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Building a Mobile Chicken Coop – The Best For Starters

Aug 26

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Are you thinking about raising chickens in your back yard but you don’t know where you want to put your chicken coop? Well starting out with a mobile chicken coop will be perfect for you. There are many advantages to being able to move your coop around your yard. The first and most important is safety.

If your yard is not fenced in having a chicken coop in your yard might attract some critters that will want to eat them. Actually even if you have a fenced in yard predators will still come at night and try to have a tasty dinner. Everybody loves chicken. With a mobile chicken coop you can move your chickens to a safe place, like your garage at night. This stops any worrying about feeding foxes, raccoons and coyotes to name just a few in the middle of the night.

Just imagine, if all types of predators come out when you’re not prepared, that’s the end of your career raising chickens. You might need the flexibility of being more mobile, especially if you’re just starting out. Make sure the plans you have in place take into account the amount of time and effort you’re realistically able to devote to this project.

Also if you have limited space to put a stationary coop, or if you’re not exactly sure where you really want to put one, kind of testing places. Then a mobile coop is ideal for you. Placing the coop near enough so you can watch them is great and then being able to move them to another part of the yard is a benefit too.

And of course it doesn’t cost as much to build a mobile chicken coop. Since it is movable just by that definition alone it shouldn’t be as large as a traditional coop therefore using fewer materials. But since it is movable it will be tough enough to be picked up and carried over and over again.

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Guidelines For Choosing Chicken Coop Plans

Aug 25

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Chickens are among the easiest domestic animals to look after but like any other animal they require a shelter from the elements

To start ask yourself, how much of my yard should be allocated to housing my flock? Keep in mind that the happier the chickens the more productive they are. In a coop the average space needed per chicken is around 4 sq/ft. Chicken will not just live in their coop, they need a space to exercise, scratch and get out in the fresh air. If you are not planning on letting the chickens run free range, then they are going to need some sort of fenced in run. The general rule of thumb is around 10 sq/ft per bird. While considering the space requirements also give some consideration to the location. Your chickens should be housed in a spot that is out of the wind and has general protection from the weather.

The next thing to consider is what kind of chickens are best to raise? People raise chickens for a variety of reasons: meat, eggs and believe it or not showing. Below is a small list of some birds and their purposes.

Companion: a bird that is little more docile, a breed like the Silkie or Cochin might work better.

Showing chicken: is your thing then something like Faverolles or d’Uccles might be something to look into. These birds also serve as what are called dual purpose birds. They do equally well as meat and eggs birds.

Meat birds: look into Cornish X Rock, Cornish Roasters or even Cornish Game Hens.

Eggs: some good breeds to consider are Leghorns, Sussex, Silver Spangled Hamburgs or Anconas. Some other good dual purpose birds to consider also are Rhode Island Reds, Australorps, Buff Orpingtons and Plymouth Rock

Before purchasing your birds do a little research into the breed. Consider if this breed is suitable for the climate that you live in. Consider the space that these birds need and does it fit in with the space available.

The next thing to consider is the coop. Depending on your budget skill and skill set you have 2 choices when it comes to a coop: (1) build your own (2) Purchase a pre-built one. The coop plans available now on can generally be build by anyone, even those who might not be the handy man type. A little effort can save you big money in the end.

If you keep these questions in the back of your mind during your planning stages your project should go smoothly and you will be enjoying your new flock in no time.

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Cost of Keeping Chickens

Aug 25

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How much will it cost for those wonderful, free-range eggs laid in your backyard coop?

Are chickens worth the expense?

How long will it take to re-coop the start up costs?

One of the first questions on the minds of future city chicken farmers is the cost of keeping chickens. They might dream of free-range eggs they can gather out of their own yard, but don’t want to sink financially for the privilege.

The good news is that chickens aren’t expensive to keep (once you have a place for them to live). Here’s a general breakdown of how much it cost me to get started with my flock of 10. Although your costs might be somewhat different, this will give you a good idea of a starting place.

I bought my chicks as newborns, so they ranged in price from approximately $2.50 to $3.50 depending on the breed. Let’s average them at $3.00. Since most city farmers have smaller limits to the number of chicks they can have, let’s base our prices on buying three chicks.

Three new baby chicks = $9.00

Getting chicks this young means you also need a brooder (a place for them to live that’s warm) for a few weeks. In my case, I used a big dog crate that I already had. You could also use a big plastic bin, a cardboard box, or some other container you have handy. Since most people can rustle up some sort of container for free, let’s assume you’re one of them.

(If you want to start with older chickens closer to laying age and forgo the baby stage, expect to spend $10-15 per chicken).

Homemade chick brooder = free

For a light, I used a basic shop light with the reflective metal around it, and regular light bulb. I threaded an extension cord through the wire door of the crate and hung the light on the inside of the door.

Because the chicks stayed in the house for the first month, this worked good enough.

However, if you need to buy equipment, there are heat lamps and special bulbs that go in them. I’ve seen the lamps for between $10-30, so let’s average it at $20. And the light bulb to go in it for another $6-12, with an average of $8.00.

Brooder lamp and bulb = $28.00

You will also need some sort of food and water containers. I think I paid about $5 each for my initial containers. The water container held a quart of water, which is perfect for a small flock of babies.

Food and water containers = $10.00

Of course, you’ll need food to put in the containers. Most places where you buy the chicks will have some chick starter. The larger size bag you buy, the cheaper it is per pound. You can leave your chicks on the starter until they eat it all and then switch to a different food later, or you can buy a smaller amount of food for more money. The choice is yours. (Because I bought 10 chicks, I started out with a 50 lb bag of chick starter and it lasted me about 2 months). Roughly, you can get a 5 lb bag of chick starter for about $5.00, or a 50 lb bag of the same stuff for around $15.00. Let’s go for the big bag for our example! (I’ve talked to people who never take their chickens off starter, insisting that it’s the best for them.)

50 lb bag of chick starter food = $15.00

If you’ve only got 3 chickens, this bag of food will probably last you about 6 months.

Next, you need some sort of bedding for the chicks. Some people use shredding newspaper or other recycled paper for free. Because my chicks were in the house, I used wood shavings. A big bag of it cost me about $12.00 and lasted for months.

Wood shavings (bedding) = $12.00

Total chick set up = $74.00

That’s all you need to get started! For under $75.00, you can get your chicks, set them up for the first month of their lives, have enough food to feed them for 6 months and enough bedding for at least a couple of months.

However, the REAL costs are yet to come…

Sooner or later (usually sooner–chickens grow at an amazing rate), the chicks are going to outgrow their brooder box and you’ll be faced with finding them a new home. In my case, the chicks went from inside a dog crate in the house, to inside an appliance box (that I got free from Lowe’s) in the garage while I frantically built the chicken coop for them. (Note to self and all of you…follow my advice on the Before You Buy New Chicks page and get your coop set up BEFORE you buy your chicks!)

Because I was able to get a huge appliance box for free, that bought me a bit of time while I worked on the coop. Hopefully, you’ll take my advice, learn from my mistakes and take care of the coop before you get chicks…but, if you’re like me and can’t stand the wait and want chicks NOW, remember your local home improvement store for a free resource for your growing chicks.

Chicken Coops

Chicken coops can be expensive. I used recycled materials (free) whenever possible and started out with a used play structure from Craigslist (see the step by step story here). I got free chicken wire from a friend. I used mis-mixed and leftover paint from previous projects, and my chicken coop still weighed in at about $500! (Remember, however, this was for 10 chickens, which is larger than you’ll need for the small flock of three.)

If you buy a pre-made chicken coop, expect to pay a LOT more for it than if you build it yourself. For a small flock, you could convert a large dog house, a play structure, or other small, enclosed space into a coop from a reasonable price. ( If you’d like some small coop ideas, check these out.) Look for used coops for sale on places like Craigslist and maybe you’ll find a perfect coop for cheap.

If you’re going to build your own coop from scratch, calculate how much space you’ll need (for our 3 chicken example, you’ll need 12 square feet for the chicken coop and 12 square feet for the chicken run), and take into consideration that you’ll need nesting boxes (if you’re getting hens for egg laying) and roosts. Basic Chicken Coop 101 should answer all of your questions.

Larger Food Containers

If you start out with the small food and water containers like I did, eventually you’ll need to upgrade, at least for the water container. Because these can get spendy, I started out with a homemade waterer that cost me about $2.00 and worked well for a couple of months before I finally switched over to a commercially made waterer.

My initial food container would still work if I only had 3 chickens instead of 10, but I also made a hanging self-feeder, much like the homemade waterer, except that it works better and I still use it.

Bedding

Depending on how often you change the betting and what you use for bedding will determine your cost here. For awhile I used straw, but then I switched to wood pellets. The pellets are more costly (around $5 a bag), but they absorb moisture and odors WAY better than the straw. Some people also use wood shavings.

Ongoing Food

Now that my chickens are adults and of laying age, I’ve got them on a layer food, which runs about $13 for 50 lbs. For my 10 chickens, a 50 lb bag lasts about 1 month. (I also feed them food scraps and let them free range for part of every day).

Supplements

Besides food, I also buy calcium and grit for my chickens. This is pretty inexpensive and lasts quite awhile. The chickens need calcium for better eggs and grit to help them digest their food. I put a small dish of each out in the chicken run and they eat it as they please. It takes them several weeks to empty a tuna fish sized can.

I also buy cracked corn for the chickens, as a treat. I feed it to them daily, but in very small quantities. Even for 10 chickens, a 5 lb bag of it lasts for weeks.

They’re Worth It!

Really, to get set up with your own backyard egg production for under $75.00, is a pretty good deal. And ongoing food and supplies aren’t expensive, either. The major cost in this venture is a chicken coop. If you have time to build one or an unused doghouse you can convert, you’ll be on your way.

Even though my coop ended up costing around $500 and taking several weeks to build, it’s been so fun to have chickens! Not only for the eggs, but also for the entertainment value. You might just find yourself outside in the evenings watching ‘farm reality TV’ live in your backyard, instead of sitting on the couch. And some o those memories are priceless.

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Raising Rabbits For Meat

Aug 25

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Raising rabbits for meat is a great way to earn some extra money, eat healthy or even start a business. Breeding and raising rabbits is a rewarding hobby or job, but, it must be done with care. Rabbits are very sensitive creatures and in order to get the most profit or healthy meat from a rabbit you must raise them in a healthy environment. If done correctly you can create a nice revenue stream or food source for yourself. It doesn’t require very much time but it just require a great deal of attention and effort to keep your rabbits clean and healthy. There are certain steps you need to follow and certain precautions you should take to ensure you are getting the healthiest, leanest and most profitable rabbit meat from your bunnies.

When you raise your rabbits for meat you have the option to sell them for their meat, eat it yourself, or start a business raising rabbits and selling them for their meat. If you decide to raise bunnies for the meat you will discover rabbit meat is one of the healthiest meats you can eat. It has zero transfat and has fewer calories than chicken. As a white meat, rabbit, contains low fat content and has a lot of protein making it a perfect meat for people on a diet or athletic people.

If you decide to raise your rabbit to sell the meat you choose a great business to get into as rabbit meat is a very high priced meat. Rabbits are very easy to raise and cost less to maintain than most common pets. They eat less food than a dog or cat and require less maintenance. Rabbit meat is very expensive per pound making it very easy to be profitable. If you raise your bunnies to be sold for the meat you can even create a bunny farm and selling them for a nice profit. But you need to make sure you are doing it correctly because they are sensitive animals and need the proper care. You should follow a guide on raising rabbits, for take advice from people that have successfully raised rabbits for their meat.

As long as you take proper care of you rabbits and raise them in a healthy environment you should have no problem raising rabbits for meat and make a profit. If you decide to keep the rabbit meat yourself, that should be more incentive to raise them as healthy as possible. As long as you follow the advice of successfully rabbit farmers you or follow the perfect raising rabbit guide you should be successful.

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How to Start a Chicken Coop

Aug 25

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If you are wondering how to start a chicken coop, these techniques will lead you to your goal. Do you think it will take weeks to build a chicken coop? You might want to rethink that. With the right tips, you can accomplish your goal in a few days with great success.

Here it is what you need on how to start a chicken coop:

1) Plan the inside before you start building: First of all, plan before building. Many people skip the planning process and when they are almost done, they realize that they have built too small because of all the additional parts that need to go inside.

When you start adding the feeders, perches, water dispensers and so on will take you away your free space (in case you did not calculate it properly) and will make your chickens feel crowded. To avoid this issue, make a blueprint first and then proceed to build according to your plans.

2) Give light to your chickens: Make sure that the windows are properly placed so that they can receive enough total light with enough windows and the windows are not placed too low so that the sunshine does not hit them straight because it will make them feel uncomfortable.

3) Always build larger than you think you would need: When you are wondering how to start a chicken coop, it is quite common to reduce spaces and build smaller than you think you would need. Size is a very important issue to take into consideration when you build a chicken coop. If you are not really sure on how many chickens you will keep there, it is going to be smarter to build slightly larger. At any time you can add one or two more chickens

It is quite frustrating to build a chicken coop the perfect size and then you find out that you will need more space for chickens. You would have to add an extension to that place and it will be time consuming.

By following this three simple steps it will help you build faster and more accurate to have happy and safe chickens as well as nice eggs. By breaking down your building plan into manageable steps it really can become something that you can handle over the course of a weekend even if you do not know how to start a chicken coop.

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Guidelines For Choosing Chicken Coop Size

Aug 25

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The size of the chicken coop and the run that you build will determine the number and size of the chickens you are able to purchase.

One thing that has to be understood is that chickens come in 2 sizes: bantam and standards. Each size has different space requirements. As a general guideline to use per bird is a minimum of 4 sq. ft for standards and a minimum of 3 sq. ft. for Bantams.

This is only a loose guideline but keep in mind that an overcrowded chicken tend to get stressed. This can lead deaths among your birds.

There is also going to have to be access for people so regular maintenance can be done such as cleaning, feeding, changing of water and collecting of eggs.

Some other things to keep in mind when building a coop are:

Nesting boxes-Hens can be selective about where they nest to lay eggs and usually look for a secluded place to do it. Chickens will often choose a favorite nesting box. A good size for a nesting box is 1′x1′x1′.

Roosts-Chickens natural instinct is to nest up high to keep away from predators.they require One square foot of roosting space for each.

Food and water- these should always be available all the time. The waterers and feeders should be located away from the roosts and up off the floor to keep feces out of their feed and waterers.

TO be healthy and happy Chickens need access to a run or outdoor pen as part of the coop. Chickens need space to scratch around looking for food. Just like the coop, chickens require a minimal amount of space per chicken. A general guideline for space is 10 sq. ft for Standard Size Chickens and 8 sq. ft Bantams Size Chickens.another alternative is to let the chickens run free in the yard. Chickens will stay close to their pen so there is little risk of them running away.

Placement of the coop should be another consideration. The area that you put the coop and run should be on high ground. the coop should also be out of the wind and protected from the weather. Additionally the location of the coop should be out of direct sun as chickens do not like direct sunlight.

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Planning a Large Chicken Coop – Top Things to Plan For

Aug 25

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Chicken coop plans come in all styles and sizes. Small chicken coops are generally for the backyard enthusiast who wants to raise 3-8 birds or so. If your plan is to raise more than 6 birds then plan to be looking at larger chicken coop plans. As a general rule 4 sq. ft per bird should be used for standard size birds and 3 sq. ft per bird for bantams. This will give a rough estimate of the size of the chicken coop plans that should be considered. As an example 6 standard size chickens would requires 24 sq. ft of coop space minimum.

The above estimate would work perfectly if chickens were all that went into a coop – but there are other things that need to be considered:

Nesting boxes- Nesting boxes can be made to either sit inside the coop on the floor or attached the wall. They can also be made to hang off the back or front of the coop on the inside. A good size for a nesting box is 1′x1′x1′. One nesting box for every four hens is required.

Roosts-Chickens’ natural instinct is to nest up high, away from predators. One square foot of roosting space for each chicken should be adequate..

Food and water- Floor space is required for food and water. Both waterers and feeders should be away from the roosts and up off the floor, as chickens tend to scratch for feed and will otherwise scratch floor shavings and feces into their feeders and waterers.

The last thing that needs to be factored in is an outdoor run for the chickens. Chickens need space, like any living creature, and have the natural instinct to scratch around looking for food. Just like the inside of the coop, chickens need a certain amount of room. A good rule of thumb to use for a chicken run is 10 sq. ft for standard chickens and 8 sq. ft for bantams. This needs to be a fenced area so that the chickens will be protected against predators.

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Building a Chicken Coop – What Not to Do!

Aug 24

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Building a Chicken Coop can take a lot of time and investment, so you will want to make sure that you do it right the first time. If not constructed properly with the right materials and design your chicken coop will not last and your chickens will not remain healthy and productive.

The four key things you should NOT do when building a hen house are:

Not planning before you start building – Planning your chicken coop is the most important step you should do. I am a great believer in spending 80% of your time planning and the remaining 20% actually doing. When planning your chicken coop, you will need to establish exactly how many chickens you wish to keep so that you build a coop that is big enough to house all your chickens. If it’s too small, then your chickens will peck and antagonize each other.

Planning also involves ensuring you are building your coop in the right location. A badly positioned location can mean your chickens get insufficient light or the coop is placed in a location that is subject to flooding. Try to build where you get maximum sunlight as a damp coop is unhealthy for chickens.

Additionally, planning also entails the type of design that is most appropriate for the location and climate you are in. For e.g if your area is subject to flooding you will want to make sure you build your coop off the ground.

Not providing sufficient ventilation – Chickens need good ventilation to remain healthy and productive. Ventilation should be placed near the top of the coop so that as fresh air comes in, it will warm up and rise to the top of the coop and be removed through the ventilators. A chicken coop should not be drafty so be careful not to confuse ventilation with draft. So makes sure the windows and doors can shut properly without letting a draft in.

Not providing sufficient protection – Chickens need to be protected from the weather as well as predators. If your chicken coop is not built to withstand heavy weather such as high winds, heavy rain or snow then you will be putting your chicken’s lives at risk. Additionally, the coop must be built to protect chickens from pests in your area.

Keep the coop away from bushes, and where you can bury chicken wire under the chicken run to keep out animals that may try to dig under the coop.

Positioning feeders and waterers incorrectly – Chickens need fresh water and food and if these are not positioned correctly, they can easily get dirt and poop in their feed trays. Make sure these are positioned at around the height of the chicken’s back as this will ensure they can’t climb in and make a mess. Automatic waterers will also ensure you have a good clean water supply for your chickens as well.

Keep these things in mind before building a coop to avoid making costly mistakes!

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Chicken Coop Nesting Boxes – What You Will Need to Know

Aug 24

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This habit is becoming common these days among a big quantity of people. Choosing large space encourages in building larger and a lot more comfortable coops with more creativity and can also be expanded in future.Selecting appropriate spot to develop coop shows broad mind of owners. Picking correct location to construct coop in the space of backyard is vital. The design in a coop is based on quantity of chickens or hens being kept in the enclosure.

Have to have FOR HOMEMADE CHICKEN COOP:

The best option for folks who are fond of raising chickens or hens in their backyard. According to the climatic conditions certain breeds are chosen.

Just before starting plans are needed for each and each and every task. Since they rather show much more love on individual who feeds with love in return.

These homemade coops are built with easy resources which are obtainable easily at house itself. Nonetheless some attractive styles are offered for designing a tiny coop. There are various kinds of styles offered according to the size of coop.

Raw materials and tools which are required for creating a coop are present at household itself simply. On the other hand a lot of totally free chicken coop plans are offered, so folks can make use of such free plans whilst constructing coop. Making one coop at home avoids large expenses and saves cash.

HOW TO Develop CHICKEN COOPS:

Very first and foremost, choosing the variety of chickens perfectly according to the owner’s lifestyle and taste is necessary. If a single has a plan of rearing chickens at house then having a coop to store them is required. Having a sketch of your coop is beneficial in the planning stage.

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Making a Chicken House – The Interior

Aug 24

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For the beginner, there are great chicken coop plans that you can follow for making a chicken house. Yes, you can purchase ready make ones, but you will find that by building one yourself, you will get a more satisfactory house and at lower cost. Plus, by having one planned out for you, versus you doing the planning, is that all the requirements of a good chicken coop will already be incorporated into the plans.

Here are a few things to think about when making a chicken house.

Location of the Chicken House

If a new house is to be built it should be located if possible on high or sloping ground and always on dry and well-drained soil. Wet or damp ground means a damp house and a damp house not only means a cold one but invites sickness and diseases. Never build a house in a hollow, as water and cold air settle in low places and should be avoided. Have the house face the south, as it gives more sunlight and for a longer part of the day, especially in winter, when sunlight is necessary for the comfort of the birds. It also makes the house warmer, drier, and more cheerful and adds to the productiveness of the flock.

Chicken House Floor Space

The chicken coop should be convenient, substantial, and inexpensive. Its size or dimensions depend largely upon where you live and the number of fowls you wish to keep. On a farm or where the birds can be outside nearly every day in the year, about 2 1/2 square feet of floor space per bird in flocks of 20 is enough, but in a town or city or in a climate where there is a good deal of snow, making it necessary to confine the birds closely, 4 or 5 square feet per bird should be allowed.

Planning the Floors of Your Chicken House

Chicken coops may be built with or without floors. In either case they should be dry, as damp floors make damp litter, and dampness is fatal to both fowls and chicks. If the house is on dry sandy soil, a dirt floor is usually fine, but it is usually more damp than board or cement floors. Dirt floors should be scraped down to the clean soil and fresh gravel or sand put in once a year to keep them sanitary. If board floors are used they should be both tight and smooth so as to make them dry and easy to clean. If possible they should be 8 or 10 inches from the ground to allow a circulation of air and to prevent rats from harboring under them.

Cement floors, especially for large houses, are great too because they keep rats out and also last much longer than board floors. They are also sanitary and easy to clean. A cement floor should always be kept well covered with litter because they can be cold and uncomfortable for the birds.

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