Hen House Plans – The Smart Way To Build A Coop

Have you ever built a chicken coop before? If the answer is no, or if you don’t have a lot of experience with medium to large sized projects, you will want to invest in plans.

Hen house plans help you through the process of building a working chicken house. And this adds up to one thing, happy hens. And when you have happy hens you have plenty of eggs!

So what does a chicken coop need? First it needs plenty of sunlight. You will want to build your chicken coop with this in mind. This will dictate where you place the house. You will also need to pay attention to where you place your windows. This effects both the structural integrity of your coop and the amount of light that is able to reach your nesting boxes. Remember, chickens like it to be a little darker when they lay their eggs.

You also need to make sure that you properly ventilate your hen house. Proper hen house plans will show you how to to this. If your coop is too drafty, your chickens won’t be as comfortable as they could be. This could have an impact on both the number of eggs they lay and their health. Ventilation can be tricky, because you need to keep it well ventilated but at the same time warm.

If you fail to ventilate enough, you might run into too much ammonia and carbon dioxide building up. Again, this is why investing in plans can be so profitable.

Structural integrity has another meaning, protection. There are plenty of different predators that are willing to take a chicken or two off of your hands. That is why building a chicken coop means more than simply providing your birds with a home. It has to be able to defend them as well.

Let’s take a look at some of the different threats to your chicken coop. First let’s look at the animals that you might over look.

Your neighbor’s dog or their cat can be just as big a danger to the wellbeing of your feathered friends as wild predators. Keep this in mind if you are building a chicken coop in the city.

Other animals that can play a role in disturbing your hens are foxes, coyotes and badgers. If you know you have a hawk population in your area, you will also need to protect your chickens from them. This would mean placing a roof or fencing over the top of your run.

Hen house plans will help you build a coop within your skill level while meeting your needs. So make sure to make things easy on you and your chickens. Use plans when you build! Click here for more information! And don’t forget to download your free copy of my ebook Beginner’s Guide To Raising Chickens while you’re there.