Elegant Small Chicken Coops

Are you planning to get some hens for your small garden? You might be thinking about getting a house for them as well, like small chicken coops? There are some points that you should be aware of before you actually go and get yourself one such coop. Here I have mentioned what to look for when buying small chicken coops.

Let the Chickens Have Ample Space

If you want the chickens to be healthy and get you more eggs, you must ensure they have enough space. The coop should never be congested. Ideally a chicken should be provided with around 8 sq feet of space. Calculate accordingly considering the number of chickens you possess and purchase one of the small chicken coops for them.

Space is an important factor as it not only keeps the chickens happy, but adds to their health and productivity as well. Too much congestion will attract germs. The atmosphere inside the coop may even turn suffocative. This is not desirable at all.

Airy and Sunny Coops

Small chicken coops must have enough ventilation to let out the gases formed inside. Harmful gases like ammonia and carbon dioxide get formed in such coops and can harm your chickens. An airy coop will get rid off these gases and allow fresh air to enter the coop effectively. This can maintain a cleaner atmosphere inside the coop and keep the chooks healthy.

Enough sunlight should be able to enter these small chicken coops. This reduces the moisture collected inside during the wet rainy seasons, keeping the coop properly dry and clean. During the winter months sunlight can warm up the coop through the day and keep it warm during the night with the windows properly shut.

Ensure the Security

Try to look for the small chicken coops that are secured enough to keep rodents, cats, foxes and other predators at bay. Make sure the doors and windows of the coop can be locked properly and the coop is strong enough to resist the attacks from such animals.

Bear these points on your mind and you will definitely get yourself the best of the small chicken coops for your chooks to be happy!

Unique Designing Backyard Chicken Coops

When designing backyard chicken coops, there are several considerations. Are you intending to breed chickens for your own use only? Are you intending to sell chickens and eggs to others? How much space do you have to work with? How much can you spend? Your answers will determine the required sizes of any backyard coops. Coops will suit small breeders who intend to raise only a few chickens and have limited space, whereas medium coops can be used to conduct business with more chickens. Backyard chicken coops may or may not be appropriate for larger serious businesses; you will need to determine this yourself.

When breeders have decided on the size of their backyard housing, they must also determine whether or not the coops must be permanent or portable. Permanent backyard coops can be built more sturdily and with a greater number of amenities. Portable backyard fowl coops can be built so that they can be easily moved around the property, reducing the amount of toxic soil created over time.

Backyard chicken houses will contain as many amenities as is possible given space, size, and cost restraints. Nesting boxes are required to allow an area where the chickens can lay eggs. Roosts are required in order to provide a safe sleeping area overnight, secure from predators. Access for the breeder is needed; a human-sized entry door is standard on many backyard chicken coops, and hinged access doors to the nesting boxes and roost are a good idea for cleaning and egg retrieval. Backyard chicken coops may also include a small exercise area, either within the coop itself or just outside. Breeders may fence off a small area on one side of the building where the chickens can roam freely during the day.

Entry to the exercise area can be from the main access door, or from a small chicken-sized door that can be opened and closed as needed. Feeding areas in backyard chicken coops may be either permanent parts of the coop itself, or can be units that are hung within the coop. Hung units can be removed as needed.

Chickens make an enticing meal for many predators, and a potential chicken breeder quickly learns about all the possible animals from which they need to provide protection. Rodents are notorious at chewing through wood and wire, and can enter through the smallest openings. Once inside backyard chicken coops, they can wreak havoc with any eggs inside, as well as injuring the chickens themselves. Foxes are extremely agile and intelligent creatures that can easily figure out simple latches and exploit weaknesses in wire mesh.

Foxes will kill and eat any chickens they find, so backyard chicken coops must be built to protect against them. Even dogs cannot resist the lure of an easy meal, and many dogs are capable diggers, getting underneath a mesh fence and exploiting any backyard chicken coops that have been built without floors.