Cottage is a great place to relax, but it is also a great reason to change activities. It is not in vain that the arrangement of a summer residence and the cultivation of ornamental and horticultural plants are becoming a popular activity for citizens. However, today those who are going to build a chicken coop in the country with their own hands do not surprise anyone. Moreover, zealous owners choose solid buildings. If you build a house a little larger than a doghouse, the birds will get sick or eat up feeds to no avail. Such desirable ecologically clean eggs from them then should not be expected. Let's find out the secrets of a solid construction.
Choosing a place for future construction
To figure out how to make a cost-effective chicken coop, you need to allocate space for construction. The design of the house can largely depend on the location of the house. There are basic principles that should be followed when making a choice:
- Location. The house needs to be placed on a hill, because it will be more difficult to walk in the lowlands of the birds: it is in such places that the moisture does not dry out longer, and snow melts late.
- Orientation of the building. The chicken coop should be correctly oriented to the cardinal points. The rectangular building is located along the length from east to west. Ideal placement of the house will be when its windows face south and the door east. The windows should get as much light as possible during the day. The temporary duration of daylight significantly affects the laying of chickens. However, in the heat of the window should be shaded.
- Temperature. For chickens, too high and too low temperatures are negative. Already at +25 ° C, the productivity of the bird will decrease by half, and if the temperature rises another 5 degrees, the hens will cease to rush at all. In case of heat, the windows of the chicken coop must be equipped with plywood shutters. In winter, the optimum temperature is +12 C °.
- Peace. Hens should feel relaxed, so for the chicken coop you need to choose a place away from outdoor areas. Protecting the chicken coop with hedges is a good idea.
- Area. The place should be selected taking into account the dimensions of the future structure. On 1 m2 the premises of the chicken coop should be no more than two hens. If hens live in the chicken coop in the winter, it is necessary to provide a vestibule as an element of warming the chicken coop so that cold air does not directly penetrate the birds. For the vestibule, you also need to take a place in the construction plan.
Experts recommend choosing a place with a supply of floor space in case luck in breeding chickens encourages owners to create, for example, a quail farm. After all, such a farm is an excellent source of not even extra income, but full income.
The chicken coop is often called a wrecked shed, but if you take a businesslike look at this building, you can make it much more attractive, then it will be easier to find a place for it
To be healthy, chickens must have a place for walking, so such a chicken coop with a vestibule is a well-deserved success.
What should we build a house for chickens?
We agree in advance that we choose a four-edged beam 100x150 mm as the material for the construction of our chicken coop. This is a low-budget option and the construction of such material does not require professional dexterity.
Stage # 1 - selection and construction of the foundation
Choose the size of the upcoming construction. It is better to draw a project so that you can accurately determine the need for materials. From the approximate weight of the chicken coop, we will proceed, determining the foundation.
The chicken coop on the columnar foundation looks very protected, neat and compact, despite the fact that everything necessary is provided for in it
The best option for a relatively light chicken coop can be considered a columnar foundation. Why?
- Economic benefit. Old brick bollards will be very cheap, and, if desired, you can even do with an ordinary stone. Cement, sand, gravel and trowel - these are the main costs for such a foundation.
- Protection. It will be difficult for rats and ferrets to enter the room, and ventilation under the surface of the floor can prevent wood decay.
We will lay out the foundation using a thin but strong rope and metal rods. In full accordance with the project, along the perimeter of the building we hammer the rods. We fit them with a rope, placing it near the surface of the earth. We check the accuracy of the markup made by measuring the diagonal distance with an ordinary tape measure.
We carefully remove the fertile soil layer of 15-20 cm inside the layout: it is useful in the garden. Now at the corners of the building and along its perimeter we will make curbstones. The distance between them should be 0.8-1 m. The swarm of the pit is 60-70 cm deep and 50 cm wide (for two bricks). Using a hydraulic level and ropes, mark 20-25 cm above the ground - a guideline for the construction of pedestals.
The column foundation is most appropriate for the construction of the chicken coop, as it is economically viable and the construction on it will be protected from rot and predators
Pour sand and medium-gravel 10 cm thick at the bottom of the pit. Lay the first two bricks at the bottom of the pit, put a cement mortar mixed at a rate of 1: 3 on them. The next two bricks are placed across the previous ones. So the curbstone should be laid out to the level that is marked with ropes. Cement mortar will help level the cabinet exactly to the level.
In construction, a technological break occurs of 5-7 days, so that the solution has the opportunity to seize. After this, the finished columns need to be treated with special protective mastic or simple bitumen. Large gravel should be poured between the pedestals and the ground. They also cover the surface inside the perimeter of the building.
Stage # 2 - construction of the walls of the building
For the process of laying the beam, a standard technology has long been developed, which you must adhere to. As an insulator of the first crown from the foundation, you can use a double layer of roofing material. The ends of the timber should be connected in half-wood. As a log for the floor we use a bar 100x150mm, laid on a rib. The optimal distance between the logs is 50 cm. We close the gaps with scraps of timber.
The walls of the building are erected by sequential placement of the beam with its connection at the corners of the building into a keyway of the form "groove-spike"
The second, third and subsequent crowns at the corners are connected by a spike-groove system. As a sealant in the castle joints and between the crowns, flax jute fiber can be used. If the beam from which the chicken coop is being erected has natural humidity, it is better to use wooden pins for a reliable landing of crowns.
Their presence will protect the blockhouse from distortion after shrinkage. Under the pins, you need to make holes in the corners of the building and around the perimeter through a meter or a half. They are made with a depth of 2.5 timber and in a checkerboard pattern. Hammer in the wood should be "flush" about 7 cm. The minimum height of the walls to be erected should be 1.8 m. Next, it is necessary to strengthen the ceiling beams, install the rafters and lay the roof.
Stage # 3 - the ceiling and roof of the chicken coop
You can make the roof of the chicken coop a single-pitched, but the double-pitched design is the choice of visionary people. Food and equipment must be stored somewhere. Why not use a comfortable and dry attic for this purpose?
Of course, the roof of the building is better to make a gable, then the food, and equipment, and even the fruits of mountain ash dried for the winter for chickens will be intact
We strengthen the ceiling beams, lay the ceiling with any boards and insulate it. Expensive roll insulation can be replaced with expanded clay or coal slag. Until the moment of warming, you need to take care of the ventilation of the room. To do this, put together two wooden ventilation ducts. We fix them at the opposite ends of the building. One end of the ventilation channel is flush with the ceiling, and the other about 40 cm below it. Tin flaps on the ventilation pipes will help regulate the temperature in the room.
Stage # 4 - we lay and heat the floor
Freezing and blowing floors should be avoided. Therefore, double floors can be considered the best option. In this case, we will use a board 25 mm thick. The rough floor should be made of dry unedged boards. A vapor barrier is laid out on the boards, and then 100x100mm bars. The gaps between the bars are filled with insulation, after which we lay the final floor already from the edged board.
If any boards can be used for the ceiling, then saving for the floor is only appropriate when laying the subfloor: the finishing should be done from the grooved board
It is recommended to make ventilation products in the floors, which will close tightly during the winter, and in the summer you can install a grille on them.
Equipping the inside of the house
Well, how to build a reliable and warm chicken coop, we figured out, now you need to properly organize the room inside. If we talk about the necessary elements of the internal structure of the chicken coop, then just one of them perches.
When calculating the need for perches, you need to know that each bird will need at least 30 cm of perch. Knowing the number of feathered inhabitants of the chicken coop, we calculate the quantitative need for perches. It is better to make them from a rectangular beam 40x60 mm. The poles must be rounded, otherwise they will injure the birds. Perches should be placed from each other at a distance of 50 cm at a height of 60-80 cm from the floor, but not one above the other. Trays placed under the perch will facilitate the cleaning process of the chicken coop.
Correctly organizing the chicken coop from the inside is no less important than ensuring its competent erection: chickens need perches, drinking bowls, feeders, places for laying hens
Places for laying hens should be located in that part of the chicken coop where hens can feel at rest and safe.
Do not forget that we cost a chicken coop for laying hens, which means that we need to provide them with all the conditions for them to lay eggs. To do this, you can equip for them boxes with sawdust in the place where hens will feel peace and security.
Feeding troughs and drinking bowls should be filled, clean and elevated. Cleanliness and order in the chicken coop can be made easier if the floor is covered with sawdust or straw. The sloping floor also makes cleaning easier. For the winter, the coop can be additionally insulated with mineral wool and polystyrene.
Video examples of work and tips from specialists
About how to build a chicken coop with your own hands in other ways, we suggest watching the following videos.
Video # 1:
