Building a Chicken Coop
Backyard Chicken Coop Plans
Jun 10th
Author: Neil Jontas
Have you ever planned to raise some chickens? Or have you ever wanted to improve your
condition for chickens to make things easier or just to cut the cost of raising chickens? What make you fail to do that? Perhaps the primary reason for this is that you don’t know
where to start and how to start. Because you do not have enough money or exhaustless
energy to buy everything needed or search for an efficient way for this project.
Now hesitate and wait no more. Here comes your help. Mary Nelson, a DIY adviser, will
teach you all techniques related to raising chickens in her new book named Chicken DIY
Guide which concededly give you the very process from start to finish.
First of all,the book can provide you detailed information about the laws required
by your own city to raise chickens.
Then it will teach you how to choose a place suitable for this project in your
backyard and what kinds of chickens to raise according to your climate. After all of this has
been done, here comes the point. It put the emphasis on how to construct chicken coops.
By doing this you can save you money to the maximum. Never consider this job beyond
your ability even if you know nothing about carpentry, because the book will give you
step-by-step guide to accomplish this work from choosing right materials for the coop,
what tools to use to getting the one you want. Some important links also be displayed
in the form of video.
What’s more, a website called ChickenDIYGuides involving all-around information
about raising chickens has been found. All in all, if you want to raise chickens in right way,
the book and the website are necessary. Or to say least, they are right reference material
you should turn to.
Take you action now. Become a expert on chicken-raising and enjoy the process that do it yourself. Grab A Copy Click here
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/backyard-chicken-coop-plans-2115655.html
About the Author
Raising Chickens For Food
Jun 9th
Author: Carol J Miller
The commercial breeders have devised a strain of birds that grow up in only six weeks of living on chemicals during which time they never have a chance to be chickens. They live in a totally controlled artificial environment. They never breathe fresh air or feel the warmth and health-giving rays of the sun. Then they are sent off to market. No wonder they don’t taste like anything. Home-grown chickens live a full chicken life, as they were meant to. And they taste like a chicken should without using any flavor enhancers.
In choosing chickens for raising, there are five basic types to choose from:
For Eggs - The egg producers are White Leghorns and are white-feathered, skinny temperamental birds. They will lay some 200 large white-shelled eggs in the egg factories in their sixth through nineteenth months of life. After that, they give up laying eggs and are sold for cat food, as the meat they do have on them is pretty stringy.
For Meat - The meat producers are bred to fatten out rapidly with a maximum feed economy. Most of these are hybrids between a cross of White Cornish and White Rock breeds. They are slaughtered at four weeks of age and sold as Rock Cornish game hens.
For Meat and Eggs - Hybrids of several kinds are common in New England where they produce jumbo-sized brown-shelled eggs and develop into roaster size. If raising chickens for eggs, the disadvantage to this breed is that they show more of a maternal instinct than other full-sized breed. If the hybrid eggs are hatched, the offspring will be all different colors and if left to breed themselves, they would probably revert back a generation or two and become unproductive, multicolored and scrawny wild creatures.
Fancy Breeds - This is a breed kept for show or hobby. Some will have odd coloring or plumage or lay odd colored eggs. As far as meat and egg production goes, this breed isn’t worth their feed bill and are only good for a hobby. Bantams are pint-sized and seem to have more sense than the larger chickens and they will do a good job of keeping the bug population down in the garden.
Best Choice - According to the hatcheries, the main flock should be a variety of Purebred Multipurpose chickens. These would include the heavy-bodied breeds such as the Rhode Island, New Hampshire Reds, the White, Plymouth and Barred Rocks. These breeds will produce good brown eggs and fine meat. Most importantly, they will produce good strains. The Barred Rocks have black and white feathers and are reported as being of calm temperament with good meat and eggs.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/raising-chickens-for-food-812929.html
About the Author
For more information on eggs, raising chickens and building your own chicken shed, please visit the author’s blog.
Finding The Best Chicken Coop Plans
Jun 9th
Author: Kieran Gracie
There are many offers of chicken coop plans online, but which of these will result in a good-quality working chicken house? If you know all about chickens and how to design happy and healthy housing for them, are good at detailed planning, making your own blueprints from basic plans or diagrams, producing a detailed list of materials before starting to put your hen house together, as well as being an experienced carpenter, then you will probably get by with any type of chicken coop plans you come across.
Or you might discover how much time and money you have wasted, and you could end up building a chicken house that proved to be a very unhappy and unsafe environment for your poultry. Good blueprints, accurate planning and expert guidance are the vital elements for building a successful hen house.
As a minimum you should include the following in your planning:
- Selecting a suitable site for the hen house in your yard or garden
- Calculating the correct size of chicken house for the number of hens
- Ensuring there is adequate ventilation and lighting in the coop
- Choosing the layout and type of feeders and nesting boxes
- Designing adequate safeguards from predators
- Considering any services to be supplied to the chicken coop such as electricity and water supplies
In practice most people will need some help from chicken experts to do this planning completely, and will depend on accurate blueprints rather than sketchy plans and vague diagrams to build a proper hen house. Without such blueprints there is a good chance you will not achieve a good functional chicken coop, it might not be strong enough and it might give ready access for predators.
If you take a casual approach to chicken coop plans you will end up wasting both time and money, your enthusiasm will take a dive and – perhaps most importantly – you will not get the enjoyment and satisfaction you should be getting. In addition, unhappy or unhealthy hens are poor layers, so you will be denied those lovely free-range eggs you had so eagerly anticipated.
Before you can start assembling your hen house you will need to make a complete list of all materials required. This is vital, otherwise you will certainly encounter stoppages during the assembly when you discover you have left out some bracket or other and the local hardware store has closed for the day! It is quite difficult to make a complete materials list, and we can honestly say that it is so much better (and safer) to let a chicken coop expert do it for you.
Without such an expert to guide you, it is very easy to make mistakes during assembly. Often these mistakes will not become obvious until you have finished, and by then it could be too late to sort out any problems. It is certainly worth investing a few dollars to get professional advice and tips along the way, and usually these come with the step-by-step instructions provided in top-quality chicken coop planning kits. We have discovered that good blueprints and clear instructions actually save money and time in the long run.
We have located and highly recommend a very experienced chicken expert, Bill Keene. He has produced a great range of chicken coop plans, including all the necessary information, step-by-step instructions, drawings, blueprints, material lists and professional guidance for you to plan and make a hen house that will fit your particular requirements perfectly. He will ensure you do not make all the usual first-time mistakes, and also show you how to produce a happy, safe and healthy home for your birds. Bill Keene is the best source of good plans for making a wonderful chicken coop.
Good luck and have fun with your chickens!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/finding-the-best-chicken-coop-plans-1018090.html
About the Author
Kieran Gracie is a professional engineer and DIY enthusiast. His website, buildthingsdirect.com,provides many ideas and interesting projects for beginners and experienced do-it-yourself people alike. These include garden sheds, chicken pens and coops, log cabins, solar heaters and windmills.
Chicken Coop Size Is Should You Go In For
Jun 8th
Author: Jony
When making a Chicken Coop it is important that you know what size will be best suit your need. Too many people overlook such details before they make a coop only to repent it later. There are a few considerations that you should look into before you can understand your requirements:
How much can you invest?
There are many kinds of coops based on their size that you can look into. The factor which differentiates one from the other is the amount of birds they can hold and how much they cost.
The smallest is a Chicken Ark. These cost anywhere between a 100 to 400 dollars depending on the materials, build quality and the maker if you go in for a pre-built coop. These are very popular amongst backyard chicken farmers, and you should definitely consider this if you have a small budget.
The next option that you have is a Medium Sized Chicken Coop which is typically priced between 250 to 300 dollars. These are considerably bigger than a Chicken Ark and unlike them, once installed, cannot be moved.
Finally the biggest thing you can buy is a large sized premium coop. These cost 500 dollars or more and come equipped with a chicken run.
How many birds you have?
Your budget should be in line with the size of your poultry. For instance, if you only have 4 or 5 chickens to take care of the best thing you can get is a Chicken Ark. An important thing you should keep in mind is that the recommended area per Chicken is at least 4 square feet. Meaning that is the minimum amount of space your birds will need to live comfortably in the Chicken coop. If you can provide more space; nothing better! If you have more than 10 birds then a premium big sized chicken coop with an accompanying chicken run is probably the best investment you can make.
How much space you have and where you should setup your Chicken Coop:
If you have a lot of money but not a mighty big backyard then getting a premium sized coop may not be in your best interest. Aesthetics also play an important role and if you are living in a city then you will want to get something which will go with your backyard and home. Finally one of the most ignored things is the “neighbors”. Too many times people set up a Chicken Coop in place where all the noise that the chicken cause end up terribly disturbing the good people in their neighborhood.
Of course there are many more things that you need to take into account before you can make a coop which you can be very proud of.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/chicken-coop-size-is-should-you-go-in-for-882627.html
About the Author
Are you interested in knowing more about how to keep and raise chicken? Visit my page where I have discussed in great detail how you can make a good cheap chicken coop and also a few important things you should know about keeping and raising chicken.
Raising Chickens At Home For Eggs – 3 Most Popular Brown Egg Layers
Jun 8th
Author: Charlotte Winslow
Raising chickens at home for eggs okay with community powers that be? – Check. Planned where you will keep the chickens in your back yard? – Check.
Decided to give this “raising chickens at home” business an honest go of it? – Check.
Now that these important questions have been answered you get to the fun part of this endeavor – selecting the chickens. You must decide your reasons for raising chickens. Is it for the eggs, meat, for pets or for all of the aforementioned reasons listed here? Since I’m not a big fan of butchering anything we selected a breed that lays large, beautiful brown eggs. Rhode Island Reds were our choice.
For your consideration I am listing the 3 most popular brown egg layers:
- Rhode Island Reds:
These American chickens are quite popular and are one of the most all-time famous breeds. There isn’t another heavier breed of chicken that lays more eggs than a Rhode Island Red. A mature male will weigh around 8.5 lbs. A mature female will weigh in at 6.5 lbs. The chicks are a rusty reddish-brown color. Adult birds color out into a beautiful variety of mahogany red. The hens will lay a nice large brown egg once they get started.
- Black Australorps:
This breed originated in Australia and is one of the best layers of light brown eggs. The feathers are a glossy black with a beautiful greenish-purple sheen. The adult birds weigh about the same as mature Rhode Island Reds. Adult males weigh between 6-8 lbs and females, 5-7 lbs. The females mature early and start producing eggs between 5-6 months old. They are a gentle breed and stand confinement well.
- Bard Rocks:
The Barred Rock is an American all-time prolific brown egg layer favorite. The cold doesn’t seem to bother them. They also make a great roasting fowl if you so desire. A Barred Rock is a sturdy and reliable breed to own. Baby chicks are gray to black with some white patches. Adult birds are black and white and have prominently colored red combs.
There are many other breeds available but we have raised these 3 with much success and would recommend any one of them to you. They are reasonably priced and easily accessible. Check at your local tractor and feed supply stores for availability. You can also purchase breeds through mail order catalogs and will receive your peeps via US postal service.
Raising Chickens at Home Guide
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/raising-chickens-at-home-for-eggs-3-most-popular-brown-egg-layers-1312342.html
About the Author
Charlotte Winslow has lived on a farm for over 20 years and enjoys her chickens. Do you need a jumpstart in raising chickens at home for eggs? Grab the information you need at http://raisingchickensathome.info and get ready for some fun!
