Chicken Coops

Chicken Ark Plans – How to Build a Chicken Ark?

A chicken ark is by far the simplest of ways to build a home for a small number of chickens. The main idea behind a set of chicken ark plans is that you are building a home for a relatively small number chickens that can easily be moved around your yard or garden by one person. In the U.K. they are known as chicken arks however in the U.S. they are more commonly known as chicken tractors.

Chicken ark plans come in a great variety, based on how many chickens you plan to keep in them and how much space you have. They can be as basic and simple as a wire cage with a little area roofed off for shade or they can be very fancy. The fancier ones may have nesting boxes attached along with perches and feeders.

The idea behind the plans for a chicken ark is that there is no bottom so that the chickens can scratch around on the ground for bugs, worms and minerals while they fertilize the ground with their droppings. This is very healthy not only for your chickens but since their droppings are very high in nitrogen it is a wonderful organic fertilizer for your yard or garden.

Your chicken ark plans should include a few key features to make them safe and healthy for your chickens. All chickens need to be able to get out of the sun so at least some portion of the roof needs to be solid to provide shade.  A raised perch should be provided for them to get off the ground to sleep and in case it rains so they can stay dry, this is usually put in the shade area.

Chicken ark plans should include a way to move the ark; many of them just have a way to lift one end and drag it around while others have wheels installed to make the task easier. Portability is the key to a good chicken ark as this will let you move it all over your yard giving your chickens’ new food and keeping your yard well fertilized.

For expert and detailed step by step instruction on how to construct your own Chicken Coop visit Chicken Ark Plans

Buying a Chicken Coop can be quite costly, and you can easily build one for a quarter of the cost of buying…plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself. Check out how to build it now at Chicken Ark Plans

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Janet_Patrick/70273

Designing Chicken Coop Plans

A hen house, also called a chicken coop, is a great project that you and your family can take on. On the Internet, there are hundreds of chicken coop plans that you can choose from. It makes things easy but nothing replaces the joy of designing your own. One benefit of modeling your own coop is the reduced cost. Although buying structural plans saves you time, designing your own allows you to exercise flexibility; you can customize your chicken coop to your heart’s desire. Below we will show you the key focus areas that need your attention when drafting your own designs.

The first thing you need to do is to decide what type of chickens you will raise because different breeds have different needs. For example, layers will give you a large number of eggs so this means you need nesting boxes. They are also clean-legged and this means they can withstand wet conditions. On the other hand, the table breeds, the ones you raise for meat, are not as active as the layer breed and this means they can live in smaller spaces.

The size of the fowl will also play a critical role in your design. Your plan will take shape once you are decided on your intent. The feeding habit and the number of chickens you want to raise will also affect the overall design since movement is imperative for chickens. Lastly, if your purpose for raising chickens is to have a steady supply of eggs, you need to have a provision or space for nesting boxes. If you are raising poultry for business, consider future business expansion.

Usually, hobbyists build chicken coops in their backyards. A common pitfall when designing one is not considering the location where the structure will be situated. The terrain is also a factor to look at. A mobile coop will not work in hilly or rugged farmlands. Eliminate fancy designs that will not work in your space. If your backyard lot is even, a mobile coop, one that has wheels, will work perfectly and you can move it about easily.

Maintenance and materials are also important components of your chicken coop plans. Cleaning up chicken manure will be one of your daily responsibilities so ease of cleaning should be kept in mind when designing your hen house. Sloping the flooring will give you leverage in cleaning. In terms of location, it is best to have the chicken coop at the top of a slope facing south. This will let the sun dry and warm the coop. The materials you should use should have good insulating properties. Again, the type of chicken will be a deciding factor for this. Mongolian chickens need 10 to 30 degrees of temperature while the others don’t. During winter, you will definitely need extra heating sources. In a nutshell, you should consider every aspects before designing the coop for your chickens comfort.

If you want to build your own chicken coop, the most important thing you should have is the plans for the coop. But if you don’t know how to design your own chicken coop plans, you can consider to get the complete chicken coop plans [http://backyard-chickencoop-plans.com/] available on the internet. So you can follow the ready made plans to build your own chicken coop on your backyard with no doubt.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Rief_Zar_Fieq/1386917

Chicken House Plans – How to Choose the Best Plans

Have you been scouring all the chicken house plans you can get your hands on? Totally lost at which chicken coop you would like to build?

Variety of Chicken Houses

Do not feel disheartened, as you are definitely not the first to feel this way. Chicken houses come in as many varieties as houses for people do. You see just as houses for people need to cater for number of inhabitants, climate so do chicken houses.

Chicken House Criteria

You will need to set your criteria for your chicken house based on your individual requirements.

So where do you start? To me the simple starting point is: How many eggs I require on a weekly basis. You see by knowing this we can work out the number of chickens we need to house. Logical right?

So if you want 30 eggs a week you simply divide by 5, which means you will need 6 chickens. A good egg laying chicken breed will give you 5 to 7 eggs a week. Taking the lower number gives you a little contingency.

Size of Chicken House

So now you have the number of chickens you need you can work out the size of your chicken house. It is recommended that you need between 3 to 4 square feet per chicken.

Do not skimp on space. If chickens feel crowded their egg laying goes to hell.

So for 6 chickens we need approximately 24 sq. ft.

In addition chickens also need a garden to play in. So you need to add an additional outdoor area onto the enclosed chicken house to give. It is recommended that you have 8 to 10 sq. ft per chicken for this.

So you need 32 sq ft of outdoor space for the chickens so that is a total of 66 sq ft.

Now you can choose your chicken house plan

Now that you have got some base criteria it is easier to narrowed down the number of chicken house plans you need to look at.

Get started today. Choose your chicken house plans Now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/John_G._Reece/327525

Portable Chicken Coop Plans – What Are The Main Benefits?

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