How to make a DIY chicken coop

cEach owner of the cottage will sooner or later have to deal with the construction of buildings for household needs. Especially if he decided to start breeding poultry. In this case, the chicken coop on the plot is simply necessary. The main thing is to remember that only in a properly equipped room you can grow a strong and healthy broiler population.

Content
  1. Where to start building the chicken coop
  2. A tight inconvenient booth or a full house for birds?
  3. Choose the place and area of ​​the future chicken house
  4. Construction of the foundation for the house
  5. Wall, floor and roof arrangement
  6. We lay the walls
  7. We make the roof
  8. Aviary for walking the bird
  9. We create comfort for laying hens

Летний курятник на даче своими руками

Do-it-yourself summer coop at the cottage

In order to stand alone In order to build such a construction with your skillful hands, you need desire, some free time and imagination.Let’s figure out how to build a chicken coop in a country house in which birds live together and multiply productively.

Where to start building a chicken coop

The main thing in any work is to draw up a clear plan of action. Before you build a summer chicken house yourself on your own at the cottage:

  • carefully plan all the stages of work,
  • choose a suitable plot of land,
  • develop a drawing of the building,
  • prepare all the necessary supplies and building materials,
  • proceed with the construction.

In principle, to build a summer coop in the country, especially temporary, you can use any materials that retain heat well. The main thing is to remember: the productivity of chickens largely depends on proper lighting, so you need to try to choose the location of the future building in such a way that as much sunlight as possible gets into its windows throughout the day.

Bird usually starts to spring period, so the easiest option is suitable as a temporary chicken coop. If the plans do not indicate the content of laying hens in the cells , it is necessary to build in advance a summer chicken coop with a walk in the country. To do this, it is enough just to fence a small area adjacent to the structure with a grid, where it is then planned to release the livestock for a walk in the daytime. If the chicken coop in the summer cottage is with a walk, you must immediately take into account the extension area when drawing up the drawing.

A tight uncomfortable booth or a full house for birds?

For most people, the chicken coop on the cottage is a tiny house, outwardly somewhat similar to a cramped doghouse or barn, where a person is very uncomfortable. Such projects take place as temporary ones, but it is extremely undesirable to use them all the time.

Why? If you can always make a large, spacious summer house for broilers with your own hands at the cottage, where it will be convenient not only for chickens, but also for their owner.

Do not forget that such facilities are constantly in need of basic maintenance: cleaning birds from livelihoods, feeding birds and collecting eggs laid by them. This is very problematic in the booth, just look at the photos of such small chicken coops to see this.

In addition, you should never exclude the fact that, deciding to breed a poultry during the summer season , you can be so carried away that you will want to establish round-the-clock production of chicken meat, and you can do this only in a strong, spacious, and most importantly – warm chicken coop . Therefore, it’s not worth spending time, money and effort on building dubious buildings, it’s better to equip a real multifunctional poultry house. , you can provide yourself and your loved ones with useful products for many years.

If there is a small garden house on the plot, you can easily convert it into a chicken coop, if this is not possible, you will have to erect ostroyku from scratch.

Select the location and area of ​​the future coop

Planning Summer chicken coops for broiler chickens, we must remember that one individual must be 1 square.m of free space, therefore, most likely, the farmer will have a choice: either reduce the number of stocks or the number of beds.

Each farmer is forced to look for a way out, but try to find a middle ground. Even if at the moment there are 5-6 hens on the farm, it is not a fact that next year there will be no desire to increase the number of livestock. Often, precisely because amateur poultry farmers are trying to save on space, they are not able to carry out the proper planting of individuals, respectively, productivity is significantly reduced. No need to repeat the mistakes of others, and everything will be fine.

In support of the above, in the video you can observe how much the hens have productivity in the already existing summer chicken coops (it doesn’t matter if they will be temporary or capital), approximately equal in area . As statistics show, in 2 identical rooms, for example, in 15 square meters. m, under the same conditions of keeping, the egg production of a population of 15 chickens is 2 times larger, in that chicken house, where 25 individuals live.

So, we determined the size of the future farm building, drew a drawing, now it’s time to find a suitable place. As an example, we will have our own chicken coop for broilers in a rectangular cottage with an area of ​​15 square meters. m.

The first condition is this: a chicken coop, made with your own hands, must stand on a certain hill.The second – the summer main chicken coop for broilers should be correctly positioned in relation to the cardinal points:

  • long wall – from east to west,
  • windows – to the south,
  • the entrance is to the east.

Having located the room this way you can significantly save on heating and lighting the chicken coop. And if this will not be especially noticeable during the summer period, then in winter the laying of chickens will pleasantly surprise.

It is imperative to equip the house with plywood shutters in order to regulate the intensity of sunlight. In summer, an excess of natural light can lead to overheating of laying hens and a decrease in egg production.

The optimum temperature in the chicken coop is 12 ° C, but if it rises a little, it’s okay. Even if this indicator reaches the mark of 25 ° C, the chickens will continue to rush, however, 2 times less. But 26-30 ° C is already a critical temperature at which egg production completely stops. This must be taken into account when drawing up the capital construction project.

Construction of the foundation for the house

So, the main preparatory moments have been settled, it is time to determine the most preferred material from which a summer coop is being erected:

  • The four-edged timber has an ideal ratio between price and performance.The cost of the material is inexpensive, working with it will not be difficult even for a person who, for the first time in his life, decided to do some kind of construction with his own hands. In other words, the timber is an excellent material for self-construction, and it should be used as the main one.
  • Walls can be sheathed either with plywood or OSB sheets, some farmers even use wall panels and siding for these purposes.
  • Roof cladding is best done with flexible tiles, ondulin sheets or old slate.
  • To trim the corners and perimeter, you will need inch boards, nails and screws. It is advisable to additionally impregnate the wood with fire protection.
  • If the chicken coop is with a range, you need a mesh netting and frame beams to create an enclosure .

The beginning of any major construction is the foundation. Its type can be absolutely any, but many poultry farmers advise choosing columnar. The method is simple, inexpensive and quick-build, in contrast, for example, from rubble or tape. In addition, pests such as rats and other animals will never start under the chicken coop on the tables, and underfloor ventilation will provide reliable prevention of rot on wood.

It’s better to make pillars with your skillful hands from old brick or ordinary stone . These building materials can be purchased for a penny, the main thing is desire.

We begin to create the foundation:

  • You need to start with the markup.Take metal rods and strong twine. Based on their drawings, the rods are driven around the perimeter and the rope is pulled over them so that it almost lies on the ground. In order to verify the accuracy of the marking, using a tape measure you can measure the diagonals and compare the results with your calculations.
  • Remove the fertile soil layer. This is about 20-25 cm. This land will no longer be needed, so you can use it at your own discretion, for example, scatter along the rest of the infield.
  • In each corner and in some places of the perimeter, dig a recess (width sides – 0.5 m, depth – 0.2 m), in order to then place the fundamental pedestals there. The distance between them should not be more than 1 m.
  • They approach the stretched rope and, using the hydraulic level, raise it to a height of 25 cm from the ground. Then, a 10-centimeter layer of sand is poured into all the recesses.
  • They are building thumbs — they stack bricks in rows, fastened together with cement mortar. The last brick should touch the rope. If the height is a little lacking, just lay a small layer of cement mortar on the brick and level it.
  • Leave the foundation to solidify for several days. As soon as the mortar is well set, each cabinet is treated with bitumen or special mastic, which is on the shelves of any hardware store.
  • They take large-sized gravel and fill it with the space formed between the soil and the bollards made of bricks. The same materials cover the entire territory from which the fertile soil layer was removed at the very beginning. Gravel will ensure the safety of bricks and will serve as a kind of drainage.

Walls, floors and roofing

The standard technology should be used for the construction of the premises from the bars.

Scheme of preparation of the chicken coop for flooring:

  • The first crown is insulated from the foundation with the help of roofing material, the ends are connected in half.
  • Lay the floor logs after 50 cm from each other.
  • Cut off the gaps with scraps of material.
  • Lay the remaining crowns that have castle corner joints.
  • In the intervals between the crowns and the castle joints, a special inter-crown insulation is laid, which is a linen-jute cloth.

To avoid freezing and blowing floors, you can lay them in several layers. Normal inch boards are great as the main material.

The layout of underfloor heating is as follows:

  • Dry flooring is covered with black floors.
  • A layer of blocks of wood is laid on top 10 – and centimeter width (they will perform a vapor barrier function). Between the bars there will be a small space, which must be filled with insulation.
  • Any edging board is laid with the final layer.

It is desirable that the warm floor has through products that are securely closed for the winter and provide additional ventilation indoors .

We lay the walls

The beam is often wet (this is a natural occurrence for a tree), if you have just such material, additional wooden pins will be required to build the walls. Under them, every 50 cm, you need to make holes with a depth of 2.5 beams. Do not forget to observe the chess order so that the pins do not interfere with each other. In such a simple way it is possible to prevent the appearance of distortions of the structure. Wall dimensions: height – minimum 180 cm, length – according to the project.

homemade summer chicken coop on cottage
A simple budget chicken house for broilers in the country, with your own hands.
do-it-yourself summer coop
Summer chicken coop easy to use
Do-it-yourself chicken coop at the cottage is simple.

Be sure to be on the back of the chicken coop in the wall make a passage for hens with a hinged door so that birds can move freely between the street and the house. If the option is used when the door will go into the aviary, the unlocking system is best done remotely, for example, using a spring and wire. In this case, you do not need to go into the aviary every time to open or close the door.

We make the roof

After completing the construction of the entire structure, proceed to fasten the ceiling beams, install the rafters and lay the roof:

  • If for this if flexible roof tiles are used, plywood must first be laid on the rafters and only then – the main material.
  • If the roof is made of slate, metal or ondulin, before laying it, you must first crate their inch boards on them lay the waterproofing layer, and then the roofing material.

The best option And the roof for the chicken coop is gable, as it has a number of indisputable advantages, judge for yourself:

  • ease of construction,
  • free space for attic equipment,
  • a form that prevents stagnation of water after rain and snowmelt.

Care must be taken also for the presence of an attic in a future building. It will be possible to store bird food, work equipment and much more, such as nettles and other natural sources of vitamins that birds love so much.

When constructing the roof, the ceiling surface is covered with any boards available in the household, and then they are insulated with coal slag or expanded clay (these are the most budgetary options for insulation).

We must not forget that before you insulate the ceiling and lay the roof, you must equip the building with a ventilation system. The easiest way to do this is with 2 wooden boxes.The first is installed at a distance of 50 cm below the ceiling level, the second – on the opposite side of the room, but already directly at the ceiling level. In order to be able to use the ventilation to influence the temperature conditions of the room, it is necessary to equip each ventilation pipe with a tin shutter.

Aviary for poultry walking

To provide the birds with free-range walking, but in this case, to limit the territory of the enclosure, you will need a wire mesh, for example, the one that remains from the plastering work, and bars to create a frame. You can choose any sizes, based solely on the characteristics of the site and personal preferences. It is desirable to make a height in human height in order to be able to go there without bending down and exercise control over the range.

Fix the structure at the back wall of the chicken coop using metal corners. Do not forget to do the doors in the aviary. Such a walk can be disconnected from the chicken coop at any time and moved to another place or completely removed.

These simple recommendations will help you quickly and easily do the construction of a summer chicken house in the country with your own hands. At the same time, it is important not to forget that the internal arrangement of the premises plays an important role for the growth and development of birds.

We create comfort for laying hens

Having finished the construction of the chicken coop in the country, they go over to the arrangement its interior.In order to provide birds with a decent level of care and maintenance, it is necessary to provide all the subtleties. Only when the poultry lives in comfort and love, it quickly gains weight and lays beautiful tasty eggs.

The first thing you need to think about when setting up a summer or all-season chicken coop in the country is roosts . For each chicken there should be a 30-centimeter perch. To make it, a rectangular beam is suitable, the dimensions of which are:

  • width – 40 mm,
  • height – 60 mm,
  • length – at least 300 mm .

Before mounting, be sure to round the corners of the poles, otherwise the birds may be accidentally injured. Alternatively, you can use thick tree branches instead of bars. The distance between the perches should be approximately 50 -70 cm. A more detailed layout of the perches should be made individually, depending on the size of the chicken coop and how many laying hens will live in it.

Crates with sawdust is another necessary for broilers, a thing that every simple summer good chicken coop should have. Feathered there will be warm and comfortable. Do not forget to install feeders and drinking bowls inside the chicken coop. To keep the device clean longer, it is advisable to place it on some slight elevation.

To have a more detailed idea of ​​how to equip bird houses, you can see photos of existing chicken coops and choose as an example 1 option from the existing ones.

Finally, when building a chicken coop in their country house, take into account the following recommendations:

  • To protect the laying hens from neighboring cats and dogs, as well as other animals that can enter both the enclosure and the main room, the base of the chicken coop needs to be tightly closed.
  • In a region with a hot climate, you must definitely do something the enclosure is an area where there will always be a shadow, for example, using a cloth curtain or other improvised objects.
  • If the construction of the enclosure is relatively light, then instead of cleaning it when the birds have dirtied its entire territory, you can simply unscrew it screws and move the frame 1-2 m to the side or roll on 3 round logs. It is best to sow the ground from under the past enclosure with lawn grass.
  • If you make the perches inside the house removable, cleaning will be much more convenient.
  • The choice of flooring in the chicken coop should be approach very responsibly. Litter and dirty wet chicken paws will quickly make cheap materials unusable and will need to be changed very often.
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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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