Essential Guidelines For Choosing Chicken Coop Plans

by Mike Klassen
http://www.chickencoopanswers.com

Thinking of building a Chicken Coop and raising some chickens in your backyard. Chickens are among the easiest domestic animals to look after, but having said that there are still some things that need to be considered to give them a good home.

One of the first question that should be answered is how much of your yard should be allocated to housing your chickens. While pondering this keep the phrase "happy chickens equal productive chickens" in mind. 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.

Once the space issue has been worked out, we can then move onto the next thing that must be considered.

So what kind of chickens are best for me? Well this question can be answered by asking another question. Why do you want this chickens? People raise chickens for a variety of reasons: meat, eggs and believe it or not showing. If all you want is a pet and are looking for a bird that is little more docile then your best bet might be to go with a breed like the Silkie or Cochin. If showing chickens 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. If you are looking to raise some meat birds look into Cornish X Rock, Cornish Roasters or even Cornish Game Hens. If all you are after us the 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

Now that some thought has been given the type of breed you might be interested in 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. Is it going to be build or is a pre-build one in the budget. With the coop plans available now on the Internet coops can be build by anyone with common hand tools. A little effort can save you big money in the end.

Now that you are in the right frame of mind it's time to get to the fun part, actually building the coop and raising the flock.

Want to learn more about chicken coop size? visit my website for the essentials of planning your build.

Article submitted Sunday, August 01, 2010 & read 124 times.

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