Chicken coop Plans are essential because…
Without proper Chicken Coop plans plan to follow, it is very easy to fall into costly errors that should easily have been avoided. Believe me, I am unfortunately talking from experience!
My name is James and I’m a 53 year old guy who has ‘been around the block’ a few times when it comes to rearing poultry including chickens, geese, ducks and even pheasant’s. I myself was raised on a smallholding and my father was a pig farmer, so rearing poultry was just something I was put in charge of as a young lad as it helped supplement finances and stock the larder with fresh eggs. So why are Chicken Coop plans so essential ? There is an old adage that goes something like “Failing to plan, is planning to fail” and I have found that it definitely applies to most things in life, including rearing poultry and building a chicken coop, here are a few reasons why chicken coop plans are so essential..
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Importance of Chicken Coop plans – Security
L
et me start with a tragic story of a Stoat attack. When I was just a young lad my Father took me to the market to collect some chickens, and I was put in charge of planning the chicken coop where they were to go. I was always very good with my hands so it was natural that I should build the coop or chicken shed. Needless to say I was not following Chicken Coop plans as I thought I had it all in my head – wrong! Coming back from the market we duly installed the week-old chicks in the coop under the heating lamp, and after making sure they were comfortable and the lamp was at the right heat, left them for the night.
In the morning there was NO SIGN of them, it seemed they had mysteriously vanished, the truth was later revealed however…they had all been KILLED and hidden down the side of the shed ! I was devastated, how had it happened? The answer was unfortunately that because I was not following proper Chicken Coop plans, and did not have any understanding of these things, a predator-probably a Stoat or Rat had managed to gain entry and killed every single one of them. Lesson learned, from that day onward I was paranoid about security and keeping the vermin at bay.
Good Chicken Coop Plans = Happy Chickens !
Why do Chickens need to be happy, you may ask? Simple, if a Chicken is not happy it will not lay any eggs. It’s a fact honest! Of course if the Chicken does not lay ,then you are unhappy because your spending money and time on something that is not producing the goods. Which is a recipe for unhappiness all round. By following a proper chicken coop plans you can be sure that you are building a house for your chickens that they will be happy in and in turn lay you plenty of eggs – which unless you are just rearing for the meat or companionship!! – is the whole aim of the exercise.
How to keep your Chickens happy
Well how do you know that they are unhappy first of all? Sure sign’s that your chickens are unhappy are things like, poor egg laying (less than 4 per week per chicken) as well as behavioural things like pecking each other, leading to bald bloody patches on the skin. Lethargy is a common sign in chickens that are unhappy. A chicken will stand around head down doing nothing for ages at a time when it is unhappy. By not following proper Chicken Coop plans you may have built a coop that is not’ fit for purpose’ and is in fact leaving your chickens vulnerable to the weather or potential predators, these will all affect your egg numbers in a negative way.
To keep your chickens happy and thereby assure yourself of a decent ‘harvest, there a number of things that are required and that good Chicken Coop plans will take into account. It goes without saying that the right amounts of food and water are a pre-requisite (more on this later), a balanced diet is all-important to life in general let alone chickens. The Chicken Coop itself must be dry and secure, the interior kept clean and free of vermin, mites etc. The nest boxes must be put in the right place within the coop (good chicken coop plans takes all this into account), in order for the eggs not to get damaged and dirty and for fights to break out between your chickens (yes honestly !)
Following expert Chicken Coop plans will make sure that you build enough room for the chickens to move around, and that they are not too crowded – this can lead to pecking each other.
Chicken Coop Plans – Location of Coop
It is important to plan ahead when it comes to the location of the coop and indeed if the Chicken Coop is mobile or not. If the Chicken Coop Plans have encouraged you to build a mobile Coop then this is not so much of an issue, however if the Chicken Coop is not able to be shifted then you will have to carefully consider its position. Do not build your Coop where it will get roasted by direct sunshine for the whole day, an area of shade is essential if you are to avoid the Coop and your Chickens from overheating. Avoid also the opposite situation and do not build under permanent shade such a tree canopy as this can result in all sorts of damp/mildew problems and ailments. Any chicken Coop plans worth their salt will encourage you to build in the right location as well as building a physically sturdy coop.
Chicken Coop Plans – Planning ahead
There are many aspects of rearing chickens I will cover in other articles on this site, including the type of chicken to rear for eggs or meat. How to get eggs through a bad winter, and more on the general care and well-being of your poultry. I hope also to cover the rearing of Ducks, Geese, turkeys etc. Running throughout these themes I will place emphasis on following proper Chicken Coop plans or indeed plans for building huts and coops for many kinds of poultry.
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