Information on Building a Small Chicken Coop

A small chicken coop is the perfect size for housing backyard chickens. Building one yourself is cheaper than buying a prefabricated one. You will need to consider a few items in order to raise chickens successfully. Your chickens need to feel protected in their home and their home should be easy to clean. Light will be needed if you want your chickens to lay eggs year round. You may also want to install automatic dispensers for food and water.

  1. Size

    • Provide enough space for each of your chickens. A small chicken coop will be limited in the number of birds it can hold. Backyard Chickens states each hen should be given roughly 2 to 3 square feet of coop space and 4 to 5 square feet of outside run space. For example, for two birds, you would need to build a 2 x 3 foot chicken coop with a 2 x 5 foot outside run. This would provide each bird with 3 square feet of coop space and 5 square feet of run space.

    Protection

    • Protect your chickens from predators, elements and themselves. The chicken coop needs to be secure enough to not allow any predators in and also strong enough not to let any birds out. Enclose it on all sides with wire netting. Bury this netting underground to prevent digging predators from getting in or out, recommends Demesne. Keeping predators out not only prevents them from eating your birds, but it also helps prevent any diseases the predators are carrying from being transmitted to the chickens.

    Automatic Dispensers

    • Building automatic water and food dispensers into your coop design relieves you from worries about your chickens starving or dehydrating. You could leave them alone for a weekend getaway. Making an automatic food dispenser is not difficult, according to Backyard Chickens. All that is needed is a bucket and a large wooden plate to put the bucket on. Cut holes about two inches wide on the sides of the bucket at the bottom and screw the bucket onto the plate. The feed will fall through the holes as the chickens eat. Building an automatic water dispenser is similar except you would drill a 1/2 inch hole a couple inches from the top of the bucket. Invert this bucket with its lid on into a plastic or metal dish that is more than two inches tall. The water will flow from the drilled holes into the dish as the birds drink from it.

    Ventilation

    • Ensure adequate ventilation is provided. Design enough windows to provide adequate air flow. All windows must have proper netting to keep predators out and chickens in. Proper ventilation helps prevent odors from building up inside the coop and keeps the air quality good. Humidity is maintained as well via good air flow.

    Litter

    • Choose litter that is easy for you to clean and that will help keep odors down. Pine shavings are a good choice as long as ventilation is maintained because it does a good job of controlling odors. Change the litter on a regular weekly basis. Dirty litter can lead to disease. You will want to design your coop in such a way that makes cleaning easier for you. One way you can do this is by building a slide-out litter tray for easy changing of the litter.

    Electricity

    • Include electricity in your plans if you live in areas with inclement weather. Your birds will need to be protected from extreme heat and cold. The short days during winter may cause your hens to stop laying eggs. Providing artificial light can prevent this from happening. You may want to wire your coop for lights and air conditioning