Nowadays, an increasing number of people are becoming interested in building chicken coops, and with new plans and designs for DIY coops becoming available in the market, you can choose specific features and create a coop that is custom made for your own personal requirements. For starters, however, it is always a better idea to make a smaller chicken coop first and then upgrade to a larger one with more chickens after they have gained some experience. Here are a few reasons why building a small chicken coop is better than a large one.

Lower Building Material Costs

Everyone wants to get the most out of the smallest amount of investment. The basic reason why you must opt for a small coop over a large one is the lower cost of material needed to construct the coop. Furthermore, maintenance will also cost much less for a small coop and you will soon realize that smaller coops will save you quite a lot of money initially. Also, a smaller coop will be ready in lesser time and it will also need less effort, so you may want to consider keeping a small coop instead of a large one.

Maintenance

Maintenance is also much easier for a small chicken coop. You will be able to clean the coop regularly and quickly with ease, and this is definitely a better option for you if you want to keep the chicken coop as a side project and not a full-time one. If the coop is small, it will take less time to clean, and you will have more time to spend on other activities or work.

Portability

Lastly, smaller chicken coops have an advantage over large ones in terms of mobility. If you move a lot, it will be a much lesser hassle to have a small coop. Another advantage of a small coop is that you can move it around in your backyard so that the grass doesn’t become dry. The chickens will also enjoy searching for weeds and bugs and other insects in the ground. Also, you can move the coop to place it in sunlight or even in the shade of a tree, giving you endless options for placement.

An increasing number of individuals are choosing small coops over large ones so consider your requirements and find out the most suitable option for your needs. Remember, the security and comfort of your chickens is of utmost importance, and whatever design you choose must fulfill their needs for comfort as much as yours.

If you want healthy chickens along with fresh eggs, then you must provide your chickens with natural food, ample sunshine and lots of fresh air. All this can be done by constructing a mobile chicken coop for them. These are also commonly called chicken tractors. Discussed in this article are a few key advantages of keeping your chicken in a chicken tractor.

A mobile chicken coop allows your chicken a supplement diet along with exercise as they scratch the ground to search for bugs and worms to eat.

The walls and top as well as the base of a portable coop are all made of wire mesh. This allows fresh breeze to flow through, providing them with fresh air. These units may be constructed to have space for sunshine as well as shade so that the chickens are comfortable in all sorts of weather conditions. Mobile chicken coops allow your chickens to live in a natural environment while they mesh protects them from predators such as foxes and rodents. You can make one large coop to house all the chickens and a smaller portable one that can have three or four chickens to experience the fresh air and environment turn by turn.

If you limited space in your yard, you can add an extra attachment to the portable coop that will be used for nesting and perch. With this solution, you will have three or four chickens in the yard and you will still have eggs.

Another advantage of portable chicken cops is that if your job requires regular relocation, these coops will prove to be an excellent investment. This is because they will provide all the basics which a regular chicken coop would offer.

Planning out and constructing a portable chicken coop is reasonably easier, simpler and inexpensive when compared to proper large units. Also, the time taken to build these is much more than the time it takes to build a portable one.

However, you must make sure that the mobile chicken coop you construct should follow all the requirements that are needed by chickens to remain healthy.

Each chicken must have plenty of space to itself and ventilation, cleanliness and comfort are paramount when you are designing the coop. let the chickens roam around in you backyard regularly but be careful to keep an eye on them in case they are attacked by predators.

It’s nice to have your own chickens and it’s not surprising that so many people are doing just that , in their own backyard.

The chickens will supply you with fresh eggs each day, and depending on how many you have, with enough to sell to shops or at the local market.

I think eggs must be one of my favourite foods. They are just so tasty ” and so versatile. There are so many ways an egg can be cooked ” boiled, fried, poached to name just a few. And that’s not even mentioning all their uses in baking cakes, quiches etc.

I live in the city and I am a regular consumer of eggs. I get mine in the local grocery store or supermarket. They are OK I guess, but have you ever tasted real free-range eggs?

I usually spend a weekend in the country with my mom, every five or six weeks. And she always seems to have a supply of “free free range” eggs at the ready. She gets them from a local farmer who calls to the door. Now these eggs are about as far from battery eggs as it’s possible to get.

And boy do I enjoy those eggs. Theres just no comparison with shop eggs, bless them. And I have my doubts if shop eggs (even the free-range variety) are really free-range.

I think its because I grew up on that same farm, and enjoyed those free free range eggs every day, that I got the taste for them. You are never happy with second best.

And it’s not a big deal to get a few chickens and start your own egg-producing business. I feel that there’s nothing quite like having fresh eggs from your own backyard, every day. And with a reasonably-sized back garden you can build your own coop cheaply.

But its not as if the chickens are just there to turn out the eggs, day in and day out! Personally speaking, I like chickens and I would find it difficult not to get attached to them.

Believe it or not, I could watch chickens for ages. I find them so interesting (and funny). The sounds, the head movements and the way they forage around the yard, all amuse me. (Maybe that’s easily done)!

Like humans, each one has their own personality. And they will let you know whenever they have laid an egg!

And the chickens come in many beautiful colors and varieties, such as Golden Campines, Blue Andalusians or the popular Rhode Island Reds.

They can be kept as pets, of course, but they will keep producing eggs. What other pet gives something back? I cant think of any!

If you’ve taken an interest in chicken-raising, either as a hobby or a way to acquire eggs and chicken meat without having to buy them from the grocery store, how to house your new birds will be one of the first things you want to tackle. The standard for housing poultry is to build them a comfortable chicken coop to live in. Of course, how you construct it will vary depending on your specific scenario, how many chickens you plan on keeping, what kind of area you live in, and so forth.

Regardless, though, there are some aspects of chicken coop designs that are identical no matter the circumstances.

* Make sure your birds have enough living space. Inside the coop, you’ll want to give them at least 4 square feet each in total area. This means if you have 5 chickens, you need to have at least 20 square feet for them to live comfortably in the coop.

* Make sure you leave room in the plan to attach a chicken run outside the coop itself. Chickens need 10 square feet each to walk around in, otherwise they will feel cramped.

Other than these space concerns, much of what you look for in your chicken coop designs is up to you. You can design the exterior of the coop to look like anything you want, from a victorian house or a greek temple to a functional and minimalist wooden box. One thing you should make sure to keep in mind, though, is that your coop will need to be big enough for you to get inside for cleaning purposes. If you can’t get into it, your job of keeping your chickens healthy and happy will be that much more difficult.

A few other things you want to include, regardless of your chicken coop designs are adequate ventilation and predator protection. There are many animals which prey on poultry, from foxes and hawks to wolves, wild dogs, and even wild cats. With all this to worry about, your birds will feel much safer”and thus, will be much more productive and healthy”if you ensure that their home is solid and hard for wild animals to get into. Use solid wooden walls instead of a wire frame mesh. Of course, you shouldn’t use wood to frame your chicken run; for that job, wire frame mesh is just fine.

Ventilation is important because chickens do not like extremes in temperature regardless of whether it’s too hot or too cold. They prefer cool weather, but if it’s too cold they will get just as unhappy as if it’s too hot. Make sure you include some windows when planning out your chicken coop designs to account for this preference of your birds. A window towards the top is a good idea, because the hot, stale air will go out of it naturally, and you won’t have to worry about installing some kind of mechanical system to circulate air.

Other ideas include adding nesting boxes for your hens to lay eggs in, roosts for them to sleep on, and easy-to-clean bedding boxes for the chicken droppings to fall into. Roosts are especially important, because chickens do not like sleeping on the ground. Regardless of how you make your chicken coop designs, just make sure your chickens have enough room and stay comfortable. They’ll thank you for it.