Do-it-yourself chicken coop: making a winter chicken coop, step by step instructions with a photo. How to build a chicken coop with your own hands: drawings and photos

You can breed chickens even on a small suburban area. The costs will be very small. And all because you can build a chicken coop for 10 chickens with your own hands, taking as a basis a ready-made drawing.

The general arrangement of chicken coops and their types

All chicken coops consist of two main areas: for night stay and daytime walking. Based on this, poultry houses can be conditionally classified as follows:

1. Chicken coop with free range area. The chicken house stands separately, and the birds can move freely around the site. Such a chicken coop has one drawback - it is difficult to control chickens that can spoil the flower beds. Wherein chicken manure will be dispersed throughout the area.
2. Combined chicken coop. This is the best option for the full keeping of the bird. The main thing at the same time is to choose the correct dimensions of the building and the area for walking.
3. Closed chicken coop. As a rule, these are greenhouses converted for keeping birds. Require constant cleaning. Well established as a summer home for chickens.
4. Cells. If the size of the site does not allow the installation of a full-fledged chicken coop, hanging cages for keeping chickens can be equipped on the wall of a barn or house. They are placed at a low height, in several rows one above the other. The walking area is either left free, or a small aviary is set up. Such bird houses have proven themselves well in growing chickens of meat breeds.
5. Mobile chicken coops. Most often, these are small summer houses that can be carried or transported using the wheels installed at the bottom. They are designed for 5-10 chickens. Made from lightweight material.

Photo gallery: different types of chicken coops

A closed chicken coop will prevent birds from running all over the site A free-range chicken coop requires attention from the owner, as he will have to keep an eye on the birds A chicken coop with an aviary is suitable for a plot of any size The aviary can be placed under the chicken coop itself Chickens can be kept in specially equipped cages Cells can be arranged in rows Mobile chicken coops can be easily moved

The interior of the chicken coop

The chicken coop must be equipped with a perch, a drinking bowl, a feeder and a nest. The state of health of the birds and their egg production depend on how correctly and conveniently the house is equipped.

The perch is a perch with a diameter of 5–7 cm. They are installed at a height of 40-60 cm from the floor. The length of the perch is taken at the rate of 20–25 cm per head. There can be several perches, they can be installed in different ways.

Bird nests are located in the darkest places, usually opposite the perch. They can be made from wood, baskets, plastic boxes.

It is very important to carry out timely cleaning of the litter, as it releases ammonia and can provoke disease in chickens. Straw bedding, which needs to be changed periodically, will help facilitate this process. But if the chicken coop is small, the floor can be made of welding mesh and a special aluminum pallet.

To exclude diseases, pre-treat the walls inside the chicken coop with lime.

Both in the chicken coop and on the paddock, there must be feeders and drinkers. They should be installed in such a way that the birds do not overturn the contents, and they can be easily replenished. Feeders can be put bunker type. Drinkers are better to choose drip. They do not accumulate debris and do not stagnate water.

It is important that the chicken coop has a window. Its size is at least 1/4 of the floor area. In winter, they turn on additional lighting, artificially extending the daylight hours to 15–17 hours. This allows the hens to lay eggs throughout the year.

The walking area for different breeds of chickens will vary in size. If birds are raised for meat (Langshan, Cochin, Plymouth Rock, Brahma, Broiler breeds) they must be kept under conditions restricting movement. The walking area should be kept to a minimum.

For laying hens (Lenorca, Hamburg, Andalusian, Russian White breeds), the walking area should be spacious enough so that the hens do not get fat and stop laying.

How much and what material is needed

Of course, if you have certain skills, you can build a brick chicken coop. But it is labor intensive and expensive. Alternatively, reinforced concrete blocks can be used. But this pleasure is not cheap, which requires additional insulation.

The best material for building a chicken coop is wood. As a rule, the remains after the construction of the house are used: fiberboard, chipboard, OSB-plates, timber, board. You can also build a chicken coop out of reeds if it grows in your area. During construction, materials and paint with a pungent odor should not be used.

To warm the winter chicken coop, you can choose any heat-insulating material. Styrofoam, mineral wool is ideal. But it is necessary to insulate in such a way that there are no gaps between the joints of the main materials, and the birds cannot get to the insulation and peck it out.

The roof is covered with slate, roofing felt, polycarbonate. For summer chicken coops, it is not recommended to use a metal profile, since it heats up very much.

The aviary for birds, as a rule, is fenced with a chain-link mesh or reinforcing mesh, but you can also use a plastic garden one.

The canopy is made of a material that can protect against rain. It could be polycarbonate reinforced film, linoleum.

Photo gallery: chicken coops with different types of roofs

OSB chicken coop can be sheathed with PVC panels Wooden chicken coop with a thatched roof looks very unusual A pitched roof chicken coop is very common.

Drawings of different designs with dimensions

The summer chicken coop is the simplest and cheapest design. For its manufacture does not require a large amount of material, the presence of any special skills and abilities. In most cases, summer chicken coops are built without a foundation, providing additional protection from rats and other predators.

If desired, an old greenhouse can be converted into a summer chicken coop. At the same time, the house itself can be small, and the walking area is spacious. Bird nests can be equipped on the side of the chicken coop, in a separate compartment.

In order for the bird not to overheat in the sun, the aviary is equipped with a canopy.

The winter chicken coop differs from the summer one in its large size and insulated walls. For such houses, a foundation is necessarily made and an additional vestibule is installed in order to better retain heat in the room. In winter chicken coops, additional lighting is provided, ventilation is installed and a fenced area for walking is equipped.

The size of the structure is calculated based on a sufficient area for one bird (three chickens need 1 m 2 of area). As practice shows, it is better to build a freer chicken coop, since in the future the number of livestock may increase, and the bird will be crowded.

The mobile chicken coop can be easily moved, which means that its dimensions will be minimal. It provides for the possibility of feeding and caring for a bird without the presence of a person inside. As a rule, they are designed for a small number of birds (from 3 to 10 pieces). The frame is made of bars, and the main elements (doors, roof) are made of OSB-plates, fiberboard, slab and other improvised materials.

The diagram should be as detailed as possible. Even a small chicken coop should be tall The diagram must indicate all dimensions and materials used.

Step-by-step instructions for making a summer house for chickens in the country

Step-by-step instructions will help you easily make a chicken coop with your own hands.

Choosing a place to build

The choice of location is only important if you are not making a mobile chicken coop. Otherwise, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

• a rectangular chicken coop should be built in the direction from east to west;
• the windows of the chicken coop should face the south or east side so that there is maximum lighting throughout the day, it is desirable that the bird hole be on the same side;
• it is recommended to locate the chicken coop away from noisy places, in the back of the courtyard, because stressful situations negatively affect egg production;
• you can choose an elevated place so that water does not stagnate under the house, since the birds do not tolerate dampness in the room, and chicken droppings, once in the water, can lead to the spread of infection;
• the chosen place should be protected from the wind, because chickens do not tolerate drafts.

Foundation laying

To build a summer chicken coop, a columnar foundation is usually used. To do this, follow these steps:

1. With the help of pegs and a cord, the boundaries of the future building are outlined.
2. The top layer of soil (up to 20 cm) is removed with a shovel.
3. Pits 50 cm wide and 70 cm deep are dug in the corners. In a rectangular chicken coop, columns are additionally installed along the long side every 0.8-1 m.
4. The required level of supports above the ground is beaten off with a rope (20-25 cm).
5. A layer of gravel is poured to the bottom of the pits (about 10 cm).
6. Together with the cement mortar, the first two bricks are laid, the next two are placed perpendicularly.
7. The masonry is driven out to the desired level.
8. The solution is left to solidify for at least 7 days.
9. When the solution has completely hardened, the poles are treated with bitumen or special mastic. The entire area where the earth was removed is filled with gravel. It performs the function of drainage.

How to build a frame with your own hands

After the foundation is built, you can start building the frame:

Final outdoor work

After the frame is ready, you can begin to equip the chicken coop. First of all, a window is outlined and cut through. You need to do it from the east or south side. A hole for chickens is also cut. It can be made in the form of a door that opens outward or a special valve.

The door to the chicken coop should open outward so as not to crush the birds that may be near it.

If the hole is located high, additional ladders will need to be made so that the bird can easily get into the street. In this case, it should be next to the perch on the same level with it.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that various predators like to visit chicken coops - a ferret, a fox, rats. Therefore, you need to monitor the absence of cracks. Along the entire perimeter of the enclosure, it is better to dig a strip of metal or slate into the ground, 30 cm above ground level.

How to build a mini chicken house: step by step instructions

Little material is required to make such a chicken coop. Its base is no more than 1x1.5 m, and its height is only 1.2 m. It is designed for 3-4 laying hens. It can contain chickens if the ladder is placed at a lower angle of inclination.

Since such a chicken coop does not require a foundation, all work can be carried out right on the spot:

1. Frames for the lower box are assembled from the timber using self-tapping screws and a screwdriver. A mesh is immediately attached to them with a construction stapler.
2. They are also connected to each other, after which two crossbars are attached to them.
3. Upper frames are made. A window frame is attached to one of them so that you can open the chicken coop from above and put food and water. A mesh is attached to them with a construction stapler.
4. A compartment for the future “house” is fenced off, for which boards of the right size for the floor are stuffed.
5. The remaining three walls of the "house" are drawn up, a hole is cut through and a ladder is installed.
6. Ready-made side frames are installed on the upper box, fastened together. Ends are closed by a grid.
7. The ridge part is being drawn up, for which you need to attach three longitudinal boards on top. A cross member is attached to the free end to enhance the rigidity of the structure.
8. A door is installed in the "house", a nest and a perch are made out. Installing the bolts.

Video: building a mini chicken coop

Features of the construction of a frame winter chicken coop with your own hands

The winter version is a more complex design. It must have a foundation or a very well-insulated floor, additional lighting, a ventilation system, and a vestibule. It is advisable to install a thermometer inside. In the event that there will be chickens in the chicken coop, you need to consider additional heating.

Many people think that a winter chicken coop can be equipped in an ordinary barn by insulating it. But this is not entirely true, since about a third of the area is used for keeping poultry, and the entire room needs to be heated. That is why it is better to build a compact winter chicken coop.

In advance, you need to think about the insulation of the walls. But remember that due to the thickness of the insulating material, the internal area decreases.

As a heater, you can use foam, mineral wool. The main thing is to carefully close the material with plywood or boards.

The ventilation pipe should be located at the top of the coop. In severe frosts, it can be covered with rags so that cold air does not get inside the chicken house.

Video: comfortable winter chicken coop

How to make a mobile house for chickens

Mobile means quickly and easily moved. For the manufacture of such chicken coops, only light materials are used, for example, plywood, OSB-plate, thin boards. To facilitate the movement of such chicken coops, special handles or wheels are used. They are easy to attach if you initially foresee this in the design when drawing up the diagram.

Such designs are designed for 5-10 birds. During the summer period, as needed, the house can "roam" throughout the site.

Photo gallery: mobile chicken coops

Small wheels allow you to move from place to place Wheels in the center and handles on the back of the chicken coop make it easy to move the structure You can also use small bicycle wheels Multi-layer chicken coop can be easily moved

Video: mobile chicken coop on the site

By designing and building a chicken coop on your own, you can provide for all the nuances of keeping a bird, get the maximum result and enjoy further use.

If you dream of raising chickens in the country, but the lack of a specialized room stops you, do not despair, building a comfortable and functional chicken coop with your own hands is not at all difficult.

First of all, it is necessary to determine the number of chickens that will live in the future building.

Given this information, you can plan the size of the chicken coop, and allocate space for the building.

You can make a simple chicken coop from any materials at hand, of course, having at least the most minimal building skills.

Building requirements

Any specialized building must meet the requirements for its functionality. At the design stage, some points should be taken into account:

• Ensuring the safety of the building from the penetration of predators. Otherwise, you can not count the number of birds or the number of eggs.
• Provide ventilation or permanent ventilation of the house.
• The absence of drafts is an important requirement that will prevent all kinds of bird diseases and help maintain a comfortable temperature.
• Thermal insulation is also necessary, especially if chickens are planned to be kept all year round.
• For good egg production of chickens, lighting is needed indoors, which must be turned on at some time of the day.

chicken coop project

Choose a place for a chicken coop on a hill, in the lowland the house will be constantly wet, not having time to dry out from morning fogs and precipitation.

When calculating the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe building, do not forget about walking the birds, the more laying hens walk, the better they rush. When accurately calculating the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe chicken coop, take into account the fact that 4 sq.m. is enough for a comfortable existence of five hens, and about 7 sq.m. for walking.

A clearing for walking chickens will be correctly located to the south. Enclose with a chain-link mesh and be sure to make a roof. It will protect not only from rain, but also from the sun.

If your site is flat, then before construction, make an artificial elevation of sand and gravel. To protect the chicken coop from small rodents, mix clay and broken glass and place on top of the mound.

Natural lighting of the house can be provided by making a door with glass. To provide space, the ceiling is raised to 2 m. If the bird nests are attached outside the poultry house, you do not have to go inside to pick up the egg. You can see a drawing of this version of the chicken coop in the photo.

Foundation

If you are building a summer frame chicken coop, you don’t need a concrete base under it, a slight elevation is enough.

When building a capital structure of brick, a foundation is required. A monolithic or tape base is suitable here. In such a room it is ideal to place a winter chicken coop.

Poultry floor

Earthen and clay floors can be made with a low strip foundation. If desired, the floors can be assembled from boards or concreted.

When using the premises in winter, the floor must be insulated with mineral wool, which is laid between the joists, and then covered with plywood. Such floors are covered with sheets of roofing material for reliable coverage and protection of the floor from the waste products of birds.

Sand is also good for sprinkling the floor.

Note!

Wall construction

Most often, the walls of the chicken coop are built of wood, as a rule, this is a frame building sheathed with clapboard. They are insulated with mineral wool or foam, from the outside, before sheathing, the structure is covered with a vapor barrier material.

brick building requires good heating in the winter, which will lead to costs, and the construction of such a chicken coop will be more difficult and expensive.

Walls made of any materials must be disinfected before use, this can be done with ordinary lime.

Chicken coop roof

When building a chicken coop in the country, it is better to make a gable roof. This technique will help allocate space for roof insulation.

If the chicken coop is modest in size, you can do without an attic and lay the insulation directly under roofing material. Chicken coops are covered with slate, metal tiles, professional flooring.

Room ventilation

Good ventilation is important for bird health, especially during the summer. The ventilation system in the chicken coop can be several holes on opposite walls with valves.

Note!

Valves will help control and regulate the flow of cold air, which is especially important in winter.

The interior of the chicken coop

The most important and basic interior item of the chicken coop are the perches, they are rounded wooden poles, the length from the wall to the wall of the chicken coop. It is on perches that chickens spend most of their lives.

You need to fix them at a distance of 50 cm from the floor and 25 cm from the wall and 35 cm between each other. Each resident of the poultry house is entitled to 25 cm of poles. So we expect in a chicken coop for 10 chickens, we will have to place perches at 2.5 m.

If laying hens live in a chicken coop, then nests will be the second important piece of furniture. You need to build at the rate of 5 layers per nest. Having built a chicken coop for 20 chickens, you will have to place about 4 nests.

It is best to place them in the dark corners of the chicken coop, after warming them well with sawdust.

The dimensions of the hen box are 30cmx30cm wide and 40cm high. The nest is raised 50 cm from the floor.

Note!

Lighting

An important condition for the normal life of a chicken is lighting. In dark rooms, the bird becomes inactive, its egg production decreases.

In the chicken coop, an opening window is required, which will provide not only sunlight, but also additional ventilation.

Laying hens must be provided with light up to 18 hours a day. In winter, artificial lighting is indispensable.

Chicken coop heating

In winter, the chicken coop needs to be warmed up to a temperature of at least 10 degrees during the day and 15 at night. It is important to control the level of humidity in winter, high humidity will lead to illness and further death of birds.

In our selection of photos of chicken coops, you can choose the best option for yourself.

DIY chicken coop photo

Hello dear readers!

We return to the topic of construction. This time we will again consider a simple structure, but more serious, the construction of which I described earlier. And we'll talk, this time, about how to build a chicken coop. I hope that my next design will still be a full-fledged residential building. But this is just a plan!

Before you start building a chicken coop, you need to decide on the number of chickens that will live in it. On one square meter, on average, should be located from two to four chickens. Our chicken coop is designed for five chickens. Its internal area is 1.7 m2, and the territory for walking chickens is 3.25 m2. The chicken coop will be summer, but in the future, if desired, it can be insulated and used all year round.

We start construction from the ground up. I decided not to do the foundation. The site on which we will put the chicken coop consists of a compacted layer of sand and gravel about 40 cm thick. So the sabotage of various rodents is practically excluded.

We make the base from a bar with a section of 100 * 100 mm. The outer dimensions of the base are 1400*2900 mm. In order to more or less fix the base to the ground, on the prepared site we dig four recesses at the corners of the future rectangle and dig aspen chocks 40 * 50 cm long into them. You can also use other wood, having previously treated the blanks with an antiseptic. Next, we cut blanks for the base from the timber. Two blanks should be 2.9 m long and two 1.4 m long. From these blanks, we need to assemble a rectangle and connect it at the corners “in half a tree”, but before that, the timber must be treated with an antiseptic from the underside. Then we lay strips of roofing material on the ground where the timber will lie. We assemble the rectangle of our base in the prepared place without twisting the timber together. We check the right angle, for this you need to measure the diagonals of the resulting rectangle. Carefully remove the short sides of the base and fasten the long beam to the dug-in chocks. Then we fasten the short beam. Before assembly, it is better to treat the joints with an antiseptic, and use galvanized or brass-plated screws. From the top we cover the timber with a decorative antiseptic for outdoor use. The base is ready.

We turn to the manufacture of the base of the house. Our house will be on legs. The dimensions of the base of the house are 1400 * 1400 mm, and the height of the legs is 400 mm. As a result, our house will be located at a height of 0.6 m from the ground. The base of the house is assembled in the same way as the base for walking. Then you need to connect the two bases with the help of metal corners and add jibs from a 50 * 50 mm beam to the legs of the house, after which we cover everything with an antiseptic.

After the base is ready, we begin to assemble the house itself. The device of the chicken coop is simple, it is similar to the construction of a small frame house with a human height. For the manufacture of the frame of the chicken coop, we will use a beam of 50 * 50 mm. The frame of each wall of the chicken coop is assembled separately. The height of the walls is 1000 mm. The width of two walls parallel to each other is 1400 mm, and the other two are 1300 mm.

We make the first wall 1000 * 1400 mm. We will have this wall with an opening for nests. I made the opening 400 * 1000 mm. The distance from the base of the wall to the opening is 200 mm. The next wall will be located opposite the previous one. Its width is also 1400 mm and it will have a door to the chicken coop. The opening for the door turned out to be 350 * 400 mm. Next, we make a wall with a window. The width of the wall is 1300 mm, and I made the window opening 300 * 500 mm and placed it in the center. Then we make the last wall with an opening for cleaning the chicken coop. It is the same as the wall with nests, only its width is 1300 mm. After making the walls, we connect them together with self-tapping screws and install them on the base.

And then the roof! I'll try to give you the exact dimensions. With a roof, everything is not as simple as with walls. We start making the roof with gables and a ridge beam. To tell the truth, I forgot to take the dimensions of the gables! I measured only the height from the top of the wall to the top of the ridge beam, it was 357 mm. The angle of sawing down the rafters of the gables from above was 61° (at the trimming, respectively, it was set to 29°). As a result, the roof angle was 122 °. More precisely, this is not the angle of the roof, but the angle that the ridge turned out. The bottom of the pediment bars was sawn in fact, so that there were 30 mm from the edges of the wall to the rafters of the pediment. After that, we cut the rafters, we have 10 of them. Their length is 880 mm, we saw them from one edge at an angle of 61 °, and from the other at 90 °. Then we cut out recesses in them for support on the walls of the chicken coop. We twist them in pairs with each other and mount them on the chicken coop. As a result, after installing the beam on the ends of the rafters, the roof slope turned out to be 930 mm. The length of the roof turned out to be 1800 mm, and the overhangs from the side of the gables were 200 mm each. To sew up the overhangs of the roof from the side of the gables, an additional beam had to be installed. Everything, the roof frame is ready! I covered the entire frame with an antiseptic for interior and exterior use.

Let's move on to the roof! But first I want to talk a little about ondulin. Only briefly! This is so that you can independently calculate the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe roof for a certain type. So, ondulin is divided into three types. They differ from each other in the size of the sheet, its thickness and wave height.

SMART. Sheet size - 950 * 1950 mm. Sheet thickness - 3 mm. Weight - 6.5 kg. Wave height - 38 mm. Wave pitch - 95 mm. Number of waves - 10 pcs.

DIY. Sheet size - 760 * 2000 mm. Sheet thickness - 2.6 mm. Weight - 5.2 kg. The wave height is 30 mm. Wave pitch - 95 mm. Number of waves - 8 pcs.

COMPACT. Sheet size - 760 * 1000 mm. Sheet thickness - 2.6 mm. Weight - 3 kg. The wave height is 30 mm. Wave pitch - 95 mm. Number of waves - 8 pcs.

For the chicken coop, I used DIY ondulin, sawing the sheets in half across. Three sheets were used. I did the overlap in two waves. As you understand, COMPACT in the amount of six sheets would be suitable for this roof. With such dimensions of the chicken coop, two SMART sheets can also be used, slightly reducing the length of the roof and overlapping in one wave.

When installing ondulin, I used a special sealant. Correctly it is called - a universal eaves filler for ondulin. Its length is 846 mm. I can’t say anything about the wave height, in my opinion it is standard for him and is suitable for all types of ondulin. In general, it is better to buy ondulin and filler in one place, so that everything fits exactly!

While there is no floor in the chicken coop, we make a perch. I made a perch from a 40 * 60 mm timber, having previously chamfered it, and placed it at a height of 60 cm from the base of the house. The recommended perch height is 50-60 cm from the floor. Without a floor, it will be more convenient to mount the mesh on the window. I used a plastic mesh, cell size 15 * 15 mm. At first I fixed it on a metal mounting tape and I didn’t like it, because the birds could get hurt by it. As a result, I used a 15 * 40 mm rail to attach the mesh.

I made the frame of the nests from a bar 50 * 50 mm. I will not delve into the exact dimensions of the nest construction, I will only say the recommended dimensions of one nest. I, as you can see in the photo, got three nests. The nest height is 300 mm (I made 400 mm), the nest depth is 400 mm and the nest width is 300 mm. As the bottom for the nests, I used OSB board, from the same board I made partitions between the nests and a cover. I secured the nest partitions with a window glazing bead. The walls of the nests were sewn up with clapboard. For additional strength, it is advisable to put jibs from a bar under the nests.

The floor can be made from any board. It will not carry a special load, but it is advisable to put an additional bar of 50 * 50 mm in the center of the chicken coop under the boards.

I made a fence for walking chickens from a bar 40 * 40 mm and pulled a plastic mesh with a cell of 15 * 15 mm. The grid, as well as on the window, was fastened with a 15 * 40 mm rail. The shutters on the windows were made from OSB. The ladder to the chicken coop is made of boards and the remains of slats. The ladder was assembled by children with a screwdriver. Hell of a job!!! But I did not make the door in the house.

About the arrangement of the chicken coop, I seem to have outlined everything to you, and now I want to talk a little about my impressions of keeping chickens and using this chicken coop in the first season. I am far from a professional and this is my first experience, but the result, in my opinion, is quite good.

Chickens we bought six months old in June. Bought five. In the first days, the hens lay poorly, only 2-3 eggs per day. In my opinion, this is because the children paid a lot of attention to the bird. Constantly spinning around the chicken coop and went to them in the corral. After the children left them alone, the number of eggs increased to 4-5 per day. That is, each hen brought an egg a day. The testicles were small, about the second category, but this is probably because the laying hens were still very young. By the way, it was a discovery for me that laying hens do not need a rooster at all in order to have eggs. Here I am such a dunce!

What surprised me most of all was that not a single chicken sat on the roost. Maybe the cross section of the timber is too large for young chickens. Maybe they needed to make a ladder to the perch. AT next year let's experiment!

I was also curious about how chickens lay. Usually one or two hens lay at the same time. They can sit in different nests, or they can climb into the same nest together, at a time when the rest of the nests are free. Or one hen rushes, and the second waits for her and then sits in the same nest. I realized that there are a lot of three nests for five hens, two would be enough. But I have not yet understood this behavior of chickens!

Chickens, almost immediately, refused to eat feed. Apparently we bought something wrong. As a result, we fed them wheat, millet and barley. We also always had a lot of freshly cut grass, which they also ate with pleasure. I think that thanks to such nutrition, the eggs turned out to be very tasty. Sometimes they turned out with a bright orange yolk, sometimes the yolk was paler, but the coloring did not seem to affect the taste. You definitely won't buy such yummy in the store!

Three months after buying chickens, I decided to compare the size of the eggs of our chickens and purchased ones. Below in the photo I posted three eggs of our chickens on the left and two purchased selective categories on the right. The eggs of our chickens have become noticeably larger and now they can be attributed to the first category. By the way, when frying eggs, they do not spread over the pan, like purchased ones.

In conclusion, I want to suggest watching the video for this article:

Have you decided to start breeding layers, but do not know how to build a suitable room for them? Our article provides a step-by-step guide to building a chicken coop, from choosing a building project to the correct arrangement of perches and feeders.

Choosing the right location

The chicken coop must be installed in a quiet place, away from the noise of traffic and pedestrian roads. The place should be sufficiently lit and well ventilated, but without drafts (moreover, the place where the chickens will walk should be shaded). Ideal if the chicken coop and walking area are in the shade of trees or next to berry bushes.

If you live in a humid climate, you need to take care of draining the soil under the chicken coop or raising the building itself to an elevation.

Housing for chickens must be correctly oriented to the cardinal points. It is desirable to place windows on the eastern wall of the building, and the entrance - on the south. To ensure the safety of birds, the chicken coop and the walking area are fenced off.

Creating a building project

When designing a chicken coop, it is necessary to determine the dimensions of the building, which depend on the number of chickens: for each chicken, you need to allocate 1 m 2 of the internal area of ​​​​the chicken coop and at least 3 m 2 on the range.

The optimum temperature for chickens is 25°C in summer and 12°C in winter. Therefore, shutters should be provided on the windows to protect against the hot sun in the summer or from the cold wind in the autumn-winter period. If the chicken coop will be used in winter, then the building must be insulated. It will not be superfluous to run electricity there to improve the lighting of the chicken coop when the days become short (good lighting has a positive effect on egg production).

Plan two entrances to the poultry house - one for you and one for the chickens. Doors must open outwards. Dimensions for chicken entrance: 20 cm wide x 30 cm high.

Let's look at how you can quickly and inexpensively build a reliable and spacious chicken coop for 10 chickens.

Table. Consumables List

Name of materials	Price per unit, u. e.	Quantity	Cost, at. e.
Wooden bars 50x100x6000	3.65 cu e./piece	15 pcs.	54,75
Wooden bars 50x100x3000	1.88 cu e./piece	40 pcs.	75,20
Moisture resistant OSB-3 board 10 mm 1250x2500	7.80 c.u. e./piece	25 pcs.	195,00
Ruberoid	0.28 cu e. / m 2	32 m2	8,96
Metal plaster mesh 5x5x0.7	2.20 c.u. e. / m 2	10 m2	22,00
Decking 1100x3000	14.00 a.m. e./sheet	10 sheets	140,00
Concrete blocks 200x200x400	1.15 cu e./piece	6 pcs.	6,90
Polyfoam PSB-50 mm 500x1000	52.50 c.u. e. / m 3	2 m 3	105,00
Vapor barrier film	0.48 cu e. / m 2	25 m2	12,00
Expanded clay 10-20 mm	45.00 c.u. e. / m 3	1 m 3	45,00
Total:			664,80

Note: for a more budgetary construction, OSB-plate can be replaced with plywood, corrugated board with slate, and sawdust or rye straw instead of insulation.

Tools needed for work:

1. Screwdriver.
2. A hammer.
3. Nails/screws.
4. Self-tapping screws.
5. Saw.
6. Level.
7. Plumb.
8. Roulette.

The device of the foundation and foundation of the building

The chicken coop is a light frame structure that does not need a solid foundation. You need to start with marking the territory, after which it is necessary to clear an area of ​​​​2.5x4 m for the building, removing 10-15 cm of the top layer of the earth, and carefully level everything.

Concrete blocks must be placed one by one in the four corners of the base and in the center of the long side and covered with roofing material.

The area under the floor is covered with a thick layer of sand or gravel - this will provide additional water drainage.

From pine beams 50x100, the base of the chicken coop is assembled. The strapping around the perimeter is made of spliced ​​beams, then transverse ones are attached to them. The step between the crossbars along the short side of the base is 40-50 cm, the step along the long side is 1 m. All wooden structural elements are fastened with screws or nails.

After the base frame is ready, it must be covered with a plaster mesh and sheathed with plywood or OSB-board.

Next, the base structure must be turned over and the niches in the frame must be covered with expanded clay. Cover the entire floor area with a vapor barrier and sheathe the OSB board.

Walling

It is more convenient to assemble the wall frame separately, on the ground. The assembly takes place similarly to the base: first you need to make a wall frame, and then fix additional jumpers in it. The distance between the jumpers is 50 cm.

The finished frame is installed on the base and fastened with screws. The verticality of the wall installation is checked by a plumb line. In addition, you can put temporary supports to the wall.

When the frame is ready, you can mount windows and doors. For the summer version of the chicken coop, window openings can simply be tightened with a metal mesh, and shutters or shutters can be provided outside. For the cold season, windows with a double frame are needed.

roof construction

After all the walls are installed, you need to build an upper crown of doubled beams. Then a ceiling crate is attached to it in increments of 50 cm. After installing the roof, the crate will need to be covered with a vapor barrier, insulated and sheathed with OSB.

The length of the rafter legs is 3 m, they need to be laid in increments of 60-80 cm. A saw must be made in each rafter for secure fixation on the outer wall.

At this stage, you need to take care of the ventilation of the room. The best option is supply and exhaust ventilation. Two wooden boxes must be placed in opposite corners of the building. One vent must be placed under the ceiling, and the second - 50 cm below the first. To adjust the amount of supply air, the boxes must be equipped with dampers, and the other end of each box should be brought out.

A crate of transverse beams is laid out on the rafters. The distance between the crossbars is 50 cm. The crate is covered with roofing material, and then with corrugated board. Profiled sheets are attached to the crate with self-tapping screws with a gasket.

The interior of the chicken coop

After completing the assembly of the frame, the finished walls must be sheathed with OSB-plate from the inside and outside, the cavities should be insulated with foam.

For perches suitable bars 50x60. The bars must first be sanded and the corners rounded off. Perches should be located at a height of 40-50 cm. The distance between adjacent bars is 40-50 cm, and between the last bar and the chicken coop wall is 25 cm. Trays can be placed under the perches, which will be convenient to remove and clean - this will greatly facilitate the cleaning of the house . The total length of the perches depends on the number of chickens. One chicken needs at least 30 cm of free space.

It is also necessary to build nests for birds. To do this, you can use old wicker baskets or put together several boxes from plywood. Box dimensions WxHxD: 30x30x40 cm, a small threshold is required (3-5 cm). One nest is built for 5 birds. Nests are installed in a distant, secluded corner.

For lighting the chicken coop, an incandescent lamp with a power of up to 100 watts is used. You need to place it high under the ceiling in a place where the birds definitely will not get.

At the final stage of construction, you need to arrange drinkers and feeders, cover the floor with hay or sawdust, and add a lot of hay to the nests to keep the eggs intact.

So, all stages of construction are considered, materials are calculated. It remains only to catch fire with the idea and make sure in practice that the frame chicken coop is a reliable and prefabricated structure in which the birds will be warm and comfortable in any weather conditions.