Building Chicken Nests

by chicken house plans on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 | Comments Off

Building Chicken Nests

Chicken coop requirements will obviously vary depending on the size and style of the coop you want to build. In fact, you can save a lot of money by using existing "junk" that you might have already laying around your property. This article gives you some construction tips and ideas.

Framing Options

The absolute cheapest material to build your chicken coop's frame out of is treated pine. However, pine is generally a bit flimsy, and if you really want a high quality coop you're going to need to use other timbers such as hardwood (very strong, but heavy). To be honest, it all depends on your personal preference and budget. You can use tree branches if you really want to save some cash!

The Chicken Run

Unless you've got a large, well-protected backyard/farm, you're going to need to build a chicken run. This can be as simple as throwing up a mesh wire fence around the coop. You can then the birds run on grass, though it's going to look pretty unsightly very fast. Most chicken coop flooring in made from straw or even sand.

The Nesting Area

Nests can be built from cheap timber, or even just cardboard boxes. Nests generally don't need to be extremely sturdy because you're going to place them inside the hen house, so they'll be protected from harsh weather in any case. As for the hen house itself, this is the most complicated part of chicken coop building. The materials are basic, and any good chicken coop plans will outline the options in detail.

Downloadable Chicken Coop Plans

If you can manage to navigate through all the marketing and advertising, there are plenty of high quality chicken coop plans available on the internet for download. The best guide will provide a comprehensive list of chicken coop requirements, and show you the advantages and disadvantages of each material.

To download some plans that explain all of the chicken coop requirements, check out this Building A Chicken Coop website now.

How do I take care of a chicken ?

So a week after my Birthday, I saw a chicken outside my window on my grass lawn, I ignored it for about 3 weeks and no body claimed it and now it has a nest in my bushes. Since I live in a culdesack , I figure it was weird how it ended up here. Not a place with living chickens here for miles. So one day it started to rain and I decided to take it in ( it stinks!BAD!), so my parents are talking about keeping it since one day one of our neighbor's large vehicles may go squash on accident..... My parents probably had free eggs in their minds..... and now have no idea to take care of this chicken, and everything about the unfertilized eggs....yum.... so we need to figure out how to build a place in our backyard for the chicken ( we will not abuse it) BASICALLY WE NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS CHICKEN! HELP!!!!

Wow. That was really nice of you to provide a home for a wandering chicken! Well, there is a lot to learn about and there are some really great resources on the net. I'd google "Raising pet chickens" or "raising chickens" and check out those leeds that come up. Another great resource is the American Poultry Association, they have a great site.
However, in the mean time, keeping chickens is actually very easy ans can be very simple. The first thing you need is a coop where your hen will spend the night. This can be a simple or a elaborate as you want to make it. The easiest think for a chicken or two is to get a dog kennel. Like the kind for air travel. These go by Vari-Kennel or Kennel Cab. Try craigslist of your local paper to find a used one. The nice thing with these is that they are ventalated and are hard for preditors to get into. BUT a very determined preditor can get into anything. If you or your family members are handy, you can also build a coop. There are many designs on the net for free.
Next you need to take a trip to your local feed store and purchase chicken feed. You will need to get either lay mash or lay crumbles. Either one will do. Also pick up some scratch. You will feed the lay mash for when she lays and scratch is feed year around. Also you need to get crushed oyster shell to add into her feed to give her calcuim for egg developement. Just a a small handfull mixed in her feed will do. Most feed stores sell lay mash, scratch, and oyster shell by the pound so you dont have to buy huge quanities. I'd start with about 5 pounds and see how long it takes her to go throught it. As far as how much to feed her a day will depend on if she needs to gain weight or looses weight. Generally it's 4-8 oz a day.
While at the feed store, you will want to pick up a chicken feeder and waterer. These are designed for chickens and make feeding and watering easy and less wasteful. May sure you clean them daily.
Chickens are great a foraging for food and they also love fresh vegetables and table scraps. THey adore mealworms. Avoid chocolate.
There is a lot to learn and there are some great resources to help you with that. You may want to look into joining a 4-H club. It's a great club and usually they have a chicken group. Also look into joining a chicken club. This is a great place to meet people who love chickens and a great place to learn about them! My advice is very basic but will get you started in the right direction.
Hope this helps you out!