Keeping chickens is not very difficult even for beginner poultry farmers. However, it also has its own subtleties. One of the most important conditions for breeding chickens is the "right" housing. We will tell you in detail how to equip a chicken coop with your own hands.
Content:
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Location selection
To make the birds feel calm, choose a place to build a chicken coop as far as possible from the roadway. It is also undesirable to equip it near housing, otherwise the smell will penetrate into the house at the slightest breeze.
On wet ground, it is better to raise the building above the surface
Build a chicken coop on a small hill. After all, high humidity is not the best way for the health of birds. You can also raise the house above the ground with the help of an artificial embankment.
If possible, it is better to place a chicken dwelling among bushes or next to a blank fence that will cover it from drafts and cold winds. A building intended for winter maintenance is best located from east to west - this way it will warm up better.
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For 2-3 birds you will need 1 sq. m area. Thus, when arranging a chicken coop for 5 chickens, it is necessary to equip a room with an area of \u200b\u200bonly 2 square meters. m, for 10 individuals 3 sq. m, etc. If it is not possible to allocate enough space, it is allowed to increase the number of perches. However, this option is not suitable for broilers - it is difficult for a massive bird to climb to a great height.
Schematic drawing of a chicken coop for 10 chickens
Bird housing should be adequately lit, windows must be provided in it, otherwise the egg production of birds will decrease. So that the chicken coop can be regularly ventilated, window are placed on both sides. It is better if one of them is located on the south side for better heating. To protect against the penetration of predators, the windows are covered with a metal mesh. In order for the chickens to rush well in the cold season, lighting is organized for them to increase the daylight hours.
For keeping in winter, the chicken coop will need to be insulated, and provide a heating system. At temperatures below 12C, birds can get sick, and even die in extreme cold. It is also necessary to provide natural ventilation in the room - chickens do not tolerate high humidity. Doors are always located on the east side. In the northern regions of Russia, a vestibule is provided in front of the entrance to protect against drafts and sudden changes in temperature.
It is desirable for birds to provide a place for walking, therefore, attach an aviary to the chicken coop in the form of a grid stretched over poles.Layers for walking require more space - for each at least 1.4 square meters. m. Broilers need 0.4 square meters. m. To protect against predators, the top of the enclosure is also tightened with a net. It is also desirable to protect at least part of the enclosure from rain and sun and cover it with a roof.
Place for walking
It is also allowed to breed this species of birds without walking, especially broilers. But in this case, it is unlikely that it will be possible to achieve high egg production in laying hens.
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The main stages of construction
If you are planning to seriously engage in poultry farming, it is better to build a capital building. And for this it is absolutely not necessary to use expensive materials.
Materials used in construction
Special drawings for the construction of a chicken coop are not required. Its shape and size can be any. Such a building is allowed to be built not only from timber, logs, or bricks, but also from cinder blocks or even adobe. Since these materials are able to absorb moisture, they must be plastered. Cinder blocks hold heat worse, they need to be insulated more carefully.
Summer building from boards
A birdhouse can even be assembled from old boards of a suitable size. To do this, it is enough to dig the pillars into the ground, lay the floorboards, sheathe the walls with boards, and cover the roof with roofing material. Since drafts will walk in such a room, it is additionally upholstered from the inside with batting or old blankets.
Foundation
The choice of foundation for a building depends on its weight. To equip a small chicken coop for up to 20 chickens, it is enough to use light construction and a columnar or shallow strip foundation. A deep foundation is required only for the construction of massive buildings made of bricks, timber or logs. Although such buildings are more expensive, they are able to reliably protect its inhabitants from the winter cold.
Foundation for a chicken coop
The columnar foundation is also convenient because it is more difficult for rodents and predators to get into it. If you raise it half a meter above the ground, it will be possible to equip a place for walking under it. When building on swampy soils, it is better to use a pile foundation, otherwise the building may lead.
floors
When arranging a columnar foundation, a grillage is prepared in the form of a wooden frame, which is isolated from the base with roofing material. A harness is laid on the frame and logs are attached, and then a subfloor.
Floor insulation with sawdust
Feathers are completely absent on the legs of birds, so special attention is paid to floor insulation. The ideal floors for a chicken coop are adobe. Concrete floors are covered with removable wooden logs, which are cleaned for the summer and disinfected. You can cover them with a layer of straw or hay. For the summer period, an earthen floor is enough.
Mesh floors or floors with deep litter are used more often in non-walking conditions. Straw, sawdust or peat 10 cm thick can be laid as bedding. In the future, it is periodically replaced. For the arrangement of mesh floors, frames with a stretched mesh are laid on 50-70 cm stands. It is allowed to manufacture floors in the form of wooden planks, under which pallets are placed to collect litter.
building walls
High walls in the chicken coop are not needed. However, for the convenience of caring for a bird, you should not make them lower than 1.8-2 m.
Whatever type of material you choose for the construction of walls, they are required insulate. Even in log cabins that reliably retain heat, it will be necessary to seal all joints with tow or moss.
Mineral wool insulation from the inside
A winter chicken coop made of cinder blocks or adobe can be sheathed from the inside with any type of insulation: inexpensive foam, mineral wool, and then close with boards or chipboard.For fastening the heat-insulating material, a frame made of wooden beams or a profile is used. To protect against wind and provide vapor barrier, an additional overlap of polyethylene film is laid.
Then the heat insulator is covered with a board, fiberboard, chipboard or slate. Even OSB sheets can be used as walls. But in this case, they must be made two-layer, laying a layer of mineral wool or other insulation between them. In the southern regions of Russia, sawdust, needles or dry foliage can be used as it. For hardening in a ratio of 25: 1, lime is added to them.
A good heat insulator is a mixture of clay and shavings (sawdust). A similar mixture, infused for several hours, is applied to a double layer of shingles. The thickness of the clay chip layer is 3-4 cm.
Door insulation
Door insulation
The main door leading to the winter chicken coop is insulated with film and felt, carpeting or several layers of dense fabric. It should fit as tightly as possible to the jamb. In the northern regions, it is also possible to insulate the door leading to the vestibule.
Roof
The roof for winter maintenance during the construction of the chicken coop is covered with slate. You should not use a metal profile - drops of even light rain will make a lot of noise, and the birds will behave restlessly, and in the summer it will get very hot and give off heat inside, thereby creating uncomfortable thermal conditions
Roof insulation
Shed roofing is easier to implement. But, if you equip a gable roof, you can save on the walls. In this case, some of the walls are made high enough so that it is convenient for a person to take care of pets, and the rest of the walls are low.
Thermal insulation is also required for the attic, so that drafts do not walk on it, taking precious heat with them. It is covered with sawdust or coated with clay. If the roof structure is beamed, it can be used as a crate and sheathed with foam. It is better to lay the crate of boards with roofing material or at least parchment.
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Heating
As already mentioned, the optimum temperature for breeding birds is 12-15 C. In order not to disturb the natural biorhythm of animals, it should not be raised above the specified range. Moreover, this will not lead to an increase in productivity. Temperatures below +8 C are critical and should not be allowed.
Heating with infrared lamp
To heat the room in winter, you can use several options:
- ovens or potbelly stoves
- oil heaters that do not burn oxygen
- infrared lamps: perhaps the most cost-effective option, for 10-12 square meters. m of the room is enough lamp 250 W; and at the same time it can serve as a lighting device
When building a small chicken coop, you can also heat it in the old-fashioned way. To do this, it is necessary to cover the floors with lime (of course, slaked). For 1 sq. m it will need about a kilogram. It will serve as protection against ticks.
Then a layer of 5-8 cm is covered and a layer of straw, sawdust or peat is trampled down. During the rotting process, it will generate enough heat to maintain a comfortable temperature. Mature grass or sawdust can be used as fertilizer in the spring.
Lighting
The optimal daylight hours for birds is 15-17 hours. Moreover, birds need enough light not only in the daytime, but also in the evening, so that they have the opportunity to move around the chicken coop. In the dark, they are completely disoriented.
It is better to use fluorescent lamps that are more comfortable for them. During the construction of a chicken coop for 10 chickens per 3 square meters. m will need 30 W, for 6 square meters. m 60 W, etc.
Lighting with fluorescent lamps
Chicks need more light - from 30 lx. For adult birds, 5 lx is enough, for roosters 15 lx. The use of flickering lamps with fluorescent lighting is also allowed. Their pulsation frequency is from 26 kHz.
Since it is always quite humid in such rooms, take care of the reliable insulation of the wires. Move all sockets and switches out of the room. To prevent birds from accidentally damaging the lamp, put a protective cover or shade on it.
Pay attention to the color of the lighting. Blue reduces aggression, green or orange are useful for normal physiological development. Lighting with red lamps is undesirable - it can reduce egg production.
Choose dimmable lamps. A sharp flash of a light bulb after complete darkness can cause chickens to start trampling each other in a panic. Therefore, when entering the room, turn on the light slowly.
Ventilation
Arrangement of natural ventilation
A damp, unventilated room is one of the reasons for the death of birds. They also have a hard time withstanding high temperatures. Therefore, in a room for their cultivation, ventilation is simply indispensable. Moreover, it is required not only in summer, but also in winter.
When building a chicken coop for 20 chickens, a natural ventilation device is sufficient. In rooms for summer maintenance, it is enough to make a window above the door or perch. Fresh air will enter the open door, and exhaust air will be drawn out through the window.
In a chicken coop intended for winter breeding of birds, it is necessary to prepare a supply and exhaust system consisting of 2 pipes. The first, exhaust, is mounted above the perch just below the ceiling. It is brought to the roof in such a way that it rises 1 m above it. The gaps between the roof and the pipe are sealed with mounting foam.
The supply pipe is mounted at the bottom of the opposite wall away from the perch. The distance from it to the floor is 20-25 cm.
Making perches and nests
When equipping perches for laying hens, it must be assumed that each bird needs a minimum of 30 cm of space. It is also necessary to leave a space of at least 25 cm between the poles. The first row of perches is raised 60-80 cm above the floor. Use for them square hewn bars 40x40 or 50x50 mm. This size is more comfortable for chickens - they can grab the perch well with their paws without fear of falling. Round perches for birds are inconvenient - they can slip off them.
The perch should be as comfortable as possible
Nests are made of wooden boards, plywood or plastic. Each of them can fit 4-5 birds. It is better to close the nesting place completely, leaving only a hole for the manhole. In this case, the eggs will be better protected from droppings. With a large number of chickens, it is allowed to make nests from baskets or boxes. They are placed in the very corner of the room away from drafts, raised 30 cm above the floor.
When assembling the nests, it should be taken into account that they will need to be cleaned and dried periodically, so the shape should be the simplest. Sawdust is used as bedding - the birds will periodically push the straw out of the nest.
Feeders for chickens
Birds are able to scoop food to the floor in a short time, so feeders should be installed on a slight elevation or suspended. Drinkers should be fixed, otherwise the birds will immediately turn them over. Closed-type automatic drinkers are very convenient.
Feeders are placed on a small elevation and fixed to the floor.
The material for the manufacture of feeders and drinkers can be anything - from wood, metal to plastic. A separate feeder should be provided for chalk and shells that serve as mineral top dressing. For grass, prepare small metal nets.
Ash-sand baths
To get rid of parasites that often live in feathers, birds need periodic “bathing” in sand or ash. Ticks, bedbugs and lice adversely affect the health of both broilers and laying hens. To achieve a serious weight gain in this case is unlikely to succeed. Yes, and the number of eggs in laying hens infected with insects will decrease sharply.
Ash-sand bath
To get rid of insects, provide the birds with ash and sand baths. To do this, put a box in the chicken coop. A length of 0.5x0.5 m will be enough. Pour ash and sand into it in equal proportions. The bath for your chickens is ready!
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Content Tips
Birds need to be accustomed to the daily routine of timely feeding and walking
- their breeding should begin with the simplest, unpretentious breeds
- when purchasing chickens, provide them with a comfortable temperature of 29–30 ° C, the worst thing for them is hypothermia; purchase a heater or lamp for heating
- use only recommended food for feeding and provide the chicks with enough water
- early walking for chickens is undesirable; start releasing them as they grow gradually, for a short time
- in a small room, chickens will start to fight for a place
- for large meat breeds of chickens, replace perches with bedding
- mold and fungus are the main causes of death, ensure high-quality ventilation in the room
- so that predators do not accidentally get into the chicken coop, at night, even in the summer, close the doors of the room at least with a latch; also cover all ventilation openings with mesh
- provide the birds with a daily routine: feed them 3-4 times a day at regular intervals and release them for walking at the same time
- in hot weather, provide them with more water than usual
- overfeeding, as well as underfeeding, are equally harmful; for 1 adult, it is necessary to give out 140 g of food at a time, in winter a little less - 120 g
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