Easy Chicken House Plans

Chicken Coop Bins

You already know that the economy is tough. It seems Americans everywhere have realized that raising chickens is a great way to become more self-sufficient.

Unfortunately, many people jump right in, buy plans, and build their own Chicken Pens -- only to discover some extremely frustrating truths about keeping chickens.

Some people even give up after they spend money and find out about this stuff the hard way...

Want to avoid having an "if only somebody would have told me upfront" moment? Before you spend a dime building your chicken pens, let's talk about 5 dirty little secrets:

1. Some chickens hate each other.

Well, hate is maybe too strong a word. But there is definitely a pecking order. Ever wonder where the saying "hen pecked" came from?

Hens that are low in the pecking order must wait for the others to eat. Sometimes the low hen on the totem pole gets left with nothing.

Plan for this by using a feeder with enough room for all of your birds to use it at the same time. For example, lots of people drill one or two inch holes around the bottom of a five gallon bucket, then bolt or glue a large, round planter base to the bottom of the bucket.

The planter base should extend out about four or five inches from the bucket's bottom -- and also be deep enough to keep feed from being scattered everywhere.

Fill the bucket with feed and presto: Several birds can feed simultaneously without crowding each other out. Use multiple feeders if you have a larger flock.

2. Predators are a problem -- even in the city.

Next to dogs, raccoons are the most common urban chicken predators. They will rip the heads off your birds. No, really, they will.

Your best defense is a sturdy chicken house -- with screened windows -- that will keep your chickens in and predators out.

And don't forget the most dangerous predator of them all: Man. Not even the best chicken pens can withstand a determined human thief.

3. Roosters crow. All day.

Besides making sure your local laws allow you to keep chickens, you should check with your neighbors. Occasional free eggs go a long way towards keeping the peace.

But healthy roosters will not only crow at dawn, they'll crow whenever they feel like it. Think twice before buying a rooster if your neighbors live close by.

4. You don't need a rooster to get eggs.

Don't let the previous dirty secret deter you. Hens lay eggs whether there's a rooster around or not -- their hormones demand it. You only need a rooster if you want fertilized eggs that could hatch.

5. Rats. Mice. Snakes.

Imagine you're a rodent or a snake: You see a nice bag of delicious chicken feed sitting up against a chicken pen. And there's a bag of hay next to it. Yummy! You'd hiss for joy, and tell all your friends.

To avoid making your chicken pens into truck stops for the neighborhood vermin, keep your feed in metal trash cans (rats and mice will gnaw through plastic and rubber).

Some people also use an old freezer with drilled-in ventilation holes, but I think it's too risky -- the one time you forget to put the lock on is the one time a small child could climb in and get trapped.

Good Chicken House Plans will provide step-by-step instructions to build your own affordable chicken pens. Remembering the above secrets will help you have a successful start to keeping Backyard Chickens.

About the Author:

Are you really ready to build a successful chicken house? Find timely information and affordable chicken pen plans at my Web site: http://chickenhousesonline.com

(c) Copyright -- Harold Blackmon, Jr. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

How do I care for chickens?

I'm getting a couple of chickens, and I want to know how to care for them. I'm getting 5 day old chicks. I'm keeping them in a big storage bin, it doesn't have a lid on it, it's very deep. I want to know how I care for them? When do I let them out of the box? And I'm getting a coop, how can I make them know that the coop is there home, but still let them run around free during the day?

Okay first off:
Are you sure you're aloud to have chickens in your area?
if yes then you're good
If you're aloud to have roosters as well go for it

A big storage bin is fine as long as you take them out once in a while as well (You know for them to get used to the outside? ;D) but you have to supervise them at all times since there will be hawks flying around
one of my chickies was taken away from me by a hawk because we were inside for 5 min! D:

Once you get them keep them inside and feed them take care of them etc.
For that you should look up how to take care of really young chickens. they should have them everywhere around the internet.
Incubation is important!!
I'm not an expert at this
but the food you may want to use is Chick Scratch.
It'll be everywhere

You can let them outside of the box when like what.. when their butt feathers are out? Let's say for you since you're getting 5-6 day old chickens you should keep them in for 5 weeks. For me I kept them in for around 4 weeks. The nights can be a wee bit chilly

You're totally fine with letting them know the coop and roaming outside
What I did for the first few weeks was by the end of the day when they're done eating (around 6 pm?)
I pick them each up and place them into the coop!
after a while they get used to the idea that it's their home and they can come in and come out in their free will during the day time
In the morning you'll want to take them out at around 9 am to 10 am since they like to sleep a lot during chickie time.

-------COOP-------------------

Chickies:
[as repeated up above]
If you're getting baby chickens first you'd better take them inside for a while until they grow like.. butt feathers or something. Maybe a few weeks (I took mine in for 4 weeks greedy little things..)
because at night it's pretty chilly e_e. While this time it's best to start making the pen/coop
(best if it is before you get em!)

Mama chickens:
after they grow into their good feathers as in they look less scruffy/or you bought them as big grown up chickens you can move them into the coop. I made it around 5 ft. tall and 3 feet wide and stuck 2 long perches in there. at the bottom I would suggest wood shavings like the ones you use in hamster beddings. that way when they poo you can easily clean it out . But If I where you I would make the coop a wee be bigger if you're gonna have 7 or more chickens, they fight e_e (specially if you have 2 males or more).

Okay you're set for the coop!
For the backyard, you're completely fine!
But once you let them into your backyard... you're plants (meaning grass, weeds, some flowers, and lot's of mulch) will be gone by next year. Not pretty... but it will grow back out eventually

And chickens LOVE dirt baths when it comes to summer
Make sure to have a largish dirt path/ area where they can just roll around it.
Don't worry they don't need water baths!

---------CARE-----------------
Chicken Nesting:
When you get chicken when they are babies it won't be soon when they start laying eggs.
It's a slow process. It took around 4-7 months for all of my chickens to mature and start laying eggs!
at first the eggs will be kind of small you know.. grocery sized? (not that big!)
but once they get bigger and eat a lot more it will grow like big
This is what my nesting area looks like:

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae211...

Water:
Water is water. The usual rule to water
USE CLEAN WATER.
Tap is fine, the hose water is fine, bath water is fine, toilet water(?) eh, but no toxic, chemicals, etc.
If you already have a pet you get the idea.
This is what I used for their water bowl:

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae211...

Food:
I used the usual chicken/hen/chick scratch and they love it.
I also mix in seeds/ dried corn in too. The backyard itself would be enough for half the day as well
They love vegetables and fruits so make sure you put out a large batch often. Good calcium and nutrition I suggest lots of watermelon cause ANY type of chicken would love it
A mixture of skinned carrots, lettuce, peas, watermelon(?) is what I use and they're good with it
Also the usual rule: don't feed them chocolate, toxic, chemicals, plastic, glass, etc.
They eat bugs too e_e
I held a giant bee and spider up to on and they ate it so fast I thought it just exploded ninja like o_o
This is what I used for their food bowl:

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae211...

Taming (?):
If you want one to get used to you petting it or holding it, there are many ways to tame them ish.
They can sometimes peck at you when they feel insecure but that rarely happens

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