Monday, December 21, 2009

Best Hen House Plans

With such a large choice of hen house plans out there right now that you may feel overwhelmed in selecting which one can be most applicable for you. This is not surprising as a result of of the very fact that the majority individuals do not understand the method of building a chicken coop or hen house, so to all the hen house plans might even look the same.

They are not the identical but and if you are not selecting the correct hen house arrange, the probabilities that you have success with the building process can be abundant lower.Here's what you would like to grasp in order to decide on the proper arrange for you.

The Range of Chickens You Are Planning To Keep

The primary factor you'll wish to consider is the total range of chickens you plan to keep in your chicken coop. The hen house plans you are trying at should differentiate between little, medium, and large sized plans. Matching the proper size to the full range of chickens you wish to stay can help make certain they're happy in their surroundings are will be laying eggs properly.

If you are not sure precisely how huge you must be building, continually go larger than you think that you'll need. Next, also consider the kind of land that you have got offered to you. Are you going to own to landscape? If so, you may need to make positive you are wanting for hen house plans that provide info on correct landscaping techniques so you'll be able to do this correctly.

Additionally assume regarding how firm the ground is. If it is not very firm in any respect, you will probably need to consider a more solid base structure on top of the land to forestall the walls from shifting over time.

The third issue to consider before you dive right into the building method is that the climate you're located in. If you are obtaining a wide range of weather patterns, you're visiting need to suppose a nice deal more durable about the number and sort of insulation you employ in your chicken coop.

It's important that the hen house plans you are wanting at identify methods that you'll be able to use to help maintain correct temperature over time as a result of if it's either too hot or too cold in the house there is a very high probability that you are visiting run into some problems.

Whether You Wish Your Chicken Coop To Be Mobile. Finally, consider whether or not you would like to build a mobile chicken coop. These are increasingly common among many individuals, especially those who also want to stay their chickens as pets as well.

There are various benefits to a mobile chicken coop therefore it's one thing you ought to give some consideration at least.By taking a while to appear through various hen house plans you'll take a big step towards making sure you're selecting one that best matches your own individual needs.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Hen house plans - Build Your Own


Using a good set of hen house plans can make your building process fun and rewarding. Without a good set of plans you may end up with a pile of scrap wood that your hens may avoid like the plague. The small amount of money you spend on a good set of hen house plans can save you a considerable amount of time and aggravation.

Not all hen house plans are created equal, believe me I have a drawer full of plans I have never used. You want planes that are easy to follow and can be built with common readily available materials. You want to be able to purchase everything you need at your local hardware or home supply store.

Hen houses can be very simple or they can be multi-story hen house cities. Most of all you want your hens to be comfortable and happy. You will want some sort of heating device in cold weather. You will also want to use materials that are lasting and will withstand any type of weather. After all you do not want to build one of these every year.

In general you will want to have at least 2 square feet of space per hen. You'll also want to build nesting boxes inside your hen house. What about insulation and lady to keep your hens of the dark in long winter months ahead. Happy healthy hens will produce more eggs. If you have never had a Farm fresh egg before let me tell you you're really missing out. They are nothing like store-bought eggs.

Not only will your arm fresh eggs be better tasting than a will be organic and better for you. Another bonus is you will have a very good supply of fertilizer you can use in your garden or yard. Here are some other great tips you can use when deciding on which hen house plans would be right for you.


Build Your hen house for Easy Maintenance

When building your hen house who want to take into consideration how easy it is to maintain. Some people do not build their hen houses with ease of maintenance in mind, and suffer the consequences later on. But you can learn from there mistakes, and ensure that your hen house will be easy to clean in the future. One very important feature is to make sure the floor of the hen house is sloped downward toward the main door. When you wash the inside of the hen house, the water will automatically drain outside, instead of puddling in the middle.

Make sure you have Enough Space

Do not skimp on the size of your hen house. Chickens that live in undersized coops resort to abnormal pecking and even cannibalism. You do not want this! As a rule of thumb, you should allocate about 2 - 4 square feet per chicken. So if you have a coop holding 10 chickens, 40 square feet will be ample room for your happy hens to grow, feed, and produce.

Guarding Your hen house From Weather and Predators

It is important that you build your hen house with protection in mind. Both weather and predators can wreak havoc on your coop, so build it with these tips in mind.

Build the hen house on a high area with ample drainage and locate it facing the sun. In the event that it rains, this location will not only ensure that the coop does not get flooded, but that it dries quickly when the sun comes out.

Build your doors with proper strength mesh wire. Believe it or not, this step is one of the most common mistakes people make when building their coop. Without the proper strength, your mesh wire wil succumb to even the smallest of predators, allowing them easy access to your chickens.

So you can see there are quite a few different things to consider when deciding on which hen house plans to use. Using a set of free plans or an outdated set of hen house plans from your local library is not going to do the trick in my opinion. The plans I purchased were well worth the investment and made my building process so much easier. The result was a very professional looking hen house a fraction of the cost of what it would've cost me to buy one premade one or have one built.

Small Hen House Plans

Building a small hen house from plans is not that hard and almost anyone can do it with a few basic tools.. Before you start building your own, you've got to understand the fundamental rules initial and one in every of that is concerning providing enough house for each chicken.

If you are only planning to accommodate 5 chickens or less for a begin then a little coop is ideal. So long as each chicken is provided 3 to 4 sq. foot then you are good to go. Chickens will significantly lay more eggs every week if you provide them with a comfy nook.

If you are coming up with on expanding your flock in the longer term, you're higher off in building a medium-sized coop then however it can still depend how many chickens you have in mind.

If your main purpose for raising hens is egg laying then you need to incorporate more house and nesting boxes in your tiny hen house plans. Although you'll be able to let your chickens eat grass and bugs in your yard, you still would like to make certain they are obtaining proper nutrients by giving them supplemental feed.

Whereas it can be messy to feed them inside the coop, feeding them outside within the yard will entail more work as a result of they need additional protection from the weather. This can be extra tough during the cold times of the year.

Consider cleaning and maintenance when working with small hen house plans. You have got to maximise every in. of space within the coop. Take care in keeping water from damping the bedding as a result of this will be terribly messy and hard to clean.

Hen House Plans - Designing Your Hen House

Using a smart set of hen house plans will not only save you a lot of time and aggravation it will allow you to build a better longer lasting safe home for your hens. Building a house to keep your hens safe and comfy is vital if you plan to keep hens, thus you should start out with a sensible set of hen house plans. Your hens are going to provide you with a fresh supply of eggs and for them to do this they need a house that meets certain criteria. Oh course one of the primary things you should verify is your local laws as to  or not  be able to have a poultry house and where you'll find it one your property.

Your hen house plans ought to give you with detailed instructions for the development of the fundamental structure further as the dimensions. You'll would like a hen house that permits 1.five to two square feet of space for each hen that you are designing to keep. Inside your hen house you will would like to construct a series of nesting boxes for the hens to put their eggs in. Sometimes you would like to have one nesting box for each 4 to five hens.

Included in your hen house plans ought to be data on the sorts of materials that you'll want to make your chicken house. The wall can be made out of any kind of fabric however wood is the foremost common, whether or not you use sheets of wood like plywood or particle board the result is the same.  The roof want to be fairly robust and immune to the weather, a layer of plywood set on rafters makes a good start. Follow this with shingles abundant like those you utilize on your house for most weatherproofing.

A sensible set of hen house plans can conjointly tell you that you should take the time to insulate the inside of your chicken house. While hens are relatively resistant to the cold a very little insulation goes an extended means to helping them keep hotter within the winter. An electrical lightweight is crucial especially within the winter months it provides the extra light-weight they need on short winter days and helps provide a little heat on colder days. Warm hens are a lot happier and will keep you well equipped with eggs throughout the year.