Building Chicken Coops | Chicken House Plans

As we are coming into Autumn here in the Southern Hemisphere, now is the time when poultry shed all their old feathers in preparation for winter. Whilst the loss of feathers on your moulting chickens can be distressing, with bare patches appearing on your pets, there is little need for concern as this occurs to all birds.

Moulting

Moulting is a stressful time for many birds and they will go off laying briefly while their bodies focus on growing new feathers. Moulting can occur in different ways on chickens, depending on breed and maturity.

Growing chicks can go through several moults until they reach full size to accommodate their growing bodies. Once reaching maturity, chickens will usually only moult in readiness for cold weather.

Some birds will shed all their feathers in the space of a few days and can become temporarily neurotic in response to the rapid feather loss. Other chickens will shed slowly over a period of a month or so, which is a lot easier on them. Fowls that shed all in one go are generally more productive as they will continue laying well into autumn then shed rapidly and begin laying again. Slow moulting birds can have an extended period of not laying eggs over the time of their moulting.

Care Of Your Moulting Chickens

Due to the amount of energy and nutrients that go into feather growing, chickens diets should be supplemented before and during feather loss. Kelp should be added to their feed or mash in the month before and during  moulting. Using a pinch of powdered kelp for each fowl every week will support glandular function and will result in richer shades of plumage upon regrowth.

Oily seeds, such as sunflower, are important for healthy feather growth. The fatty acid will provide energy and fat reserves for the chicken as well as being high in sulpher containing amino acids, essential for feathers. Give the birds a teaspoon each two or three times a week before moulting and once a week when the new feathers start appearing. Too many sunflower seeds can make your chickens fat.

Vitamins are also very important, as they are at all times, in feather growth, especially vitamins A and D. Feeding your chickens greens is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin D is created by exposure to sunlight. These vitamins can be sourced from cod liver oil as well. You also need to ensure that the chickens are receiving protein as well. These food should already be part of their diet, so their nutritional needs should already be met, however you may which to add more and keeps an eye on each chicken to ensure they are getting their fair share. Chicks will require a fair bit of protein to help them grow and go through multiple moultings.

Chicken parasites may cause greater irritation during feathers loss due to exposure of bare skin. Sprinkling sulphur powder or diatomaceous earth (DE) to the dust bath should help with lice and mite control. DE contains razor like particles that will damage lice and mites, so ensure you where a face mask when applying DE or sulphur so that the particles do not damage your lungs. Combining this with other previously mentioned control measures during infestation that occur at any time will ensure infestation to a minimum.

Battery chickens are often sold off to be slaughtered at this stage as the farmers do not want any down time in egg production. Yet another reason to have your own chickens, this time from an ethical point of view.

As a final note, moulting can happen to a chicken at other times if they are extremely stressed. If this is occurring in your flock, you will need to observe their behaviours and environment to reduce the source of stress. A visit to the vet may also be needed. Bare patches can also periodically appear as well, this is due to the bad habit of feather plucking, where the chicken will pull out its own feathers or the feathers of other chickens in your flock. This behaviour should be discouraged and may also require a visit to your vet.

Moulting chickens should be easy to manage if you follow these suggestions and in no time at all you will have fit and healthy birds completely covered in a bright new plume! To find out more information about moulting, check out this fact sheet.

Chicken tractors, or chicken arks, can make a valuable addition to chicken housing in your backyard, providing you with a permanent portable structure to protect your pets. Chicken tractors are generally bottomless movable chicken coops, capable of being easily moved anywhere. Instead of using a chicken run, why not use a chicken tractor and run your pets wherever you like, without the worry of enclosing the run or putting barriers around your gardens?

Chicken Tractor Plans

As with building your coop, chicken tractor plans are essential. You will need to consider a range of factors, including:

• Number of chickens
• Whether this will be a permanent home for your chickens
• Your gardening needs
• Feeding and nesting boxes
• Housing within the tractor
• Roofing

Your flock can live semi permanently in a well designed chicken tractor, when utilised with an extra run to give the chickens access to dust baths and greens other than grass. Since the boxes can be off the ground and lockable at night, a chicken tractor should provide reasonable protection against predators. As the structure is regularly move vermin should not be a major issue and predators will not be able to associate their scent to a specific area in your yard, reducing chances of predation. Wire netting can also be fixed to bottom of the tractor to further reduce risk of vermin entering the cage, as this will still allow plant matter to poke though into the bottom of the cage.

Of course the tractor can also be used along side a chicken coop, with the chickens in the coop at night and spending some or most of the day in the tractor placed wherever you like. If not being used as a permanent house for your flock, additions such as feeding and nesting boxes may not be necessary, however water containers must be incorporated in the design. If you have regular garden beds of the same size, a small tractor can be made with the frame fitting within the garden edges. This can be rotated between beds with your crop rotation.

If your yard does not have a lot of shade cover, roofing should also be considered, instead of just the wire netting used on all the other panels. Well designed chicken tractor plans will help ensure that you build the best chicken tractor for your flock.

Basically, a chicken tractor is so named because it will do for you almost anything a farmer would want a tractor for. Turning the soil, fertilising, pest control, cleaning up spent crops and weed control are all functions your chicken tractor will provide, with the added bonus of providing eggs and disposing of your dinner scraps. Lets see a farm tractor lay an egg!  Chicken tractors and arks are an excellent form of housing  for your chickens and provide some great alternatives to the tradition of building chicken coops and then having to build separate runs.

David Torrisi
The Chicken Pen
© BuildingChickenCoopsReview.com 2010 – 2011

No, we are not talking about the movie! Instead today, we are going to discuss building a run for your very own chickens.

Why Use A Chicken Run?

In order for chickens to get all the execise and extra food they need, you should be using a chicken run. Your pets will need an area outside of their pen to move around in. A chicken run is an enclosed area in which your chickens can scratch around in, keeping the flock confined while keeping out predators. This will also keep the chickens out of vegetable and flower beds, they will strips those in minutes!

Building A Chicken Run

When building a chicken run, you will need to consider where you will place it and the proximity to the coop. Size will also be an important factor. If you need to enclose the top of the run to keep out avian chicken predators, consider keeping the run fairly small in size or include areas with trees to act as a natural cover.

Excellent places for chicken runs include:

• Under large fruit trees. Fruit trees provide a great source of natural cover to protect chickens. Your flock will enjoy scratching around the roots, digging out grubs and scratching in mulch and droppings. They will also eat any fruits that drop to the ground, stopping them rotting. More flightier varietys of fowl will also enjoy flying up to the lower branchs, allowing them to stretch their wings within the safety of the trees.
• Large shrubs, medium sized trees. As above. Ensure plants and their berries or flowers are not poisonous.
• Fallow garden beds. Have the chickens run on old garden beds to consume and dig up old crops. Their scratchings will remove grubs and bugs as well as keep back weeds. Feeding them kitchen and garden scraps while on garden beds will ensure the beds recieve the right range of nutrients through mulching and droppings. Allow beds to lie fallow after having chickens on them to allow the manure to break down.
• Areas of lawn. It is not recommended to allow chickens to only run on lawns, as they stress the grass with manure and grass does not contain enough vitamins. However, allowing them on grass is ok as long as they have access to plenty of other green food and are moved often.

As you can see, building a chicken run is possible in most places in your backyard.

Using A Chicken Run

Design your chicken run to be easy to access. If your chicken coop is in a fixed location, it is easy to build a small permanent run around the coop, as a chicken pen. This can then be linked to several runs, which are used in rotation. The pen itself can be used as a feeding area for all the kitchen and garden scraps, giving the birds plenty of room to scratch around in. Ensure this pen has an area for the birds to dust bath. Placing lawn clippings and branch trimmings into the pen will create a natural litter to scratch around in and will compost into an excellent fertiliser for your garden.

When building other runs to join to the pen, make use of features such as fences, shed or barn walls to use as barriers. This will save a lot of effort and will provide a structure for roofing and fencing. Enclosing trees in runs will provide roofing and you can attach fencing to them, saving further time. Materials that can be used to build the run are important, as they need to be strong and also portable, if you desire to move the boundaries of the run.

Consider materials such as:

• Pickets. Strong and can be placed anywhere, except rock. These are great for providing structure and can be using as posts for fencing or netting. Use metal pickets to ensure a long life.
• Avairy Netting. Can be used to enclose coops as well as pens. Good for fencing on the runs.
• Fencing. Fencing is very strong and will contain chickens. Using old fencing is a great way of recyling materials.
• Fence Posts: Strong, great for permanent runs. Will provide greater support for fencing. Can be used structually in chicken coops as there is a great range of joiners.

A well placed chicken run is essential for your chickens’ health, as it will provide them with a great range of nutrients and proteins, as well as exercise and play. When building your coop, put some thought into using a chicken run in your design.

The Building Chicken Coops free report will reveal the #1 secret to finding out all this information and more. Find out the best and cheapest materials to use, layout and positioning of your coop as well as the best types of chickens for your area and what to feed them.

David Torrisi
The Chicken Pen
© BuildingChickenCoopsReview.com 2010 – 2011

There are quite a few different types of chicken parasites that can infest your chickens. Parasites range from worms through to lice, ticks, mites and fleas.

Checking your poultry regularly will help work out their state of health and well being. This can be done at feeding times and requires little more then observing their behaviour.  Sick birds will often mope around, lagging behind the other chickens when called for feed. Generally a sick bird will pull its head towards itself, fluff out its feathers and its tail will droop. Their vents may also be soiled, an important sign of poor health in your chickens as diarrhoea is a common symptom of many problems. Sick birds may huddle together and keep to themselves.

Worms

Parasitic worms are fairly common in many different types of animals, including humans. Generally worms infect the gastro-intestinal system of the chickens. The eggs of roundworms thrive in shady places and can be detroyed in hot weather or by composting the chicken litter. Tapeworms are spread by snails, slugs and insects which eat their eggs.

Symptoms

If severe, worm infestations will cause the following symptoms:

• plumage loose and fluffed out
• eyes dull and discharging
• droppings irregular, sloppy and blood stained
• reduced appetite and increased thirst
• lethargy and wieght loss, with combs and wattles appearing limp

Prevention

Chickens should be treated regularly, as a preventative measure. Birds with high worm loads are much more likely to succumb to other problems and their lethargy makes them prone to predation. Never overstock your chicken coop, overstocking will expose your pets to high levels of worm eggs from other chickens droppings. Appropriate stocking levels can be found in Building Chicken Coops. Alternate where your chickens run regularly by using two or more yards or move them around in a mobile pen.

Treatment

There are plenty of anti-worming recipes to add to chicken food as a mash. Allowing them to run in areas which contain nettle and nasturtiums is also beneficial, as both plants is an excellent food source and a form of natural medicine. Plenty of herbs and vegetables also have anti-worming qualities. These should be finally chopped and added to their feed regularly, at least once a month. Anti-worm food include:

• leaves of horseradish, garlic, elder, lavender, rue (in very small amounts), hyssop, goat’s rue, bramble and white ceder.
• onions and garlic
• grated carrot
• wormwood tips and flowers
• tansy flowers and seeds
• mustard and pumpkin seeds
• cider vinegar

Using whats readily available, chop any combination of leaves and herbs finely. Mix with whichever other foods listed above you have selected and add to your chickens feed. This should make up about 20% of that ration, feed and all. Whilst the seeds and vinegar are fine for your pets, be aware that some of the herbs, like wormwood, rue and others, should only be given in small quantities. As you are only feeding this mix to them once a month, there should be no ill effect if not used in excess amounts. Carrots, onions and garlic are fine to feed to your pets more often, as are the seeds and vinegar. However you may wish to limit garlic and onion as the sulfer content will contaminate the eggs with that familiar smell.

Lice, Mites, Ticks And Fleas

These external parasites are common on many types of birds and animals. I’m sure everyone knows a dog that always seems to have fleas! These parasites love to hide on the warm, moist bodies of your chickens, feeding on their feathers or blood.

Lice are more common in the colder part of the year and do not feed on blood, instead feeding on the dust from skin and feathers. They lay their eggs on the inside of the feather shaft, preventing removal by preening. Lice are more commonly found on sick or stressed birds and battery hens that have had their beaks trimmed. Requiring a host to feed and live, lice do not survive long away from the body. If left untreated, can cause sore, bare skin patchs and eczema-like symptoms to appear in your pets.

Mites and ticks are very similar, infact ticks are a specialised speices of mites. Both are forms of arachnid. Ticks live in bushes and shrubs waiting for a suitable host to pass. It will then drop onto its target and anchor itself to the skin, sucking on blood until it is full. It then drops off and returns to the plants to hide until it need to feed again. Whilst fairly harmless themselves, they can carry a range of diseases. In eastern Australia, there is also the Paralysis Tick, which can cause paralysis with its saliva. There is a wide range of mites, some which live on the host while others live in bedding materials or undergrowth, waiting for a suitable target to pass nearby. Some mites feed on skin and feather particles whilst others suck on blood. Mites and tick tend to be more common in hotter months.

Fleas are common parasites, carried around by dogs, cats and rats. Only the adult is dependant on a host for blood and cannot lay eggs without feeding. As fleas tend to live in and around the enclosures of their target food source, both the chicken and its environment need to be treated. Fleas can also carry diseases.

Treatment

While holding your chickens upside down by their legs, apply an insecticidal powder, herbal brew or spray directly onto the infected areas, paying close attention to the inside of legs and wings as well as the vent area. Hold over a newspaper to catch the powder. Repeat weekly until the infestation stops. If spraying, do it when it is a warm sunny day as the bird may get chills. Flea and mite treatment will require spraying of the chickens entire environment as well to prevent reinfestation. Sprays like pyrethrum and insecticidal essential oil can also be used. Please ensure whatever you use is organic so as not to impact on the health of the chickens and contaminate the eggs!

Chickens will also keep pest levels down by preening each other and rolling around in dustbaths. Infact, a dustbath for your chickens is essential as it will keep pest levels down and they seem to really enjoy scratching around in the dirt.

Isolating any sick chickens is essential, as this will minimise the risk of other members of the flock becoming infected. Birds that are sick for an extended period may need to be culled as long treatment may be uneconomical, the bird can only suffer for so long and to prevent infection of other birds. Regularly observing chicken behaviour is very important to maintain the well being of your chickens and will keep chicken parasites at bay.

David Torrisi
The Chicken Pen
© BuildingChickenCoopsReview.com 2010 – 2011

When using wood for constructing your coop, ways of joining the pieces of timber together must be considered.  Appropriate joints are chosen to increase strength of the frame at the joins, factoring in available equipment, materials and fasteners as well as the skills of the builder. There are a few common joints for building a chicken coop that are ideal for the backyard builder.

Common Joints for Building A Chicken Coop

There are many factors to consider when choosing which joints you will use when building your coop. Most joints generally only involve the pieces of timber to be joined, although other materials may be used to strengthen and re-enforce the joint. Common woodworking joints include:

• Butt – The end of one piece of wood is butted against another piece of wood. Considered the simplest and weakest joint, often relying on fasteners used to hold the joint together and provide the strength. Providing decent sized bolts or screws are used, this joint will often be sufficient for a small coop and will easily pull apart if you wish to expand or move your coop.
• Mitre – Similar to a butt joint, however the ends of the pieces of timber to be joined are cut at a 45° angle and secured using screws on either side of the diagonal join.
• Lap – The pieces of wood being joined are overlapped, with some of the thickness of the wood removed to the width of the timber on one or both pieces where the overlap occurs.
• Mortise and Tenon – A mortise is cut on the end of one piece of timber to the width of the other piece and to a part of the thickness. Unlike the lap joint, this is achieved by removing wood from both sides of the board. A tenon of the same size is cut into the centre of the other piece of timber. This is a more difficult joint but will provide the most strength. Mortise and tenon joints can also be made ‘blind’, meaning that the tenon is not cut all the way through and the mortise is cut slightly shorter to hide the join in the wood.
• Biscuit – Not strictly a joint in its own right, it is often used to strengthen and secure butt or mitre joints. A hole is cut in the centre of each piece of timber where it is to be joined using a specially made power tool. A biscuit, precut pieces of compressed timber which can be purchased from hardware store where you buy or hire the tool, is then inserted into the holes as the pieces of wood are joined together. I have successfully used biscuits cut from plywood to achieve the same results after running out of  shop bought biscuits in the middle of a job.
• Dowel – Using the same concept as biscuits, a hole is drilled to the diameter of the dowel where the wood is to be joined. As this does not require special tools or skills, dowel joints are ideal for building your coop.

Fasteners

With the exception of the mortise and tenon, all the joints mentioned above should be used in conjunction with fasteners such as screws or bolts. Nails may also be considered, however using self tapping screws or bolts allows you to easily take down or expand your coop. Not only that, screws can be applied or removed with a drill, saving a lot of time and energy. Please note that larger diameter screws or bolts will require you to predrill a pilot hole before screwing in or drilling to diameter for the shaft of the bolt. At this point, if using counter-sunk screws, you should also use a counter-sinking drill bit to widen the end of the screw hole, allowing your screw to sit flush with the wood, before screwing in.

Metal plates or stirrups and other fasteners may also be used, generally in conjunction with a butt joint to further strengthen and secure the joint. Other fasteners may include gang-nails, which are strips of metal spikes on a flat plate, commonly used on the joints of pallets.

Using the right joints will improve the overall strength of the frame, creating a great structure that will last a long time with little risk of falling apart. Using joints such as the mortise and tenon joint, and others not mentioned like dovetail joints, can also be decorative as well as functional, so they add to the overall appearance of your coop as well.

Do a little research when designing your chicken house plans to discover the most appropriate joints to use for your level of ability and the time you have available. More information about woodworking joints can be found in a link in the sidebar. These common joints for building a chicken coop will help you house your pets in style. Look for future posts covering methods for securing paneling, roofing and wire to your coop frame.

David Torrisi
The Chicken Pen
© BuildingChickenCoopsReview.com 2010 – 2011