Chicken Coup Designs – 5 Things You Should Keep in Mind
Article by kristen-dean
While designing a chicken coup there are a few things that you need to keep into perspective if you need a good result from your efforts. Planning is an essential feature of any endeavor and this is no different. So here is a rundown on what you need to keep in mind when you are starting out:
a. The size of your poultry: This invariably dictates the size of the coup that you will make. a. 2 to 4 chickens: Chicken tractor/Ark. 20 square feet of space. b. 4 to 8 chickens: Medium Size Chicken Coup. 25 to 30 square feet space. c. 10 or more Chickens: Large sized chicken coup. Over 40 square feet of space.
b. Predators: This is one of the most nagging problems that poultry enthusiasts have to deal with. Your coup must provide adequate protection from both land and air based threats.
c. The weather: This is important as you need to understand how the weather can affect the chicken: a. Cold Climate: requires insulation and windows placed so that cold draft does not affect the birds.d. Hot Climate: Requires proper ventilation and plenty of space for the chickens. c. Rainy Climate: Requires the coup to be placed on either elevated ground or stilts d. The size of your backyard: How will your coup go with your backyard once it is finished? Can your backyard support a coup measuring over 40 square feet of space?
e. Basic Amenities: Your coup must at least be equipped with a waterer, feeder and also a good place for the chicken to nest. It is also a good idea to cover the floor of the chicken with sand or saw dust as chicken love taking sand baths.
A chicken tractor has many advantages to offer. It is called a tractor because it can be used to rid the grass of weed and pests. A tractor is devoid of any floor so that the chicken can reach the grass easily. While in the tractor the chickens tend to hunt for weeds and bugs which they feed upon. Hence once a particular area has been cleared the tractor can be moved to another spot in the backyard, any person with a good sized backyard will appreciate this function! Thus a chicken tractor apart from providing good shelter the chickens can also be used to get some useful work done out of them.
About the Author
A little before hand learning and good ol’ planing can go a long way into making your experience more worthwhile. On my page on Chicken Tractor Plans I have discussed various things that you need to keep in mind when you are making making your chicken tractor. You need to be careful about what size you make your tractor