subject: A Chicken Cage? No You Want A Chicken Coop! [print this page] Someone said a chicken cage, but if you are like a bunch of folks I know--the ones who have decided to raise some backyard chickens. You will be looking to put in a backyard chicken coop to house and protect your flock, not a chicken cage.
A chicken cage is how factory farms treat their egg-layers, all crowed together with no space to move around. Their beaks painfully clipped to keep them from pecking at each other--stacked one on top of another to maintain the profit levelsa rather bleak existence.
I don't believe you are trying to duplicate that. No, because you want access to healthy untainted eggs, you probably are looking for information about how to build a backyard coop.
Assembling a backyard hen-house, to create a home for your flock is quite simple and straightforward if you get a good set of plans to work from. By good set of plans--I mean plans that take you from---choosing the location, to the construction, the features, and the maintenance of the finished coop in one continuous format.
How important is this? It is real important to the chickens so it needs to be important to you.
Chickens have small brains with not much in the way of thinking ability, but they also possess powerful instinctual needs. Make a backyard coop that covers those needs properly and your birds will thrive and provide all the benefits you hoped for. Misunderstand or ignore those needs and you will almost certainly face problems on an ongoing basis.
A well laid out set of plans will allow you to consider and approach each of those issues on a step by step basis that will make building your backyard coop a resounding success.
See, building a backyard coop isn't the same as building a garden shed or doghouse. It is more complex than that. Ohit's not so complex you need to sign up for night-school courses to get the job done, but there are issues you must keep in mind to build the coop correctly.
Going through and following a good set of coop building plans will make all the difference in your project.
How do you start? By ensuring you know what the chickens require for safety, growth and happiness.
To end start your project at he start. Once you have made the decision to raise chickens in your backyard (and assuming your municipality allows that). Start with a good set of plans; complete the chicken cage before getting your chickens.
