46 Ideas to Help Build The Best Chicken Coop

Chicken Coop Checklist THE 46 "Wish l'd Built It That Way The Ist Time Ideas For Your Next Chicken Coop 01 How Much SPACE Do Your Chickens NEED If chickens only sleep in coop ond have large foroge yordı or poddocka you can go umaller le square p/bird (1.5 quore feet per oduft chickon f only ving in their 3-5-opond na un (10. square feet por adult chicken in their run 02 HATE Cleaning Chicken Po0 Consider A 'DEEP LITTER' Strategy Deep litter only needs cleaning once a year O The bedding is turned into nutrient rich compost. Your coop wan't small if you regularly add dry material bigh in carbon like fall leaves Managing a deep litter bed is ideally done by Digging a 12 inch deep open earth flor/pit for the bedding O If you smell poop, odding leaves or straw will make the smell go away. Deep Litter is healthier for chicks: a A cement foundation around the perimeter of your chicken coop with an open earth loor in the middle, prevents digging in from predators and won't rot. Chicks raised on clean liter study had 19% mortality rote 6 Chicks raised on deep liter (uncleaned litter previously used by more than 2 brcods) had a 7% mortality rate O Roofing flashing 18-24 inches deep can be placed around coop perimeter to prevent digging if not using concrete. www.plamondon.com/loq deep litur henl If You Do NOT Want 03 To Use The DEEP LITTER METHOD Build caop so an entire wall falds down into ramp for easier sweeging/cleaning Apply "Sweet POZ" powder for ador contral Consider linoleum tlaors & poop bards for easier sweeping O Makes a ramp for a wheel barrow, Use removable pee baards O Lots of pooping hoppens at night, so place poop boards under roosts. Remember you can dump this poo into a compost heap. Don't use wire mesh for poa to fall through! poo sticks to it. e 4 hardware cloth for botom of nesting boxes works better then wood or wire mesh and is easier to replace as it disintegrates. 6 Consider making your own removable nesting box liners with Tupperware for easier cleaning. CONSTRUCTION 04 CONSIDERATIONS Maximize airflow for ader, moid & disease control: O Adult chickens do not need a heated coop even through a new England winter. 6 Windows that open (but with screens to protect from predators). O Consider a screen door optian ta maximize airflow O Ploce windows so lots of light enters the coop. l O If screen door opens inward, make sure liter build up won' impede door G Dulch doors (allows you to toss in feed without your chickens escoping). O Koeps dogs from aneoking in while you feed too. O The lop of a Dutch door can be left open to improve airflow. e Exterior occess to nesting boxes (So you don't have chickens always escaping when you go inside for eggs) Roests: O Don't permanently mount your roosts, instead consider drop In style roosts (for easier removal and cleaning) 6 Stogger your roosts, so the birds on the bottom don't poop one each other Build exterior storage for fond bins, shovels & equipment Rodent proof your feed bins using metal bhins & lids Wire your coop for electricity with electric sockets inside so you can have: O Electrically powered water heater O Auto door openers/ closers (solar is also an option) O Heat lamps for keeping baby chicks warm Coop door - Coop door • Priedators outomatically closes at night can't get in stays open in day Consider adding multiple rooms: O Gives you the ability to seporate broody hens, injured birds, chicks from rest of flock in separate room. Consider installing hanging doors that hang on the wall when not needed 6 If your hens see blood they'l peck at it, so ir's nice to have a ploce to seporate an injured hen while she recovers, roosters too. 05 Consider Living Room For RABBITS O You might want to consider leaving wall space for robbit huiches like Joel Salatinand his Raken House (rubbit coges on walls above loor. Robbits poop into floor, chickens break down the rabbit manure into compost. Best done using deep liner method Designing Your Chicken's Run, 06 MULCHING YARD Or PADDOCKS Cover small runs with wire or a roof to protect from birds of prey: Pravide places to hide from hawks if they aren't under netting. O Metal roofing on top of 4 cinder blocks will work Take excess organic material Ploce in coop aia hick mukch Let chickens tum into compost Remove compost for your gorden Turn your chicken's nun into a muiching/compost yard by filing with fall leaves, kitchen scraps, grass clippings &ather organic materials: O Build a wheel barrow sized access door for making the dumping large quantities of material like lawn clippings and foll leave seasier. 6 Rain can wash away a lot of the nutrients your chickens have helped you build in their mulching yard. By building a roof over the run you can keep those nutrients in your chickens yard so you'll end up with better compost. Want your chickens to forage for more food? O Place your coop so that it is easy to rotate chickens to different poddocks. O Provide enough spoce so that chickens will have eaten 30% of the greenery over 10 days before being rotated. This provides 40 days for each pasture lo recover without being over grazed. 07 Keeping The Water CLEAN Keeping it clean inside the coop O Do this Use watering nipples 6 Not this Keeping it clean outside the coop O Do this Raise water of ground 6 Not this Ploce on dean grass Brought to you by - ChickenChecklists.com ChickenChecklists.com Designed by Info Graphic