If you want to get your hands on a completely free chicken coop, keep an eye out in your local paper. If you want to take a proactive approach to getting a cheap chicken coop, why not build one? This article provides you with all the info you need about building a chicken coop.
Size And Position
Depending on how many chickens you want to keep, size is very important. Without adequate running space, chickens may become stressed and stop laying eggs.
There are 3 main size options:
– Small, three-sided prism shape (1-4 chickens)
– Medium, box-shaped coop (5-9 chickens)
– Large, premium sized coop with addon chicken run (10+ chickens)
As for positioning, chickens are quite sensitive to things like light. As long as the coop gets good sunlight in the early hours, your chickens should lay at an optimal rate. If not, they may get stressed and confused, leading to a significantly reduced output.
Security Precautions
Believe it or not, poultry theft is still a big problem in some parts of the world. Depending on your location, you might want to padlock the gate to your coop. Also be sure to protect your birds from predators like foxes and snakes. Consider digging some wire mesh into the ground to prevent animals from burrowing under.
Detailed Chicken Coop Building Plans
For a practically free chicken coop, building your own is very cost effective. High quality plans will provide you with multiple designs for small, medium and large coops, and also detail which are the best materials for flooring, nests, etc..