You may have shopped around and saw the astronomical costs of a prefab chicken coop.
If you decided to build your own, you need to plans for a chicken coop.
A good set of plans can save you a lot of money because you would only pay for the cost of the materials and a few hours of your time.
You don't want to spend too much of your time therefore a quality set of plans will make this process easier.
Good plans should address the following areas.
Protection Once your coop is up and running, you need to be able to protect your chickens from skunks and rodents.
You need to set up chicken wire around your chicken house.
This wire fence should run about a foot deep to prevent from digging underneath.
Feeding Quality plans for a chicken coop will help you prepare the feeding areas in the structure.
You will need to know how much space is will occupy.
You will need to comfortably access the feeding areas to deliver food and water.
These areas will need to be accessible for cleaning also.
Ventilation Chickens will need fresh air and sunlight to be productive.
Plans for a chicken coop will account for these needs during the building process.
They will need to have enough warmth during the winter season and cooling during the summer.
Windows need to be built so sunlight can shine through the structure.
Size You will need adequate size to fit your chickens comfortably.
It's often recommended to have at least 10 sq ft per chicken.
The size will depend of the number of chickens you plan to raise.
You also need to account for the size of your yard and local laws that may limit the size of you chicken house.
These were a few reasons why you need to have plans for a chicken coop if you plan to build your own.
It will prevent a lot of frustration and make your job much easier.
It would be a shame to spend a day building a coop only to discover the house isn't large enough.