About Building A Poultry House, Here’s What You Need To Know Building A Poultry House can be a great investment for most homesteaders. The chickens are a great source of fresh eggs and fertilizer and help with pest control.
Building A Poultry House can provide a sustainable source of protein but requires some time and money to start. By following the guidelines below, you should have no problem starting your home poultry house.
How To Building A Poultry House?
❑ Planning Your Poultry House
Before you can start Building A Poultry House, you will need to decide what type and size of the poultry house are right for your family.
If you already have chickens, you will know how many are in your flock. Whether it be one bird or ten birds, there are various options available to the homesteader.
To determine how many square feet your coop should have, take the number of chickens and multiply it by .45 and .65 (for smaller and larger birds, respectively).
For example, a 5 x 6 coop would need to be 30 square feet, whereas a 12 x 12 coop would need to be 120 square feet.
❑ Starting The Right Way By Building The Walls Right
The walls of your poultry house are extremely important. The correct amount of insulation is required to ensure the chickens don’t get too hot, but they must also be high enough to stay dry.
For example, a 30-square-foot coop with walls made from half-inch material would need at least a 12-inch high wall to stay dry. A chicken house must be built for the chickens and should meet their needs. The dimensions of the coop should be engineered for the size of your flock.
For example, a 5 x 6 coop needs about 12 feet between each hen. With this knowledge, you can now build your walls.
The Best 10 Equipment For Build A Poultry House
1. The first thing you will need is a square foot level. This is used to check the flatness of your walls by comparing the levels along the bottom of your walls. Remember that each chicken house can be different, so you may have to modify some measurements if it’s not straight enough.
2. You will need a circular saw for cutting window openings in the foundation and for cutting holes for the water system, roost, feeders, and nesting boxes.
3. A hammer, wood screws, a chisel, and nails are used to secure the studs and bottom plate.
4. A handsaw or a table saw is needed to cut out the openings for doorways, windows, ventilation screens, and nest boxes.
5. Nails and screws are needed to fasten the window screen around potential openings and cracks in your poultry house walls.
6. A drill and a power saw are used to fasten the roof rafters in place.
7. The floor of your chicken house must be planked or framed. The wood should be at least 12 inches wide, and the minimum depth of a 3/4 inch plank is determined by how many coop feet you want across a wall.
8. The siding for the poultry house should be nailed to the studs using hinges. Several options for the siding material are available, such as vinyl and metal sheets, plywood, and sheets of corrugated galvanized steel. The ultimate choice depends on personal preference, your budget, and how long you want it to last.
How To Save Money?
Building A Poultry House
Building A Poultry House costs can be reduced by ensuring all corners are square. The steel studs used must be able to withstand high winds and snow loads.
This will help to keep the house standing strong in any weather. The siding should have proper ventilation built into it so that there are many ways for the inside to stay dry.
Adding wire mesh to the siding is also an option that keeps chickens from scratching through it while allowing water vapor and heat to escape.
Choose A Good Place
Your location will influence how much time you need to devote to building a poultry house. If you are building in already cleared land, you will have to consider the best place to build your coop.
This could be right on the raised bed of your garden or simply beside a windbreak. The location should also be under the shade of trees or shrubs that protect cold and snow loads from the winter months.
Determine The Type
The type of poultry house you choose depends on the size of chicken you raise and how much space they require. You may even want to construct two-unit coops so each flock can be housed together.
There are also different coop designs, such as the mixed poultry house, the intensive poultry house, the pen-and-breast house, and the broiler house.
Required Facilities
The chicken coop size will ultimately determine how many birds you want to house. This will also affect how much space you need to dedicate to it.
Also, the larger your coop, the fewer birds you can house. This is because bigger coops need more square feet to house them. It is best to have one of each size flock to be housed together in a mixed poultry house.
Feeding Troughs
Feeding troughs are among the most important components of your poultry house. These contain the food and water supply for your birds, so they will be spending a lot of time hanging around.
The best feeding troughs are open at the top so they can be filled easily. They should also have a lip to keep the feed and water from spilling outside of it.
Roost Bars
Chickens use the roost bars to sleep on. They are usually placed in the roosting area of the poultry house, so the chickens can rest upon them when they feel like it.
The roost bars should be comfortable enough for the chickens to sleep on and should be ridged so they can sit or stand on them.
Nesting Boxes
Birds use nesting boxes to lay eggs. These are typically placed in the nesting area of a poultry house. They should be easy to clean and at the right height for the birds to access them. There should also be a ramp so they can access the eggs without walking up or down stairs.
Watering Troughs
Chickens use the watering troughs for drinking from when it rains, so they will need places that are both large and high enough for them. Chickens also need places for bathing, so you will have to ensure at least one of each bathtub size in your coop.
Drinking Troughs
The drinking troughs in your poultry house will contain clean water for your birds to drink. These must be large enough to keep the water from spilling out and have a lip around the edge to keep dirt and mud from getting in it.
An example of this would be setting up an automatic watering system.
Dust Bath Troughs
Chickens need a place in which they can take dust baths. This is used so that they can rid themselves of parasites such as mites, fleas, and lice.
Lighting
Building A Poultry House Lighting is used so your chickens can see inside the coop at night. The best type of light source used in a chicken coop is fluorescent lights which are not too bright and hang above a roosting area.
Conclusion
Building A Poultry House Poultry houses can be made to look as nice as possible by simply adding paint, siding, and windows.
They can be built by someone who has never built one before or custom-made by a professional builder. The coop you choose depends on how much room you have, how many chickens you want to house, and what the weather is like in your area.
