Instructions to Build a Backyard Chicken Coop
Anyone can build a backyard chicken coop if they follow a high quality construction guide.
Even a premium-grade, wooden chicken coop is simple to make, as long as you're willing to put in a few hours work and some elbow grease.
This article outlines your options, and guides to to your next step.
Picking A Chicken Coop Design When looking to build a backyard chicken coop, it's important to follow a construction plan that addresses your needs.
Make sure to answer the following questions.
1) How many birds are you going to keep? 5? 10? 20+? Keep in mind that your flock will most likely grow by 1 or 2 birds within the first year.
Each chicken will require at least 2 square feet of grazing space in order to provide you with optimal egg yields.
2) Does your coop need to be portable? If you've only got a small backyard, a portable coop may be exactly what you need.
These kinds of coops will only allow you to keep around 5 birds.
There are also plenty of construction plans that could be labelled "semi-portable".
These are the mid-sized coops that usually require more than one person to move around.
3) Do you require a separate nesting area, and/or other extra features? I'm talking about an automatic egg collection system, a feeder, and other things that make life easier.
All of this kind of stuff can be build using a Do-It-Yourself guide.
In fact, many of the best chicken coop plan packages will include this kind of info.
Chicken Breed Purposes Have you already picked your chicken breeds? Most urban chicken coops are built with the intention of obtaining unlimited, free, organic eggs.
However, more and more families are starting to breed chickens with the intention of using them for meat.
There are plenty of "dual purpose" chicken breeds out there.
Again, most high quality chicken coop building plans will include a chicken breed guide.
Even a premium-grade, wooden chicken coop is simple to make, as long as you're willing to put in a few hours work and some elbow grease.
This article outlines your options, and guides to to your next step.
Picking A Chicken Coop Design When looking to build a backyard chicken coop, it's important to follow a construction plan that addresses your needs.
Make sure to answer the following questions.
1) How many birds are you going to keep? 5? 10? 20+? Keep in mind that your flock will most likely grow by 1 or 2 birds within the first year.
Each chicken will require at least 2 square feet of grazing space in order to provide you with optimal egg yields.
2) Does your coop need to be portable? If you've only got a small backyard, a portable coop may be exactly what you need.
These kinds of coops will only allow you to keep around 5 birds.
There are also plenty of construction plans that could be labelled "semi-portable".
These are the mid-sized coops that usually require more than one person to move around.
3) Do you require a separate nesting area, and/or other extra features? I'm talking about an automatic egg collection system, a feeder, and other things that make life easier.
All of this kind of stuff can be build using a Do-It-Yourself guide.
In fact, many of the best chicken coop plan packages will include this kind of info.
Chicken Breed Purposes Have you already picked your chicken breeds? Most urban chicken coops are built with the intention of obtaining unlimited, free, organic eggs.
However, more and more families are starting to breed chickens with the intention of using them for meat.
There are plenty of "dual purpose" chicken breeds out there.
Again, most high quality chicken coop building plans will include a chicken breed guide.