Content
Eggs are a very valuable and healthy product. To breed layers beneficial from different points of view. They produce fresh eggs and are a source of dietary meats. Natural products are always in demand. Meat and eggs can be sold and served in your home.
In order for the chickens to rush well, it is necessary to build a cozy house for them. To build a chicken coop, you will need to draw up an accurate design of the structure. If you follow the instructions, you can do do-it-yourself chicken coop for 10 chickens quickly and without unnecessary worries. Thanks to high-quality photos, you can understand the features of such structures.
Chicken coop dimensions
The dimensions of the hen house are calculated based on the needs of the layers and their need for free space. To correctly determine the size of the structure, it is necessary to take into account:
- The purpose for which chickens are bred. There are some differences when breeding chickens for selling eggs or serving fresh food on your own table every day.
- Number of layers.
- Features of the site on which it is planned to build a chicken coop.
If the family is large, it is better to keep about 20 heads. If you want to turn the breeding of chickens into a profitable business, you should start from 50 to 100 chickens.
The large scale of work in the construction of a chicken coop should not be intimidating. If there is no experience in building outbuildings, you can try to install a small chicken coop. When choosing a place, it is necessary to take into account that over time, the chicken coop will need to be expanded.
Chicken coop drawings
Any construction process begins with drawing a diagram. This stage is very important when building a chicken coop. The drawing should be as accurate as possible. This will allow you to present the end result of your efforts. In addition, a properly drawn chicken coop drawing will help you develop an action plan. To figure out how to build a chicken coop, you should watch the video:
When creating a drawing of a chicken coop, you should not exactly copy existing schemes. You can design a house for chickens yourself, taking into account the characteristics of your site. However, when the construction experience is very small, turning to ready-made drawings helps to figure out many of the intricacies of the construction of a chicken coop. If birds are in tight quarters, they will not feel comfortable, which will affect their productivity.
For example, for 3 chickens, you need to allocate 1 sq. m of space. Drawing an analogy, for 10 birds you need a 2x2 m chicken coop.If the farm has 20 chickens, you should make a 3x3 m chicken coop.
When constructing a poultry house, it must be borne in mind that the bird will live in the house all year round. In winter, chickens are constantly bunched up. In this regard, they will need less space than in summer. In winter, one square meter is enough for 4 birds. This means that ten chickens will need an area of 2.5 square meters. m.
When creating drawings of a chicken coop for 10 chickens with your own hands, you should definitely take into account the place for walking. Aviary dimensions depend on the size of the house. If the chicken coop is 2 m wide, then the walking area should be 2x6 m.
The durability of a winter chicken coop depends on how correctly the materials are selected. The main ones are: hammer, cement, roofing material, beams and boards. In addition, a light will need to be supplied to a chicken coop for 10 chickens. To do this, you will need to buy bulbs and cables.
Determining a place for a chicken coop
When the dimensions of the chicken coop are known, and the materials are selected, construction can begin. First, they choose the place of the future chicken coop. Finding the optimal position is very important, because this is a house for layers. Here they will walk, sleep, and rush. It is important that nothing makes them uncomfortable.
When choosing a place for a chicken coop, you must be guided by the following rules:
- Choose a location that is dry. In high humidity, the health of birds can be compromised.
- It is better that the surface is sloped. This is necessary so that with frequent rains, the water will drain faster.
- It is important to ensure that the place is well lit by the sun.
- It is better if the aviary in which the chickens will walk is located on the south side. Under this condition, the sun's rays will always warm this place.
It is forbidden to install mini chicken coop directly to the ground. The building must have a good foundation. How to build a reliable chicken coop, you can find out from the video:
Choosing a foundation for a chicken coop
There are 2 options most suitable for a chicken coop - strip and columnar foundation. Self-built house drawings usually include a pillar base. It is best suited for lightweight structures. This base has a number of advantages:
- The construction of such a foundation for a chicken coop does not require a long wait until the solution hardens.
- The columnar base is convenient for installation.
- When creating such a base, natural ventilation is created, which protects the chicken coop from rodents.
The construction of a columnar foundation for a chicken coop does not require much effort. To do this, you need to perform the following actions:
- Around the perimeter of the chicken coop, it is necessary to drill holes 1 m deep.Each of them should have a diameter of about 20 cm.
- Then you need to perform the formwork. It is usually constructed from asbestos-cement pipes.
- The pipes are inserted into the pit.
- Before pouring concrete, reinforcement bars must be placed in the formwork. They must be threaded.
- After the concrete hardens, the support bar is attached to the base.
Walls and floor
From the photos of finished structures and drawings, you can find out that the chicken coop is being erected on a columnar foundation of a frame type. A feature of such a building is the simplicity and high speed of construction. The device of the chicken coop is quite simple, so its work will not take much time.
During the creation of a chicken coop, the home master goes through several stages of work:
- It is necessary to take bars with a section of 70x70.
- When creating the frame, the vertical posts are nailed to the support beams.
- Horizontal beams are added to the resulting structure, on which the floor and roof are mounted.
When performing such work, it is important to monitor the accuracy of the dimensions. For example, for a house with 20 chickens, it is necessary to calculate the height of the walls if the roof is pitched. Dimensions are selected based on the dimensions of the building. A distance of at least 35 cm must be made between the ground and the floor.
Care must be taken to create a window, as well as doors. One of them is intended for the owner of the site, and the second is for the chickens to go out for a walk. Nests should not always be installed in the house. A convenient option when the nests are attached to the chicken house (as in the photo below). Several doors and a lifting cover can be made on them. This will make the nests easier to clean.
Warming
In addition, in the process of building walls, it must be remembered that the temperature inside the hen house should be comfortable for the chickens. Consideration must be given to whether the house will be built for year-round maintenance or whether it will be a seasonal building.In the case of the construction of a winter chicken coop, after sheathing the building with boards from the outside, care should be taken to ensure proper thermal insulation.
When creating a chicken coop with your own hands, it is better to use ready-made photos, drawings and instructions. This will simplify the task. With the proper creation of a poultry house, thermal insulation is provided in it. The material for it can be:
- mineral wool;
- ecowool;
- Styrofoam.
When the insulation is laid, the walls are sewn up with boards from the inside.
However, the lining of the insulation is not enough to create the most favorable living conditions for the birds in winter. Therefore, when building a winter chicken coop for 10 chickens with your own hands, you need to create a special heating system. Thanks to this solution, a certain temperature will always be maintained in the hen house.
Creating the floor and roof
To create the necessary living conditions for the chickens, you will need to perform a double floor. Thanks to him, additional hen house insulation... Such a floor is easy to build. Boards from a bar are hemmed from below, insulation is laid on them, and from above everything is sewn up with finishing boards (as in the photo).
Many chicken coops are made without such a floor. Straw or sawdust is used for insulation. If these materials are laid in a thick layer, it will be an excellent thermal insulator. It is better if a log or a bar is chosen as a material for creating a chicken coop. They are great for poultry houses.
The easiest way is to make a single-pitched roof. To build it, you will need to maintain a distance between the bars of half a meter. Roofing material is used for waterproofing.
To create an additional layer of insulation, the roof can be sheathed from the inside with chipboard panels. Slate, reed or corrugated board are used for the outer coating.
Internal arrangement
Chicken coop (both summer and winter option) should be done as accurately as possible, both outside and inside. Housekeeping is time consuming. There are a few tips to follow:
- Ventilation must be present in the chicken coop. There must be a supply of fresh air in the house. For the construction of ventilation, it is necessary to install 2 pipes: one for supply, the other for output.
- In order for sunlight to enter the room, it is necessary to make the windows of the optimal size.
- Chickens need a roost. The diameter of the poles should be about 3-4 cm.It is better to make a distance of 35 cm between the poles.
- You can use materials at hand to create nests. These include boxes and boxes.
Having performed simple calculations, you can decide how many and how long the poles should be made.
Even during construction, you need to think about the place where the birds will feed. It is necessary to make it as convenient as possible for layers. The length of the feeder is calculated based on the number of birds. For example, one chicken should be about 15 cm. If possible, it is better to provide a margin of length.
Additional feeders should be made in the form of boxes. They are located 15 cm above the floor. There should always be small and gravel in them. Such materials are needed for every hen to form eggs.
Another useful design would be a dust bath. They can be arranged very simply. To do this, you need to prepare containers and fill them with sand, ash. Chickens, when bathing in such baths, improve the quality of their plumage. In addition, it allows you to eliminate pests that live on the bird. To figure out how to build a chicken coop for 10 chickens, you should decide on the features of its design and device.
The final stage
After the construction is completed, the finishing should be carried out.Such work is in the smallest detail, however, it is very important to create a comfortable environment for the layers. Thanks to them, the chicken coop will be as functional as possible, and the site will acquire another attractive element.
There are several guidelines for finishing:
- After the construction of the house is completed, the aviary must be covered with a net. The roof need not be closed during the rain, the chickens will go into the chicken coop.
- It is convenient if the front door will be combined with a manhole. A separate hole is made for it in the door structure. You can cut it into the wall. The main requirement is to comply with the required dimensions. The manhole should measure 35x35 cm.
- To form an approach to the manhole, it is necessary to nail a board upholstered with horizontal slats to it.
- An approach should be created for the perch as well. This will allow young hens to climb comfortably on the perches.
- To increase the egg production of chickens, it is necessary to extend the daylight hours to layers. To do this, in the autumn and spring periods, you should light a light bulb in the mornings and evenings. To do this, you will need to supply electricity to the chicken coop. You need to prepare the cable. In order not to drill an additional hole, you should route the cable through the ventilation.
You can protect wood from decay using a special compound. Outside, the structure is painted, and inside it is treated with quicklime. This will help eliminate the risk of parasites.
