Abstract
Hutches are less like cages and more like houses for your pets. The best and most professional chicken coop comes in various designs, sizes and security. They give your furry friend a comfortable place to eat, rest, and sleep safely.
Now with the popularity of diy, we also want to build a chicken coop for our chicken. Building chicken coop designs is a fantastic thing! As chicken house manufacturers with over 20 years of experience, we are passionate about providing our customers with the most professional chicken coop. Low cost diy chicken coop is the talk of our field. Today I will discuss how to build a professional chicken coop.
Before we start our chicken coop plans, we consider a few questions. These include the following points:
8 Tips Before Implementing Professional Chicken Coop Ideas
1. Animal Safe Material and Painting
To keep our flock safe, be sure to choose your paint carefully. Because some paints are harmful to pets. Living in a coop for a long time can cause great harm to animals. Ideally, choose an eco-friendly water-based paint to keep your hens safe. Unlike typical plywood coops, Aivituvin uses top-quality Fir, sealed and heat-treated for a stable frame to last many years.
2. Stable Construction
To keep the flock safe from aggressors like dogs, snakes, etc., pay attention to stability when building a chicken house. Stable construction will last longer service time. You need to have thick panels with each plank neatly placed next to it. To ensure ease of construction while implementing chicken coop ideas while providing a weatherproof enclosure. A thicker frame and high-quality internal structure can ensure the stability of the professional chicken coop.
3. Safe Design
A good and professional chicken coop provides shelter, is easy to clean and resists moisture, and keep your chickens safe and secure from the weather and out of reach of predators.
It is essential that all the access points need to be secured with robust quality latches.
The outer area of the chicken house should be surrounded by wire. The wire cage should be dense enough to keep paws out, but still provide the chickens with plenty of fresh air and visibility.
4. Proper Size
The size of your professional chicken coop is a very important consideration. When implementing your chicken coops plans, make sure you have a clear number in mind of how many chickens will be living there throughout the coops. Instead of building it too small and then expanding it, it is better to just build it bigger.
Based on experience and research, each chicken needs at least 3-4 square feet of living space. If you are raising 4 chickens, set aside 16 square feet of space. In addition, leave room for the chickens to drink water and put food. On the other hand, overcrowding in the coop can result in flock fights.
5. Location of the Chicken Coop
Keep in mind that chickens need both direct sunlight and shade (Refer to Do Chicken Houses Need Sun or Shade?). Enough sunlight will provide your chickens with the necessary vitamin D needed to produce healthy eggs. However, if your chicken overheat egg production will slow drastically or stop completely. It is therefore imperative that you place your chicken coop in a location that receives both sun and shade.
6. Ventilation
Ventilation is important. Make sure that your professional chicken coop is well ventilated. Air needs to move through even in the winter, but in the summer it’s really important. Chickens need to eat and pee in the coop after all. Unventilated chickens are prone to viruses. Besides, make sure the ventilation at the same time to guarantee predator proof.
7. Nesting Boxes
As a rule of thumb, one nest box is required for every three hens. A nest box occupies about 1 square foot of floor space. Nest boxes can make mothers feel more secure when laying eggs. And it’s best to spread a layer of straw over the nest box to prevent the eggs from cracking.
8. Secure Latches and Doors
Some predators will try their best to break into the chicken house. A professional chicken coop requires secure and sturdy latches on doors and ventilation windows. This is one thing that needs to be emphasized in chicken coop designs.
How to Build a Professional Chicken Coop
A professional chicken coop can take days, depending on how much free time you have. But trying to pull off a low cost diy chicken coop project can be an adventure.
We are a wooden chicken coop manufacturer, so this article uses a wooden chicken coop as an example to illustrate how to build a chicken coop. Here are the specific steps for professional chicken coop plans.
Step 1: Choose the Wood
Use natural rot-resistant woods such as cedar, rosewood, or tropical hardwoods. Hardwood isn’t cheap but may be more convenient if you’re short on time. Hopefully, you’ve spent enough time picking the best wood for your coop.
Step 2: Drying
This step can be done if possible. The wood humidity reaches 9%-13% so the wood is not easy to crack. This makes your coop frame strong and secure.
Step 3: Log Cutting
Cut the logs into boards according to your needs. Different coop sizes require sheets of different lengths and widths, it’s entirely up to you.
Step 4: Building Frame
This is the most critical step in implementing chicken coop free plan. It determines whether your professional chicken coop is firm and safe. The most important thing is that you don’t rush things. Because sacrificing quality for speed will eventually create problems in the build process and ultimately waste your time.
Step 5: Add Wall
Now you need to add the wall to the coop frame. The panels are securely fastened to the frame and sit flush along all their edges. A professional chicken coop won’t let in predators or drafts. You should also trim your vents. This will help prevent heatstroke and respiratory diseases. Cover them with hardware mesh, and make sure that any vents below the perches are accessible for winter.
Step 6: Add Floor
Some people may not want to add flooring to their coop, but it will be worth it in the long run. A professional chicken coop should have a floor. The floor doesn’t have to be perfectly flat, but it should at least be level. All you need to care about is the size of the floor. To prevent aggression from underground predators, don’t forget to add hardware netting under the floor as an extra measure of protection. After the frame is installed, insert it into the floor so that there are no gaps.
Step 6: Add Door
In order to facilitate the entry and exit of the flock, a space for installing a door is required. But there are two kinds of doors. One is for you to get in and out, and the other is for chickens to get in and out. The height and width of the door will depend on the breed of your chicken. You can easily feed the chickens and clean the chicken coop by climbing in and out. For chicken entrances, you might consider hardware mesh instead of wooden doors. This also allows for ventilation.
Step 7: Building Perches and Nesting Boxes
The nest box is where the hens lay their eggs. Nest boxes can be boxes or crates. In short, the bottom should be soft enough to prevent the eggs from breaking. As long as the habitat is higher than the nesting box, a 2×4 is fine.
Step 8: Build Run Frame
A run frame doesn’t need to be as strong as a coop frame. Just use barbed wire. While it doesn’t have to be as perfect as a coop frame, it also needs to have a good structure. Safe enough at least.
Step 9: Add Other Parts
Add other components according to your needs. If your chickens need to live in the cold outdoors for a long time, should you install a heat lamp? There are also feeders, containers for water, etc.
Other Considerations
- The inside of the professional chicken coop needs to be covered with about two-thirds of dry straw or discarded clothes and spread evenly. This can ensure the warmth of the chicken coop and will not let the chicken catch a cold.
- A well-made professional chicken coop can be placed in a dark, rain-proof place. For example, a relatively dark place inside the chicken coop. It can also be placed in a place where chickens often rest. Be careful not to place it in a place where water will accumulate, which will cause the chicken coop to become damp.
- The roof of the chicken coop should be covered with straw for insulation and insulation. Windows can be set on the east and west walls of professional chicken coops, which is conducive to ventilation and cooling in summer.
Final Thought
When building a professional chicken coop you need to fully consider the comfort and safety of the chicken, every step is critical.
Professional chicken coop designs are not very easy to achieve. But when you want to execute build a chicken coop plan I believe you are well prepared. This article was your reference when you started low cost diy chicken coop.