How To Build A Chicken Coop
Sandy asks…
How to make a coop for a broody hen?
I was reading my Storey's Guide to keeping Chickens and realized that there is no information about how to build the inside of a brooding hen's coop. I need to know where the nest should be located (high or low), How high the sides of the nest should be, and any other things that you put in your coop. Thanks!
Building Chicken Coops answers:
There are coop plans available on www.Ovabid.com
Sandra asks…
Advice & pros & cons of raising chickens?
I'm considering building a coop & bringing in chickens (Northeast USA) for eggs & perhaps help cut back on Deer Ticks.
I had some farm experience growing up, am familiar with basic livestock care, looked up further info about chickens and have some preliminary perspectives. (If you have some good links I'll take them) But in asking you this question, I'd like to set what I "think" I know aside, assume I know nothing, and hear from real folks. I have kids who also want this and I'd like someone to help break down the actual responsibility for me so I can present it to (older) children. They've had positive experience caring for cats & dogs so far in their lives.
Looking for specific advice. My initial questions are:
- how many to start with
- what type are hardy and appropriate for a Northeast winter/summer extreme climate
- how much square footage to roam in
- daily & overall responsibility by an actual owner.
- what feed do you recommend to keep their eggs "organic" & all natural
- approximate cost of feed per month - how much per chicken daily
- how you keep up the water supply
- how often do you clean out coop
- expected & unexpected vet & medical bills
- how to keep bird diseases at bay
- what do you do if an egg cracks or gets stuck inside a bird? How often does this happen? How can you tell?
- If I go ahead and do this, and find your advice to be relevant, can the kids and I get in touch with you from time to time via Y/A to ask questions?
I very much appreciate someone taking the time to explain this. Sometimes I look to some of you folks as a "partner", a resource, and back-up voice in raising my kids, showing them how to reach out for help, ask questions, respect other opinions, etc. They also learn not to be the victim of their last speaker, with some of the characters on Y/A! In this case, it would be to research an idea before investing the money, getting in over our heads, and accidentally killing chickens!
Thanks.
Thanks for your help! I'll be ready for the Spring!
Building Chicken Coops answers:
- I'd say two or three. Chickens tend to like company, and two isn't a hard number to start with. You can, however, have severe problems between chickens when introducing new members.
- Most will be fine in the heat ; ensure they have shade, access to the coop and water at all times. I'd personally suggest bantams ; they're a great first chicken.
- Generally chickens need about 3 sq ft of space each outside and 1 sq ft each inside a coop which sounds not a lot - and it isn't - so really they appreciate as much space as you can give them.
- Not much ; clean the coop twice a week or more, same with the patch you keep them on. Fresh water and food daily. Then just shut the coop at night. Take the food inside to deter vermin.
- A basic chicken feed along with egg (with the shell), and table scraps.
- As I'm in England I can't even give you estimates for food.
- Get proper chicken feeders, and fill them to the top with water. These are best kept under the coop so they stay in the shade.
- Answered above
- The only one really is red mites - oil their legs every so often and you can also get repellents for it.
- It isn't a common occurence at all, but the chuck may act lethargic, tired, and generally off-colour. You can try holding her back end over a bowl of hot water for about 5 minutes, the warm steam will help the egg come out. If the hen egg binds, I would suggest getting a vet involved the first few times until you and the kids are completely sure you know what to do.
- Yes, that's fine 
All I will say is, if you choose to get a cockerel and raise chicks, ask your neighbors first. They are extremely noisy and start as soon as it gets light.
David asks…
How can I take care of a chicken?
I swear this is actually a real question. My Dad stayed out all night drinking in the city (San Francisco), and came home with a live chicken he bought in Chinatown for me for my birthday. Naturally, I was stoked. I decided to name him Mao, but I'm not sure what to feed him. He's currently roaming around the backyard and I think he's kind of in shock because he's never had this much space before (he was in a tiny cage with about 30 other chickens). I put out a water dish for him, but he dosn't really seem interested in it. I'm going to google directions on how to build a coop for him but if anyone has any links to a site with that kind of information, that would be swell. Anyway, my question is, what do chickens need, and how can I keep him happy? Thanks.
Also, he seems afraid of the food/water bowls I set out for him. Is there a good way to make him eat, or will it just take him a while to realize it's food? Also also, he's real scared of people and runs away whenever I go near him (I'm sure he hasn't really had the best treatment by humans so far). Is there any way to make him less afraid of me?
My Dad says it's a male, so I guess it's a rooster, if that makes any difference.
Building Chicken Coops answers:
Hi there! Wow, sounds like you're having fun with your new family member .
I think your rooster is just a bit in shock of all the space, food and new surroundings. Try putting a cloth over it's face and picking it up a lot because, if you don't handle it much, it will get vicious. This is simply because it is a rooster - hens would be calmer.
Also, try putting some corn/worms in your hand and it should come over and have a look. If you repeat this several times, it should get friendlier and eat out of your hand.
Food chickens like:
Corn, chicken pellets (small pellets of food), vegetables (cabbage, potato and carrot peelings), worms, snails, slugs and insects.
Hope I helped. If you need any more information, just email me
Robert asks…
How many barns should we build?
We need to know how many barns we need to build. Should we have one for each type of animal? I mean we want chickens which will go in a coop. Horses will go in a stable. But will Sheep, Pigs, Goats, Cows all go in a barn? And should we put each type of animal in a different barn? Such as Pigs all go in one barn and Cows all go in another.
Building Chicken Coops answers:
The more the better
Nancy asks…
How to get a bed, tool,beauty box and etc. on harvest moon island of happiness?
Okay... I know you can get them from Chen's Shop and upgrade your house 2x and I have done that and I already ask Gannon to build me the barn, chicken coop and greenhouse and I even upgrade them and my stable. I already searched for FAQ and walkthroughs for it but it doesn't give me much info is just say upgrade your house 2x go to Chen's Shop and that the location where you can buy the items to able to get married. So please give me the steps and a CLEAR DESCRIPTION of what to do. And I'll appreciate your answers. Thank you and Cheers.
And oh yeah... When can I ask Gannon to build bridges and roads???
Building Chicken Coops answers:
Wow! You've done a lot! That's awesome!
So, you've upgraded your house twice, now you go to Chen in his shop and talk to him, he'll welcome you to his shop and he'll list everything he has, including the husband/wife bed, tool box, beauty box, refrigerator and kitchen. Then just simply buy them! (they are highlighted green) If you don't find them then you must have already have them in your house (I think that they come with the upgrades, I'm not sure because I bought them before upgrading the second time).
You could ask Gannon to build the bridges at any time!
Again, just simply go to him and the bridges will be the last 2/3 options-along with the road upgrades-(they are highlighted green) (every time you build a bridge another option to build another bridge somewhere else will appear) and it only takes one day too.
Just make sure you have enough gold.
Hope this is clear enough!~
Good luck in your game!~
Chris asks…
Who here raises their own meat/eggs?
I have always wanted to raise my own chickens for meat/eggs. I figure that by raising my own food, I can control the conditions in which they are kept and be assured that whatever I raised was treated humanely. We'll be moving to a house with a yard soon so I'd like to start researching.
Anyhow, questions:
Do you live in a suburb or a rural area?
How much did it cost to build a coop?
How many chickens do you have?
How much room do they need?
Do you keep a rooster around?
Do you have a butcher that slaughters the chickens for you? Does such a service exist?
Thanks for all of your answers!
Building Chicken Coops answers:
1. I live in a rural area but chickens are very popular in cities. Many cities allow you to keep a few hens.
2. A small chicken tractor can be made from mostly "found" scraps for very little. You can spend thousands on a bigger building. You can buy coops made for small lots for anything from $300 on up.
3. I've got about 30 or 40 chickens
4. Mine have over 30 acres to roam but they can be kept in fairly small areas.
5. We have many roosters
6. We butcher our own but there are places that will do them for you, usually for less than $5 a bird.
I really recommend you go to www.feathersite.com and look at some of their links. That site can keep you intertained for hours!
George asks…
Chicken experts click here please!?
My family and I are getting chickens for the first time here soon. My dad already built them a coop and know about what kind of food and how much and their living conditions and all of that good stuff, but we're unsure what kind of chickens to get. We do know we are getting an Americana.. other than that, we know nothing about the variety of chickens out there!
Building Chicken Coops answers:
It depends on what you are getting the chickens for, meat or eggs. I'll assume it's eggs. Rhode Island Reds are some of the best consistent egg layers as are Black Australorps who held the record for consecutive number of eggs laid in a year (364eggs in a 365 day period). For meat production only, nothing compares with the fast growth of Cornish Cross. They reach 4-5 lbs in 6 weeks and 6-10 lbs in 8-12 weeks.
For eggs and meat Plymouth Barred Rocks, Sussex, and Wyandottes are breeds that lay reasonably well and are large enough for meat production.
Ruth asks…
Do you need a license to keep chickens?
And how can I find out if I can keep chickens here? My neighbor across the street had some, and I am not sure if I can..
Is this a good coop..or should I build this one? http://www.buildeazy.com/chicken_coop_1.html
Or should I buy this one?
http://www.omlet.us/products_services/products_services.php?view=Chickens
My uncle said he would come down with some of his chickens and a chicken coop to build for me and I could have some of his chickens, he said all I have to do is call.
Building Chicken Coops answers:
No license. You're sitting here writing this, make the call. The coop on the site is a good one but they need a safe yard or at least a safe run. Ask your county agent if you can keep chickens as across the street can be a different zone.
Susan asks…
i want chickens, but???
i live in wisconsin and as you probably know, we have cold harsh winters. We do have a chicken coop that came with our house and property. We get cornish cross chickens every spring and butcher them in the summer. I really want egg layers though. The cornish crosses are just mean, obnoxious, fat, greedy, smelly pigs. I really hate them. I never want to get them and neither does my mom. But we end up getting them anyway. Whenever you walk in to feed them, they go balistic and attack your feet.
My parents said that we cant get egg layers because of the cold weather. Our coop is really crappy and it looks like its about to collapse any second. It has broken windows and shingles blow off in hard wind. Its to dangerous and cold to put full time chickens in there.
I really want them though.
How expensive do you think it would be to tear the coop down and build a new one? how can i convince my parents?
Building Chicken Coops answers:
Hmm.
I think you should check out this website.
(I came across it when I was thinking about buying chickens myself)
Their chicken coops are great value and very sturdy and reliable.
It would protect them from the harsh weather/predators etc.
Plus, they're not too expensive.
They also come with chickens, price included! (The breeds they offer are friendly as you don't seem to be too fond of the chicken breeds you have/had.
However, this would only be suitable if you are planning to keep them just for egg laying/pet purposes/. I don't think the company will let you keep them for the use of your cornish cross chickens.
UK: http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_services/products_services.php
USA:
http://www.omlet.us/products_services/products_services.php
To convince you parents, just show them how practical the coops are and how you desperatley want pet chickens full time. (Remember, these chickens are for egg laying/pet purposes)
Good luck and have a nice day!
