The practice of keeping chickens on hobby farms, in suburban backyards, and even in urban gardens is growing exponentially. You might have even thought to yourself, “Wow, it would be nice to have farm-fresh eggs right from my backyard! But how would I care for chickens?”
Many pondering the possibility of raising chickens get stuck on how to properly house them. Learn about the basics of how to design or choose the perfect chicken coop with Blain’s Farm & Fleet, so you can keep your chickens happy and thriving.
These days, chicken coops come in a wide variety of designs. But all coops should have the following basic elements: four walls, a roof, proper ventilation, nesting boxes, and roosts/perches.
Many coops are also attached to a chicken run. So the hens can have an opportunity to stretch their legs and enjoy the fresh air. Some coops also require insulation and electricity, depending on your climate.
Create a blueprint indicating the chicken coop size you would like before building or buying one. Each chicken must have at least 4 square feet of space, so keep this in mind as you plan.
When you are ready to begin building, use wood to construct the frame and walls of your chicken coop.
The roof of a chicken coop must be air- and water-tight. For this reason, many chicken keepers opt for strong roofs made of sheet metal, shingles, or PVC.
Proper ventilation is a must for all chicken coops. You can do this with ventilation holes or windows.
It’s important to make sure your ventilation method does not produce too much of a draft on your hens. You should also keep it properly screened to shut out unwanted guests, such as rodents.
All coops need nesting boxes in which your hens can lay their eggs. There should be one box per two to three hens, and each box should be at least 12”x 12”.
Your chickens also need to sleep, so it’s important you provide a roosting space in your coop. Your roost can be an elevated bar, branch, or narrow plank where your chickens can perch to sleep.
If you have an abundance of chickens, be sure to build a structure that contains enough bars, branches, or planks for all of them to sleep comfortably. It’s fine to stagger the roosting bars so chickens can sleep above or below one another.
Be sure your chicken roost is secured, elevated above your nesting box, and located in an isolated area in your coop. This is because chicken droppings will quickly soil the area beneath the roost.
Runs are also an important addition to a coop to ensure the happiness and good health of your hens. Your chicken coop’s run should be about 4 to 5 square feet per chicken.
Be sure to build your run with the proper fencing. We recommend you use chicken wire with either T-posts, U-posts, or wooden fence posts to construct your chicken run.
As you’re building the chicken wire fence for your run, be sure to bury the chicken wire 12″ underground. This will deter predators and rodents who dig. It is also wise to have a mesh roof over your run to keep out wild birds, which often carry diseases.
For cold climates, chicken keepers use electricity for heating the coop and chicken waterers. Many chicken keepers use either heat lamps and/or flat panel heaters, which have the extra benefit of being cool to the touch.
You should also keep in mind that hens need 16 hours of daylight to lay eggs. So during the shorter days of winter, chicken keepers use artificial lighting to replicate the 16 hours of light per day.
In addition to lamps and heaters, cold-climate coops should be outfitted with extra insulation in the floor, walls, and ceiling. Chickens love light. South-facing windows offer lots of natural light and even extra warmth in the cold, winter months.
Chicken coops can be store bought or handmade, but whichever you choose should incorporate these basic features. With some care and research, you too can be a successful chicken keeper who has happy and healthy hens.
For all your backyard chicken needs, from poultry equipment to ordering baby chicks, you can trust your Blain’s Farm & Fleet animal experts.
For more guides like this one, check out our Chickens & Poultry Blog.
