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Backyard chicken raising is a wonderful hobby.  You will enjoy delicious, fresh eggs almost daily. If you intend to raise your hens as pets you will not think about having the occasional Sunday roast dinner courtesy of your feathered flock, but it is an attractive option for some poultry keepers.

But, whatever your plans or aims, you must raise and keep your chickens properly in order to achieve them. So here are the 10 vital steps for raising and keeping your poultry happily and in great condition.

Step 1, decide on the breed. It is very important to get the right birds for your particular location and circumstances.  Susceptible to hot or cold climates, boiler or layer, hobby or business – these are just a few of the aspects when choosing your flock.  Your local chicken supplier can advise, or other neighbors with hens of their own.  

Step 2, decide on the right number of birds. Hens need space in which to forage, exercise and nest comfortably. Plan on about one square meter or 10 square feet for each bird.  This will govern the maximum number of chickens you should plan on getting, based on the available space you have. Three is considered the minimum, because hens like company.

Step 3, decide how much time you will have available. You will need to allocate a period daily for providing food and water, cleaning out the coop and other jobs such as inspection of perimeter fencing. Budget about 15 minutes per day, at the same time if possible – hens love routine.

Step 4, build shelter and housing.  Poultry must have places to roost, nest and forage safely. They also must have a place to shelter from too much sun and they need a supply of fresh water. A good chicken coop will have easy access for cleaning and a way to collect eggs without disturbing the hens too much.

Step 5, provide protection. Safety from predators is vital, and threats come from many creatures including cats and dogs, rats, wild animals, birds of prey, even snakes.  Do not underestimate the ability of predators to gain access to your hens through or under fences over time.  The coop and hen run must be safe and secure from all such predators.  Look out for eagles and other big birds of prey, and put a suitable covering over the run if necessary – it will also stop your chickens flying up into nearby trees!

Step 6, consider health hazards. Poultry can suffer from quite a few diseases, so do some research into the common ones in your area.  Try speaking to local chicken farmers and vets, as well as online forums – you will get a lot of help from the chicken-keeping community.  

Step 7, identify applicable laws.  You must comply with all national and local regulations relating to raising or keeping poultry, although often these are not too oppressive.  Your local town hall or government offices should be able to give you all the guidance and information you need.  

Step 8, provide a good diet.  Hens need a diet of greens, grains, protein and fresh water. Protein is particularly important – talk to your local feed supplier for advice on this.  You might need to introduce protein supplements and grit into your hen food, but most likely free range hens will get enough from their own foraging. There must be a constant supply of fresh, clean water.  If you are away during the day or on vacation, you should investigate automatic water dispensers for your hens. The rest of your hens’ diet should be met by foraging around their pen area.  

Step 9, consider weather and climate.  So long as they have shelter from hot, midday sun, most chicken varieties are able to adapt to a wide range of weather and climactic conditions. They do need to keep their feet dry, however.  

Step 10, consider your local environment. Usually keeping chickens is viewed as a good thing, so you should not encounter significant problems here.  Perhaps talk to any neighbors who might have concerns about possible noise or smells, to reassure them.  They might like the thought of a supply of free range eggs on their doorstep!

You can see that these vital steps are neither difficult nor obscure.  Following them should ensure that you have happy and healthy chickens in your backyard. Oh, one last thing – each of those happy hens should provide you with 6 fresh, free range eggs per week for most of the year!

We have a great deal of information about how to build a chicken coop and where to get the best chicken house plans on our website. Good luck with your birds – we know you will enjoy them!

An abundance of chicken coop plans can be found for free range chickens from premium structures to backyard coops. As a beginner, you may just be searching for do it yourself chicken coop plans that aren’t too difficult to understand and follow.

For a really great chicken coop building guide, take a look over at Building A Chicken Coop By Bill Keene.

If you just have a small number of chickens that you are keeping in your back garden, a portable coop for them will be sufficient.

It is recommended that you choose chicken coop plans that give you a step by step blueprint for easy construction. The best way to build your chicken coop is to download them onto your home pc and print them out so you have a physical reference to work with as you put everything together.

Included in the plans for your chicken coop should be what materials you will require to get the job done. There are lots of considerations including where the chickens will lay eggs, nesting and areas where the chickens can perch.

Coop plans should also take into account other variables including adequate ventilation, safe housing from potential predators such as foxes and all types of weather.

When choosing your coop plan, also consider rules in your city governing backyard coops. Your chicken home might be small, but if you are going to keep it in your backyard and you live in a residential area; chances are, there are regulations to follow.

Just a reminder that if you would like to read more information on all types of chicken coops then check out Easy Chicken Coop Building Plans.

What you don’t want to have happen is that you finish building your coop according to set instructions according to your plan, only to find out that for one reason or another it does not comply in your city.

When you choose your chicken coop plan, check out what materials are required as you want those materials to be either readily available around the home or inexpensive to purchase. Following a construction plan but substituting materials might not work on most design plans.

You can find chicken coop plans online that will be just what you are looking for, using basic tools and materials for the task at hand.

Keep in mind that choosing the right design plan will play a big role in the success of your project. If you miscalculate what you need by following the wrong plan you will be wasting a lot of time and effort.

If you want to build a small backyard coop or a portable one, many of the chicken coop plans that you can buy are easy to follow for a keen diy enthusiast or beginner. When you build your own chicken house, you will have the satisfaction that you built it yourself and also made a great cash saving in the process.

I trust you liked this article, I also have more information I’d like to share with you at Building A Chicken Coop

When I first came up with the idea of becoming a urban chicken farmer I thought that the whole process would be relatively straight forward. Just buy some chicks, buy a chicken coop and feed the chickens my leftover dinner table scraps. Cannot believe how wrong I was! All these bits and pieces needed for a coop soon becomes too expensive.

The only way to cut costs was to write down all the things that could cut costs. The first was the chicken coop. I looked at the pre-built models and decided that they were way too expensive, so I decided to build my own chicken coop using a set of DIY chicken coop plans.

I searched the internet and found some free plans. However when I presented these to the owner of my local DIY store he laughed and said that I had better go back to the drawing board. Thank god I took his advice as the health of my chickens would be diminished by these plans. My main criteria when selecting which set of plans and guide to go for was the health and safety of my chickens. Next was how easy were the plans to read and did the plans come with step by step instructions.

There were so many sites advertising so many sets of chicken coop designs and chicken runs that I almost gave up! I was left really confused about all the information that sites on the web were offering. I bought 10 guides overall. Out of ten guides I got seven refunds!

My eventual choice was between three guides. I like them all and have reviewed them in depth on my website. I chose these three guides as they simply fulfilled the above requirements. If you really want to build a coop then they are invaluable.

Kids really love to eat chickens and if they will have it their way, they will eat chickens until there are no more chickens left in the world. Seriously, just like any other food out there, toxins are always present in them which can be very harmful to your system. As a responsible and caring parent, you should be particular about what to put in the mouths of these youngsters and you have to be very sure they get to eat the healthy foods while they are growing. If your children are really fond of eating chickens, why not raise some of your own in your own backyard? Raising them assures you that the chickens you have are all naturally-grown and what better way to make them grow healthy and strong and natural than putting them in a chicken coop. If you need some chicken coop plans to help you build your own chicken coop, then, you are in the right place.

Surely, some people might say that it would be a lot more convenient to employ some handyman to let him build that chicken coop for your fowls. But hiring someone can be so expensive and sometimes, you just can’t be satisfied with the outcome. So, why try to hire somebody when you can do the job yourself and sometimes, things can be very fun when you try to encourage all the members of your family to help you in making that chicken coop. Let them help build chicken coop and for sure, kids will enjoy what they are doing.

Now, aside from the benefits of providing your family with good nutrition when you have chickens and possibly fresh eggs throughout your life, you can also have the chance to sell the eggs or the chickens to neighbors and other people, right? Try to learn more about chicken coop building plans and some more tips and advices and of course the step by step in building a coop and one of the ways to get these information is through a chicken coop-building book guide that is now being promoted all over the Net.

If you want to find chicken coop plans on the internet, then you are probably searching for the foremost way to make a chicken coop. However, there are key points you need to be aware of in order to pick the best plans that will suit your specific situation.

Tip #1 – Build Your Coop for Easy Maintenance

One of the biggest obstacles when preserving a chicken coop is cleaning it. Some people do not build their coops with ease of cleaning in mind, and suffer the impact later on. But you can discern from their blunders, and ensure that your coop will be easy to maintain in the future. One very important aspect is to make sure the floor of the coop is sloped downward toward the main door. When you wash the inside of the coop, the water will certainly drain outside, instead of collecting in the center.

Tip #2 – Make sure of Enough Space

Do not scrimp on the size of your chicken coop. Chickens that live in tiny coops resort to deviant pecking and even cannibalism. You do not want this! As a rule of thumb, you should assign about 4 square feet per chicken. So if you have a coop holding 10 chickens, 40 square feet will be plenty of room for your chickens to grow, feed, and breed.

Tip #3 – Protect Your Coop From Weather and Predators

It is important that you make your chicken coop with protection in mind. Both weather and predators can destroy on your coop, so construct it with these tips in mind.

Construct the coop on a high area with abundant drainage and put it facing the sun. In the end if it rains, this spot will not only ensure that the coop does not get flooded, but that it dries fast when the sun comes out.

Build your doors with suitable strength mesh wire. Believe it or not, this step is one of the most common errors people make when building their coop. Without the proper toughness, your mesh wire will succumb to even the tiniest of killers, allowing them easy entry to your chickens.

Building Chicken Coops

Chickens sure are amazing creatures. Chicken have been farm animals as long as we remember. Passing up the opportunity to own a batch of chickens would be really hard to do, especially if you enjoy eggs. You see, many individuals save money from buying eggs simply because they have hens of their own that lay eggs. Does this sound Ok to you? If so, then there are a number of different things you will need to take into consideration before you go out and get those new pets. First of all, do you know how to build a chicken coop? If not, then we are here to tell you the things you will need.

Did you know that building a coop is not that hard to do at all? In fact, it is very easy. You do not have experience when it comes to putting one of these wonderful coops together. One basic thing you have to think about is how big you like your chicken coop to be. Would you like one that is small? When you get a small one, you will be able to transport it around. However, if you plan on the chickens staying in one spot, then we highly recommend you looking into building one that is large.

Take note that just because you are building a big chicken coop, it does not mean that it is going to be hard. The only difference is that it will be heavier, but in general the work that has to be done is the same.

The general rule is four square feet to each chicken. E.g. if you plan to have four chicken then your chicken coop has to be at least sixteen square feet. Does this make sense to you? Your chicken have to live in a stress free environment if you want them to lay the maximum amount of eggs.

When you are picking out a spot to place the chickens home, it would be best if you place it where the sunlight hits during the morning hours. Chickens enjoy the morning sunlight and this will make them lay eggs for you more often.

If you keep the birds comfortable, then you can count on one bird laying five eggs a week. If you have five birds, then you will have twenty five eggs each week. Doesn’t this sound good? Remember, it is all in how and where you place their home.

So what materials are needed for building a chicken coop. When it comes to the material list, you will find that you will not require much. In fact, it is really easy. You will need some wood, mesh wire, hammer and nails. You can use treated pine or even hardwood, if you are not able to spend much money.

As you are putting the roof up, you may need someone to help you out. Remember, whatever you do, make sure you seal the chickens in, because there are many wild animals out there that would love to get a taste of some fresh chicken. How to build a chicken coop can be really fun and enjoyable. Also, it is not expensive at all.

For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Chicken Coop Plans

While growing up, many of us cannot remember a time in our life when we did not own anyhens. A lot of us have childhood memories of going out and feeding the chicken. Each day, when we go out to feed them, we flash back to feeding them as a child. A lot of people are fond of the childhood memories they have. Do you have childhood memories like this? Do you remember helping your parents build a chicken coop? Chances are you did not know exactly what is going on. Now, here you are, sitting there wondering how to build a chicken coop. As we write this article, we are going to give you some information that you need in order to build those birds a home.

First of all, before you even get the birds, you need to take the size into consideration. How big do you want you coop to be? Personally, we believe it should be a big one. Many people opt for a smaller one simply so that they can haul it around. If you have no plans transporting your chicken, then you should build a big coop.

For every bird that will be in the coop, you will need to have 4 square feet. In order for the hens to lay more and be stress free, you will need to make it big.

Besides, making the house big is not going to take much more work. Sure, it may take a bit more supplies, but those supplies are actually cheap.

Before you start to build this big house, you will need to figure out where to place it. It is important that you place the chicken coop in the right place; I recommend putting it in a place where the sunlight shines bright in the morning hours. There is something about chickens and that morning sun as they absolutely enjoy it.

You will get you rbirds to lay the maximum number of eggs when placing them in the morning sunlight and having them in a safe and stress free environment.

You do not need to purchase that many materials in order to put all of this together. Basically, you need some wood, nails, mesh wire and a hammer. To protect your chicken coop even more, you might want to consider to put some shingles on your roof.

When you have the frame put up, you may need some help when it comes to putting the roof on. At this point, when you have the roof on, it will be time to put that mesh wire up. No matter what you do, even if you have to put a ton of nails and staples through it, we highly recommend you not leaving any gaps between that wiring. If you leave gaps, you will make it easy for those predators to grab one of your birds. There are many wild animals out there that would love to have your chicken for dinner. I have no doubt that you will find that building a chicken coop is real fun. Now that you know how to build a chicken coop, it is time to get going.

For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Chicken Coop Plans

Anyone that raises chickens will need a chicken coop. The question for many is how to build a chicken coop? With a bit of ingenuity and some rather basic materials, you can have a chicken coop in relatively no time at all.

The first things you have to clarify is how large you want the coop to be and what material you would like to use. The other thing that is really a key factor is the placement of your coop. The conditions for your chicken coop could vary, because of the fact that everyone’s environment is diferent.

As the name indicates, a chicken coop will provide shelter to your chicken. This is of utmost importance, because there could always be wild animals that could pose a great danger to your chicken. An extremely important part of any chicken coop is the “run.” This is the area outside of the actual shelter itself where the chickens are free to roam around in.

The standard rule of thumb for how to build a chicken coop is to allow room for eight chickens and three nests. In addition there has to be suffiecient room for the chicken to be able to perch too. This would be about nine inches or so of perch space. One of the biggest problems that people make is building a coop that is too small. Doing so will prohibit your chickens from flourishing as well as they could if the coop was the adequate size.

For every chicken there should be at least four square feet. This basically means if you plan a chicken coop for four chicken you will need an area of 4×4. The windows of the chicken coop should always face south and it is of the uttmost importantce that there is sufficient ventilation throughout the coop. If you want to have a chicken coop that is fully functional it should have the following characteristics
Storage space
A good and easy to use entranceway
Sufficient ventilation and lighting
An area that accomodates the coop to be properly cleaned

The climate in which you live will dictate to a good degree how you will build your coop. If you reside in a warm climate then you can often get away with wire netting and mesh. However, if you live in a colder climate then you will have to consider actual slider windows.

It is very important that when you make the plans for building your chicken coop that you take into consideration that the chicken coop is at least four feet tall and is also burried at least a foot into the ground. This will stop wild animals from digging underground to get to your coop. A danger are wild birds that could get inside the coop and spread diseases to your chickens, this is why it is a good idea to male the top covered. Building your own chicken coop is easier than you might think! All you need is the right blueprint. For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Free Chicken Coop Plans

Many people are looking to build a chicken coop without having to spend a fortune. It is said that the average person spend around $300 roughly. There are many free and easy plans, that will allow you to construct a coop to fit your needs.
There are several websites where you will find chicken coop plans free. Some websites sell pre-fabricated chicken coops, that are not so expensive. However, most people can build chicken coops themselves cheaper. You need to ask yourself what you would like in a coop. Proper ventilation is very important. Depending on the size of your chicken population, you will need to make sure you have adequate feeding systems. Building supplies in th eend fully depend on the climate you are living in. You definitely don’t want rain, snow and wind to get inside the chicken coop. It you live in a really cool climate, some kind of heating is something you should think of.
If you have a small amount of chickens it is said that a movable chicken coop can be of advantage. Because you can move them close to your house, they are easy to clean. Chicken coops can also be made using cheap material which you can find in and around your house. May be one of your neighbors can help you with some of the materials needed. Your chickens can be closer to you for easy feeding. The coops are durable to withstand movement as well.
Many people make their coops out of recycled or unused materials that are free or cheap. In turn this give your chickens a safe place to lay their eggs. Chickens do not require much, but by giving them a warm and safe home you will increase egg production. It also protects from the weather.
Wood from pretty much any source, boxes, wooden chests, metals and many other things can be used. Be creative when building your chicken coop, based around your needs. Some people used old sheds or small places that aren’t being used.
When it comes to building a chicken coop there are various things you need to take into consideration e.g. weather and psace. How to make a chicken coop and what material you can use is very open. The possibilities are endless. The benefits that a coop provides your chickens will far outweigh any cost or search for materials. You can get great ideas from people around you who also have chickens Building your own chicken coop is easier than you might think! All you need is the right blueprint. For a step by step guide on how to build a chicken coop visit Chicken Coop Plans