Chicken Coop Sheds

by chicken house plans on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 | Comments Off

If you have an old shed in your backyard, you might be wondering what to do with it. Well guess what? You can turn that old building into a chicken shed with a minimal amount of effort! There are a few things that you will need to do before you fully turn it into a chicken shed, so let's go over the basics.

Safety

Because this was originally a regular shed, there are a number of things that it could have been used for. It's impossible to tell exactly what, and that being the case you need to do a thorough cleaning. Check the shelves, and if there are any rotten or damaged shelves, you need to remove them. If there are any chemicals present, make sure they are cleaned as well because if a chicken becomes exposed to dangerous chemicals it will usually die overnight.

Check for nails that might be sticking out of the walls or any beams. These nails which might not have been a huge danger to you will certainly be a danger to your chickens in the days to come. Remember that they have no common sense, and will run headlong into the nail if you let them.

Outfitting your Chicken Shed

When you are ready to start outfitting the chicken shed, there are a few things that you absolutely need to have. The first of course is a watering area. If you are going to go all out, you could make a custom watering area where it is built into the side of the building. Make sure that you have a removable water bottle that you can clean out on a daily basis. There are other options, such as a manufactured watering device, and these are normally made from galvanized metal.

Also make sure that you can feed your chickens easily. You want this to be an automated process, so try to devise some sort of automatic feeder unless you want to feed them from a trough. The only problem with a trough is that it will undoubtedly accumulate a large amount of chicken feces that you will need to clean on a regular basis.

Remember that your chickens will also need roosts to sleep in. If you are designing your coop in the interest of collecting eggs, make sure there is a back way into the roost to collect those eggs. On that note though, make sure the roosts are protected against the elements if you do have an exterior door. You want the chickens to be as comfortable as possible, and that means you need to do everything in your power to make sure they are warm, fed, and happy. Happy chickens mean more eggs!

Creating a Yard

Every chicken shed needs a yard, which means you will need to pick a side to add a trapdoor on. This will involve cutting a hold in the side of the shed and adding a ramp so that the chickens can exit and enter in relative safety. You will need to set an area to fence in so that your chickens do not wander off, and we'll warn you right now that you don't want to get too attached to the grass in that area. The chickens will destroy it, and if you really want to, you can add two sections of chicken yard so that you can rotate the chickens and re-grow the grass periodically.

There is plenty of information out there that can help you build the perfect chicken coop. All you need to do is find it!. Once you do, you will have a world of information at your fingertips, and you will be able to build an amazing chicken coop. Just do a simple search, or even visit sites like http://www.buildchickencoopsite.info for a wealth of chicken coop data. Remember, the only limit is your imagination.

How long do pekin ducks lay eggs for?

how long does a pekin duck lay eggs?
I have two pekin duck (mature) and they haven't started laying eggs yet and it is fall here in minnesota. we have them with the chickens and they have easy access as far as getting into our chicken coop and then they have an aluminum shed they can go in, will this be enough for them for when it winter comes?
please answer both of the questions I have, thanks.

Firstly are you sure both ducks are female? Ducks are harder to sex than chickens, and ppl can get mixed up, even vets etc. Secondly, most birds only lay in spring/summer or above certain temperatures in order to give any young the best chance of survival, so it may be possible that it's just too cold.