Subsistence farming on the territory of a summer cottage or a country house does not lose its relevance. In addition to growing vegetables, many are happy to keep a bird. A barn for chickens and a small place for walking - that's all you need. The construction does not require large financial costs, and the simplicity of the design allows you to do it yourself.
Building place
Before you build a chicken shed with your own hands, you need to choose a place on the site. It is important to follow a few simple rules:
- The barn should not be in the lowlands. This will help to avoid flooding the foundation with meltwater and precipitation. You can organize a small embankment and drain (dig a groove around the perimeter to drain water).
- Build a barn should be at a remote distance from the apartment building. The specific pungent smell of chicken manure will not be a concern.
- For comfortable keeping of chickens, a place for fenced walking should be provided. The bird will not pollute the territory of the summer cottage and will not be able to dig through the entire garden. Walking is best arranged on the leeward side.
- The construction should provide protection of the bird from wild animals, birds of prey and domestic "hunters" (dogs, cats).
The size
A chicken shed is built on a certain number of birds. The dimensions of the future building will depend on this. For a small herd of 10-20 goals, an area of 2 by 3 meters is enough. If you plan a large population, calculate the area based on the fact that for every 20 birds you need 6 m2 of area.
You can’t neglect the rules, more than 4 heads per 1 m 2 chicken density will contribute to overheating of the bird, reducing productivity and even its death.
Chicken coop designs
The chicken shed is very simple in construction. When choosing any version of the building, the necessary zoohygienic requirements for keeping the birds are necessarily maintained.
The room should be dry and warm, with the arrangement of a ventilation system. A chicken shed can be built without windows. If there are windows, it is better to close them with a net on the inside. For a long time, artificial lighting has been used for keeping birds. In addition to light, lamps give additional heat, which is very important for keeping chickens in the winter.
But most poultry farmers prefer to build a chicken shed (photo in the article) in the original style. In fact, the chicken coop can become a decoration of the landscape and a highlight of the entire yard. Skillful hands can turn an ordinary farm building into a fabulous house and a work of architectural art.
Internal organization
The owner, starting to build a chicken shed with his own hands, must plan in advance what and where will be located inside the chicken coop. The following points are taken into account:
- The perch is equipped at a height of at least 60 cm from the floor. This arrangement will greatly facilitate the cleaning of the room. If there are several levels, then the distance between them is maintained at 50 cm. The length of the poles themselves should correspond to the norm - 20 cm per individual.
- Nests should create a sense of security in chickens. The best option would be ordinary wooden crates. It is possible to use wicker baskets, cardboard boxes. For medium hens, the dimensions 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm are quite suitable. Sawdust or straw is suitable as a filler for the nest, it must be periodically changed. The number of nests is one for 4-5 chickens.
- Feeders can be bought ready-made in the store or made with your own hands from improvised means: polypropylene pipes, plastic buckets or from wood. The main requirement is that they should not be easily turned over by a bird. The feeders must be washed periodically.
- Drinking bowls should provide chickens with water 24 hours a day. With great heat, above 29 about , the bird's watering increases sharply.
- Lighting is arranged based on: on 6 m 2 one bulb with a power of 60 watts. Hang them at a height of two meters from the floor. Using electricity for laying hens, increase the duration of daylight hours (up to 14 hours) in the autumn-winter period. This has a positive effect on their productivity.
- Food storage is an important issue. Mostly sheds are built with a gable roof. This helps to avoid collapse during heavy snowfalls. The attic serves as an additional insulator from the cold, it is on it that you can store feed.
- Litter stock can be stored in the vestibule of the chicken coop. This convenient layout provides heat preservation in the winter and allows you to store all the necessary tools.
Building insulation
The optimum temperature for keeping chickens in the room is 12 o -16 o . The range in which birds can feel quite comfortable is from -2 to +27 . To solve the question of how to make a chicken shed warm, you need to pay attention to the following:
- the floor should be wooden or adobe, but not concrete (cement), it is advisable to put a waterproofing layer under it;
- windows are necessarily double, without cracks;
- the door is better single-wing, insulated from the inside (insulation must be closed with a net);
- the ceiling is made of wood and additionally covered with a mixture of clay and sawdust (it is possible with straw);
- the walls are best made of wood (the space between the boards is filled with insulation) or adobe.
Walking area
The best option for the site is the south side of the barn, sheltered from the wind. The size of the walk is calculated at a rate of 0.5 m 2 per bird. If it is possible to increase the area of the aviary, this should be done. To enter the aviary for chickens, special manholes with a size of 30 cm x 30 cm with a ladder are arranged.
Part of the site must be equipped with a canopy. This will protect the bird from too hot sun. The rest of the protection against birds of prey is closed with a mesh-netting. To reduce the cost of construction work and ease of installation, you can use a fishing net with a large cell.
In no case should the enclosure be flooded with water. To solve the problem, it is recommended to set up a small slope in the aviary so that the water flows by gravity from the site.
Material for construction
Before you build a barn for chickens, you need to choose the right material. For the construction of the chicken coop, they try not to use concrete, brick, cinder blocks, natural stone. They are susceptible to moisture and are considered cold.
As a rule, when equipping household premises, they use cheap, sometimes used material. General requirement - any raw materials already used must be in good condition (not rotten) and not pose a danger to the bird (chips on boards or plywood can injure chickens).
Construction mistakes
The main errors when equipping a chicken coop are:
- wrong choice of place for construction;
- improperly selected material;
- arrangement of cold concrete floor;
- lack or incorrect calculation of ventilation;
- errors in calculating the area of the shed (it is necessary to provide for a possible increase in the number of livestock).