will happily remove dead and flopping growth in the fall and can of course, be used to give your lawn some extra fertilizer. The droppings provide instant fertilizer, but won’t build up as you’ll be moving the ark regularly.

The ‘run at the side’ type of chicken ark tends to be lighter and so easier to move, with the roosting part at ground level. Easy to build, this is a very good design if you are new to keeping chickens.

Building your own chicken ark should result in an attractive, well-designed hen house, which will last for years, give you and your hens a lot of pleasure – and save you a considerable amount.