Building Chicken Coops - How to Provide Safety

Building chicken coops is not a difficult task if you plan well and understand some basic concepts

. You want to protect your chickens from predators and the elements, plan for ease of cleaning, and have access to the livestock and their eggs.

Do not use treated' lumber

Lumber that has been treated to prevent rot and bug destruction has been exposed to arsenic. This is a deadly poison that should never be used for animal pens. Chickens can peck at it and ingest particles. They can also scratch at it and ingest the loosened particles. Even if they don't get enough intake to kill them it can wind up in their eggs.

You can use untreated lumber and paint the outside of the henhouse with a good grade of paint to protect it.

Use care if you decide to get old cans of paint from a salvage company. Make certain it doesn't contain lead.

Chicken Wire Not for Chickens

If you are a new to keeping chickens you may not know how fragile chicken wire is. Any medium sized dog can easily tear holes in it and relieve you of your chickens. So can raccoons, foxes, opossums, skunks, and a variety of other predators.

Use a heavier gauge wire mesh for the outside area of your henhouse. You can use the less expensive chicken wire on the bottom of the cage. Many times folks have found that predators give up once they dig under the cage just to find another barrier. If you don't have a bottom on the run you will have animals dig under and get in. If they can't get back out you may have a surprise waiting when you go out to open the henhouse in the morning.

You will need a top on the exercise run even if your chickens can't fly. Predatory birds will swoop in and carry your best layer off for lunch. Chicken wire works well for this if your chicken coop is too tall for other animals to jump on top of. It glints in the sun and birds of prey will stay away from it.

Security

Bar and padlock your coops doors. A piece of lumber that slides across the door is easily opened by a large raccoon. You will need to attach a hasp and a padlock for your chickens to be really secure. Nothing is worse than having to come out in the morning and clean up pieces of your beautiful chickens that the local wildlife feasted on in the night.

And beware, if they get a meal one time they will be back.

Chicken Tractors

A Tractor in this sense of the word is a small chicken coop on wheels. They are a great innovation for a small flock. You move it to a new area every day and you don't get bald spots in your yard. The chickens have a fresh patch of grass each day with new bugs to hunt. This also allows you to control the amount of time they spend in the sun if it is hot weather.

Options

There are a lot of companies on and offline that will sell you a ready made chicken coup. They are very over priced and not usually very sturdy. Protection from predators is negligible with these units and they are very small.

There are also a lot of chicken coop plans and advice online, and many plans are free. You can use colors and a style that will compliment your home and landscape. And best of all, building your own chicken coop is quite satisfying.

Building Chicken Coops - How to Provide Safety

By: Paul Cernay

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