Coop on 20 chickens own hands. How to build a warm chicken coop

Deciding to make a hen house for 20 hens with your own hands, you can arm yourself with any materials - from logs and beams to aerated concrete, which is now very popular. In this case, the main role is played by a well-thought-out scheme and the use of only high-quality materials, so that the house is well kept in winter and in the summer - provides a cool.

What to consider?

When building a chicken coop, it is first necessary to determine the location of its location, the number and location of windows, as well as a number of design features that affect the efficiency of chickens. A hen house with 20 chickens by its own hands is usually a small structure with a well thought out layout. Yes, yes, even the habitat of your chickens should be thought out, if you want them to go well.

So, in order to build a chicken coop, you need to consider the following:

1. Location. First, he must stand on a hill. Secondly, it is best to have a chicken coop in the east or west, and the windows should go to the south. This will save on maintenance of the house, and sunlight contributes to better egg production of birds.
2. The landing area for chicken. The ideal option is two chickens per one square meter. This will ensure good conditions for their maintenance and increase the productivity of chickens. It is important that the size of the hen house for 20 hens is thought over with a margin.

Of what and how to build?

You can build a chicken coop from any materials on your own. In accordance with the selected material it is necessary to select the type of foundation. We will consider the construction of a chicken coop from a bar, so we will make the base columnar as well. First, the columnar foundation is more economical in comparison with the butovym or tape. Secondly, such a base is more preferable, since under it there is no free space where rats or ferrets can settle. And constant ventilation under the floor will protect the wood from rotting. The dimensions of the hen house for 20 hens can easily be calculated by a simple formula: one square meter is designed for 4-5 chickens. Accordingly, for 20 chickens will need about 4-5 square meters. Space plus stock. The area should always be taken into account more, because you may want to increase the number of hens or purchase additional turkeys or ducks.

Foundation: what to choose?

To mark the foundation under the hen house for layers, we need metal rods and rope. The rods need to be hammered along the entire perimeter of the future structure, then tighten them with a rope. The main thing is accuracy, so that there is no distortion. Now we dig a place under the foundation: it must be a depth of 70 cm and a width of two bricks. Between the pipes a distance of one meter is left. The bottom of each hole is covered with a layer of sand and another layer of medium grained gravel. The foundation is laid of bricks, and it is important to properly process the seams with cement mortar. The space between the poles and the ground is carefully filled with gravel to protect the base from moisture and to equip a peculiar drainage system.

If there is a monolithic base, then first you need to raise the top layer of the earth about 35 cm. A sand and gravel cushion is laid throughout the base area - its height reaches 10 cm. Formwork is being made - its height is about 25 cm. We mount a reinforcing mesh-frame of rods, Fill it with strong concrete. Within three weeks, we wait for the drying of the base, then we mount a plank floor on it. The correct chicken coop must necessarily have a foundation. If it still does not happen, and the chicken coop will stand on small posts, then along the entire perimeter it is necessary to carry out a fence of iron sheets.

We equip walls and floor

Any coop should have strong walls. The process of their erection involves the installation of a frame on the basis of a wooden beam, which is then lined with boards - between them is laid a heater in the form of mineral wool, sawdust or straw. The walls can be sewed with lining, plywood or chipboard.

The hen house for 20 chickens with its own hands from a bar is built according to standard technology. The first crown should be insulated from the base - for this we use a double layer of roofing material. The ends of the bar must be connected. Then on the base are laid logs from the bar at a distance of 50 cm from each other, and the gaps between the logs are filled with scraps from the bar. Then the rest of the crowns are laid on the principle of the spike-groove.

To make a warm coop, it is important to use a heater: for these purposes, the jute fabric is most often used. After the construction of the walls at the desired height (the minimum height is 1.8 m), ceiling beams are fixed, rafters are mounted, and the roof is laid.

Roof Features

For the coop, the optimal roof is a two-story roof, since you can still use the attic to store the inventory. The ceiling is covered with boards and insulated - it is better to use a roll material or expanded clay, which is easy to install. Before the insulation and roofing, ventilation is considered. The drawings of the coop will help in this, where the main structural features of the roof are indicated.

The ventilation system consists of two wooden boxes, which are placed at different ends of the coop. One end of the ventilation pipe is mounted below the ceiling level by about 50 cm, the second box is placed on a level with the ceiling. To regulate the ventilation and temperature in the room, the pipes are equipped with tin shutters. From a good air exchange depends on the microclimate in the poultry house, the level of humidity, and the absence of an unpleasant odor. In addition to the ventilation windows, you can mount two pipes that go out through the roof.

How to arrange a floor?

The construction of a chicken coop requires the most careful attention for every detail. Floors in this structure should be warm, do not freeze and not be blown. It is best to equip double floors using a conventional inch board. Ideally, they should consist of several parts:

1. The rough floor, for the creation of which you can use a dry unedged board.
2. A layer of vapor barrier.
3. Bruskov section of 100x100 mm.

In the space between the bars you need to lay a heater, and then the floors are closed with an edging board. If necessary, you can make through blanks in the boards.

The floor in the henhouse can also be made of clay with a straw stalk, plank or cement. It is important to lay a good bedding on top of the base material - it will ensure the cleanliness of the house. As such a litter can be used sawdust, chopped straw or sand.

Create a roost

The hen house for 20 hens, created by its own hands, must have thoughtful roosts - they are best made of wood or poles with a diameter of up to 6 cm. They are mounted as far as possible from the entrance to the house, they should have a height of no more than 1.2 m if the breeds are small , And not more than 0.6 m, if the chickens are large. For each chicken it is assumed about 20 cm of a perch, so that the birds can sit comfortably. As for the nests, they are better placed in the farthest corners of the structure. At 5 heads there is one nest - in this capacity you can use small wooden boxes. A large number of nests play an important role if you are building a hen house for laying hens.

When arranging places for feeding, they need to be as simple as possible in service. The length of the feeders depends on the number of birds - about 10-15 cm per individual. At an altitude of up to 15 cm from the floor, two more feeding troughs are attached in the form of boxes - they must always have a shell, gravel or chalk, which are necessary for birds to form eggs.

The construction of a chicken coop involves the construction of a corral - as a rule, it is enclosed by a grid-rabitsa, which is attached to concrete poles. In the fence is a convenient gate, allowing to approach the birds.

Create a chicken coop for the summer

Very often there is no need to build a solid structure, but only a small building is required, where chickens can be in the summer. In such cases, you can create a small and light summer chicken coop. As a rule, it is needed primarily for the walking of birds in warm weather. It can be presented in the form of a fence, which allows birds to move around while protecting, for example, a garden or a garden from them. To save space and make the construction of a chicken coop easier, you can attach it to the wall of another farm building on the site.

An important role is played by a place for chicken walking - it is most often located next to the chicken coop. To limit it, a grid is used for the coop, which is useful for protecting not only walls, but also roofs.

Do I need insulation?

Many people are worried about whether it is necessary to insulate the chicken coops. In the climatic conditions of Russia this issue is not idle, as birds must be protected from hypothermia. Before entering the building must necessarily be a vestibule - it will protect the main space from direct exposure to cold air. Special insulation is also used for finishing the floor, roof and walls, especially if the building will be used all year round. All this provides for properly drawn up drawings of the coop. By the way, the inner part of the roof is easily covered with felt, which will keep the heat inside the room.

Important points

1. Any chicken coop should be dry. This is the main requirement, because the state of birds can deteriorate due to low temperatures and high humidity. First of all, they may have diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
2. Size plays an important role. For the summer, you can build and large buildings, but in the winter the chickens will be cold, so the smaller the chicken coop, the better. In this case, the number of chickens should be sufficient.
3. Windows should be enough. Especially if your chicken coop is winter! Before sunrise and before sunset, illumination is provided artificially. It is desirable to install two windows facing south.

Internal arrangement

Ventilation and good lighting are perhaps the two most important qualities of any chicken coop. How to equip a coop inside the house so that the birds are comfortable and comfortable? Experts advise to pay great attention to the proper location of the roosts, always monitor the state of water and food. If the chickens are constantly on the street, then feeders and drinking bowls in the building itself are not needed. If the hens are permanently locked in the henhouse, then all the feeders and drinking bowls should always be with food and water. They need to be positioned at a low altitude, so that the birds can not step on them and turn them over.

Baths for chickens

Some owners are thinking up a kind of dust bath for domestic chickens. They allow the birds to maintain their plumage in good condition, while destroying any pests. Dust baths are containers filled with sand, garden soil, wood ash, in which chickens are bathed.

Thus, making a chicken coop with their own hands is quite easy. The main thing is to stock up with the necessary materials, to think over the blueprints, and then to start implementing the project. Remember that any chicken coop should meet a number of requirements:

1. The more space, the better.
2. All drinkers and feeding troughs should be publicly available.
3. All the roosts are at different heights.
4. Nests for laying hens should be located in the right places.
5. The structure must always have enough light - natural and artificial.

Specialists also advise to feed birds also in the straw that has been spread in the hen house - this will provide employment for chickens, since a fixed lifestyle leads to a weakening of their immunity and loss of appetite. A straw makes the hens constantly look for food, so they are in good shape.