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If you’ve taken an interest in chicken-raising, either as a hobby or a way to acquire eggs and chicken meat without having to buy them from the grocery store, how to house your new birds will be one of the first things you want to tackle. The standard for housing poultry is to build them a comfortable chicken coop to live in. Of course, how you construct it will vary depending on your specific scenario, how many chickens you plan on keeping, what kind of area you live in, and so forth.

Regardless, though, there are some aspects of chicken coop designs that are identical no matter the circumstances.

* Make sure your birds have enough living space. Inside the coop, you’ll want to give them at least 4 square feet each in total area. This means if you have 5 chickens, you need to have at least 20 square feet for them to live comfortably in the coop.

* Make sure you leave room in the plan to attach a chicken run outside the coop itself. Chickens need 10 square feet each to walk around in, otherwise they will feel cramped.

Other than these space concerns, much of what you look for in your chicken coop designs is up to you. You can design the exterior of the coop to look like anything you want, from a victorian house or a greek temple to a functional and minimalist wooden box. One thing you should make sure to keep in mind, though, is that your coop will need to be big enough for you to get inside for cleaning purposes. If you can’t get into it, your job of keeping your chickens healthy and happy will be that much more difficult.

A few other things you want to include, regardless of your chicken coop designs are adequate ventilation and predator protection. There are many animals which prey on poultry, from foxes and hawks to wolves, wild dogs, and even wild cats. With all this to worry about, your birds will feel much safer”and thus, will be much more productive and healthy”if you ensure that their home is solid and hard for wild animals to get into. Use solid wooden walls instead of a wire frame mesh. Of course, you shouldn’t use wood to frame your chicken run; for that job, wire frame mesh is just fine.

Ventilation is important because chickens do not like extremes in temperature regardless of whether it’s too hot or too cold. They prefer cool weather, but if it’s too cold they will get just as unhappy as if it’s too hot. Make sure you include some windows when planning out your chicken coop designs to account for this preference of your birds. A window towards the top is a good idea, because the hot, stale air will go out of it naturally, and you won’t have to worry about installing some kind of mechanical system to circulate air.

Other ideas include adding nesting boxes for your hens to lay eggs in, roosts for them to sleep on, and easy-to-clean bedding boxes for the chicken droppings to fall into. Roosts are especially important, because chickens do not like sleeping on the ground. Regardless of how you make your chicken coop designs, just make sure your chickens have enough room and stay comfortable. They’ll thank you for it.

Prior planning is the most important thing to remember when starting a chicken coop construction project. by planning with precision exactly how many chickens you intend to keep, what you want your coop to be like, and what kind of chickens you want to keep, you cane save time and plenty of money.

A well constructed chicken coop is key to having healthy chickens, so keep in mind that the whole point of the coop is to give your chickens a place to live. Don’t try to cut costs with cheap materials and skimp on the planning stage, happy chickens will lay lots of delicious eggs.

A few top tips for chicken coop construction:

* At least 3-4 square feet per chicken should avoid overcrowding. Enough space inside the coop is very important for your chickens, otherwise you may harm them.

*Likewise, 8-10 square feet per chicken is a good idea for a chicken run. You will want to make sure your chickens have enough room outside their home.

* You will need to collect any eggs your chickens lay and to clean the coop regularly so make sure you include some way for you to get into the chicken coop.

* Keeping unwanted visitors out of your chicken coop is vital, wire of some sort in the construction will make sure predators can’t get in.

Aside from these practical concerns, Chickens are fairly easy to please, you’re free to design your coop in any way you like, and to construct it from any materials you wish. So much of what you decide to do with your coop will be for your own personal convenience. This is why building the coop tall enough for you to easily get in will be a help to you.

Just make sure that any materials you use in your chicken coop construction will stand the test of time, and that you also take into account your local climate. Those in warmer year-round climates may be able to use wire doors or walls, but if you live somewhere that’s cold and wet for part of the year, you want to make sure that you use solid walls and possibly even some insulation to stop your chickens from stressing when it’s cold.

To allow your chickens easy access, you can build a chicken door off the ground with a ramp leading up to it. Building the coop off the ground is an excellent idea, as it will not only stop water from flooding the floor of your coop, but it will keep out snakes and weasels.

Once you’ve planned out everything to a full extent, then you can get started on constructing your coop. Don’t skimp on the materials, because the better quality ones you use, the more sturdy your coop will be. At the same time, don’t be afraid to re-use others’ discards. Local recycling centers can be great places to find cheap quality construction materials.

If you’ve planned out your chicken coop construction before you began, then the actual construction process should be fairly easy and fun. This is why having a good design is so important.