Winter wooden chicken coop. How to build a chicken coop at the dacha with your own hands. Heating – comfort and coziness
It is no secret to many that the comfort of keeping affects the health of chickens, especially in winter. Comfort in a chicken coop is created by proper lighting, ventilation, sufficient space for walking, convenient location of nests, feeders and drinkers. All this together allows birds to lay eggs in larger quantities. Therefore, during the cold period it is necessary to build a warm room for chickens, the independent construction of which will not be difficult.
Is it really necessary to build a warm chicken coop?
From the end of autumn to the first month of spring, unfavorable conditions for chickens begin, which creates difficulties for poultry owners.
If in spring and summer the chicken is active: it moves, digs in the ground, bathes in water, then in winter, due to many factors, its activity decreases.
The summer chicken coop does not require additional insulation and lighting
When temperatures drop and daylight hours shorten, birds' ability to lay eggs decreases or even stops completely. That’s why it’s so important to make a chicken coop that will provide:
- temperature level of at least 12 degrees and low humidity;
- artificial lighting - to increase daylight hours;
- the presence of low perches and egg-laying sites;
- the internal area of the room is 1 m2 for 1–7 individuals (depending on the breed).
Meeting these requirements will allow poultry to comfortably overwinter without losing weight and laying eggs daily.
A properly built chicken coop can significantly increase the egg production of birds.
Options for warm chicken coops for the winter
A standard chicken coop is a utility room, next to which there is a place for birds to walk.
The site has a fence made of chain-link mesh with small cells that protects the chickens from predators. If the farm has no more than one and a half dozen birds, then this is an ideal option. It is possible to arrange a chicken coop with a greater level of comfort, with external and internal walking areas, but then it will take up a large area. This option is not suitable for small plots of land.
The winter chicken coop is built on a foundation on which a thick wooden floor is laid, and the walking area is covered with a roof.
Considering the number of individuals, the following types of chicken coops are used:
- From 10 to 15 individuals - a mini-chicken coop up to 10 m2 with a walking area of 4 m2. Such an area will ensure free movement of both adult birds and young animals in the case of breeding chicks. It is also required to be equipped with a window and a ventilation grill.
The mini-chicken coop is equipped with a covered run and a box for collecting eggs.
- From 20 to 30 individuals - a full-fledged room up to 20 m2, a height of 1.8 m and a walking area of 6 m2. These dimensions allow you to build a perch in several tiers and install up to 7 nests. If the area of your personal plot is sufficient, then it is better to build a chicken coop with a vestibule: it will provide the required temperature in the main room in winter.
It is advisable to build a winter chicken coop with a vestibule to protect chickens from drafts
- More than 50 individuals - a room of about 40 2, up to 2 meters high and a walking area of 12 m 2. Such a chicken coop requires additional thermal insulation, ventilation and installation of heating equipment. It is better to place the perches opposite the windows, and the nests (up to 10 pieces) in the back of the room.
Large chicken coops are built on high stilts, and the walking area is made under the premises
If the area of the personal plot allows, then the chicken coop will be equipped in a completely enclosed room, inside of which there will be a walking area, which will prevent the birds from hypothermia and ensure their free movement even at low air temperatures in winter.
The winter poultry house can be completely enclosed, providing the chickens with a warm place to roam
When you need a chicken coop at minimal cost, there is an option to build it like a dugout. The height of the walls does not exceed 0.5 m, and for insulation they are covered with earth. The roof is also insulated. The southern wall is equipped with windows with multi-layer glass. And the fallen snow additionally provides thermal insulation.
Another low-cost option is a poultry house made using frame technology: from small-section timber, sheathed with plywood sheets, OSB, planed boards. Thermal insulation material is laid between them; its thickness depends on the climate. To protect against rodents, the insulation is covered with a metal mesh. This increases costs, but subsequently removing rodents is even more expensive. During construction, it is better to follow the rules for constructing frame houses.
In winter, it is mandatory to regulate the humidity level in the chicken coop, which is ensured by installing ventilation.
Video: fully autonomous warm poultry house on stilts (with bottom rung)
Material selection
The best option for a warm poultry house is wood. During frame construction, the timber is covered with dense rows of OSB sheets, hiding the cracks. When construction is carried out using brick or cinder block, good thermal insulation is necessary, since brick has a high level of thermal conductivity. What material will be used for the chicken coop depends on preferences and financial capabilities.
An insufficiently insulated roof will become a source of heat loss and increased humidity in the room, and the cost of heating the chicken coop will increase. For insulation, it is recommended to line the inside with foam plastic or felt. A permanent roof is made over the winter walking area - a continuation of the roof of the chicken coop itself.
For the winter period, it is preferable to have a chicken coop with a gable roof so that snow does not accumulate on it.
Wood is often used in the construction of poultry house walls due to its environmental friendliness and low thermal conductivity. Even if the frame is erected from metal, it is better to use plank cladding.
The metal frame is always sheathed with wood so that the desired temperature balance is maintained indoors in winter.
To facilitate constant cleaning inside the chicken coop, its floor is made by pouring concrete. The service life of such a floor is long, but it requires good thermal insulation so that the birds do not freeze. In winter, the wooden floor is additionally treated with special moisture-resistant compounds, and the top is covered with a thick layer of straw and hay bedding.
The floor in the chicken coop can be made of concrete, but be sure to cover it with a thick layer of straw
To give the entire structure of the chicken coop rigidity and strength, to avoid distortions of the walls and the appearance of gaps, as well as to raise the walls themselves above the ground, a light strip foundation is used. This also helps keep you warm in winter.
The following materials are used to build a main wall:
- Shell rock is a porous limestone of natural origin with a low level of thermal conductivity. Most suitable for building a chicken coop for 25–30 birds. The standard size of the block is 18x18x38 cm. It is laid using the technology of laying foam blocks or cinder blocks.
Walls made of shell rock are erected quickly and retain heat well
- Foam concrete is a common material that is harmless to health. There are no restrictions on the size of the building. The optimal material for wall construction is D400 foam concrete, the block size of which is 20x30x60 centimeters. The thickness of the masonry is determined by the climate of the area.
You can build a chicken coop from foam concrete very quickly, following masonry technology
- Brick is a building material with a low level of thermal conductivity and is durable. It is optimal to build large chicken coops from brick. The brick can be either solid or hollow.
The brick walls of the chicken coop can be lined with boards from the inside
Taking into account the service life of the chicken coop, the material from which the walls will be built is determined. For a novice poultry farmer, wood and plywood are the best choices. Over time, you can dismantle the structure or, conversely, add additional space. But if you are breeding a large number of poultry and building a chicken coop for a long time, then it is better to choose brick or foam concrete. You will also definitely need thermal insulation - foam sheets, mineral wool rolls or other modern material.
For the purpose of thermal insulation of the structure, natural insulating materials are also used: the walls are insulated with straw and hay, and the floor and ceiling are insulated with coarse expanded clay. There is only one negative side to the use of such insulation in comparison with modern materials - these insulation have high thermal conductivity, which requires their use in large quantities. And this is difficult when building a poultry house.
Detailed characteristics of modern building materials for thermal insulation:
- Polystyrene foam is a material with good insulating properties. Has a cellular structure. Thermal conductivity is only 0.047 W/mK, which is lower than that of foam concrete, brick and wool. Sold in sheets of different sizes. Easy to attach. The main disadvantage is that it is susceptible to damage by rodents. To solve this problem, the foam is sheathed with sheets of plywood or OSB.
Polystyrene foam has good thermal insulation characteristics and is often used as wall insulation
- Mineral wool - has heat and sound insulation properties. It has a fibrous structure. Thermal conductivity is slightly greater than that of polystyrene foam, but it is not susceptible to damage by rodents. It is recommended to use in conjunction with waterproof and windproof film.
Mineral wool is resistant to damage by rodents, but absorbs moisture from the environment
- Extruded polystyrene foam is a material with a closed cellular structure, produced by polystyrene foaming. It has a long service life and excellent insulating characteristics. Its properties surpass almost all existing thermal insulation materials.
Expanded polystyrene has a long service life, but if used indoors for a long time, it causes harm to health through the respiratory system
- Stizol is a foamed polyethylene. It has high thermal insulation and sound insulation properties, is not susceptible to moisture, and is durable. Produced on the basis of metallized film, foil or non-woven fabric. The optimal thickness for use is about 1 mm.
Stizol is used in construction as sheet insulation.
When choosing insulation, it is important to consider how much area it will cover. If the structure is small, use stizol or any polyethylene foam material. For structures accommodating 50 or more birds, it is advisable to combine materials: if the wall is insulated with expanded polystyrene, then the floors are insulated with expanded clay. And when minimal construction costs are required, polystyrene foam and mineral wool are used.
When creating a project to build a chicken coop, you need to determine in what place the insulation will be installed: if it is planned as interior decoration, then when making calculations you need to increase the overall dimensions of the structure by the thickness of the material being laid.
Video: warm chicken coop with your own hands in 4 days
Preparatory work
The width of the foundation being laid should slightly exceed the thickness of the future wall. In this case, the wall is installed exactly in the center of the foundation. A concrete foundation will additionally provide thermal insulation and provide protection from:
- exposure to moisture on wooden structural elements, increasing the service life of the building;
- access to the chicken coop for predators and rodents, which can easily dig a hole underground.
There are other possible ways to protect against uninvited predators getting inside:
- make a foundation up to 30 cm high;
- place the structure on concrete pillars, raising the floor to a height of 25 cm from the ground;
- cover the walls with metal sheets, burying one edge of the sheet to a depth of 35 cm.
On the schematic image of the chicken coop you need to indicate the location of all parts of the building and internal equipment
During construction, it is imperative to install several windows on the south side of the chicken coop for natural light. But they should not be a source of draft.
Since in winter, chickens try to be as close to each other as possible, their placement is organized based on the rule: 1 m2 - for 4–7 individuals. If a meat breed is raised: 1 m 2 - for 3 individuals. For laying hens: 2.5 m2 - for 10 individuals. The height of the room is no more than 1.8 m.
The size of the chicken coop depends on the number of birds
To build a warm chicken coop yourself, you will need the following:
- poultry house design with precise drawings and dimensions;
- building materials for installing formwork and pouring the foundation;
- plumbing and construction tools;
- building materials for the construction of a bird house.
Video: tricks in building and arranging a winter chicken coop
Making your own chicken coop: step-by-step instructions
At the very beginning of construction, markings are made for the foundation (base) of the chicken coop using wooden pegs and a rope stretched between them. The foundation of the fencing of the walking area is carried out at the same time as the foundation of the chicken coop.
Base
Sequence of work:
- A trench is dug for the foundation. The structure of the chicken coop does not have much mass, so the foundation is made of strip or columnar to a depth of no more than 45 cm. However, the use of a columnar foundation will lead to high costs for thermal insulation of floors.
The foundation for a chicken coop can be strip or columnar.
- First, crushed stone and then sand are poured and compacted at the bottom of the trench, creating a so-called cushion (the thickness of the total layer should not exceed 5–10 cm).
- The formwork is being installed for pouring the foundation. The height of the formwork is equal to the height of the foundation. The upper edge of the formwork serves to level the poured concrete.
The foundation must be made according to all the rules so that it does not warp or crack after drying.
- Reinforcement is placed inside the formwork and tied at the corners with steel wire.
- Concrete is poured into the formwork, leveled over the surface until cement laitance forms and covered with film. It needs to be watered daily for a week to prevent cracks from appearing.
After 20–28 days, when the foundation has gained the required strength, you can begin constructing the chicken coop structure. A layer of waterproofing is laid on top of the foundation to protect the structure from moisture.
Floor
From the place above which the floor of the chicken coop will be located, the top layer of soil is removed, then sand is poured there and compacted, and a layer of expanded clay is laid as insulation. A mesh is rolled out over the expanded clay and a screed is made using cement mortar. The thickness of the floor screed should be at least 2 cm. For several days, while the screed hardens, you need to water it with water. It is recommended to make the screed with a slope of several degrees, which will ensure free flow of water when cleaning inside the chicken coop.
For comfortable living of chickens, the floors in the chicken coop are covered with boards.
The arrangement of the walking area is carried out in different ways: either it is poured with concrete or covered with boards.
Sawdust, straw, and hay are used as bedding. Usually, during the cold period, the litter does not change, and each time a new dry layer is poured on top of it. This results in natural heating of the floor due to warm droppings mixed with dry bedding.
Another option for arranging a walking area is to preserve the natural soil, which will allow the bird to look for insects, seeds and stones in the future.
You need to think in advance what kind of floor there will be in the bird walking area.
Frame
The sequence of work is as follows:
Roof
A sheathing made of unedged boards or sheets of plywood is nailed to the rafters. A special vapor barrier film or polyethylene is laid and secured along the sheathing. The film is spread in overlapping layers, and the seams are sealed with adhesive tape. Thermal insulation material (mineral wool board) is laid on it, and covered with waterproofing on top.
Most often, the roof of a chicken coop is made pitched due to the simplicity of its construction.
Next, through the waterproofing, transverse strips are nailed to the rafters with the required spacing, which depends on the type and size of the roofing material. If a soft roof is used, then plywood or OSB sheets must be laid on top of the slats, along which roofing material spreads. If slate is used, then wood cladding is not needed.
After completion of the roofing work, the frame and internal wall cladding are insulated.
Insulation of walls and floors
The work is carried out in the following sequence:
Polyurethane foam is also sometimes used as a thermal insulation material. But for its installation, specialists with equipment are involved, with the help of which this insulation is applied to the surface of the walls. The use of polyurethane foam is expensive, but the application process is not labor-intensive and provides maximum protection from the cold.
You can sheathe the outside of a winter chicken coop with edged boards or other facade material, except plastic, since it does not tolerate severe frosts well.
A concrete floor, even with an expanded clay cushion, does not ensure heat retention inside the chicken coop in winter. For this purpose, the floors are additionally insulated.
You can lay infrared film on the floor and use a cement mortar screed on it. This heating system operates both periodically and regularly, ensuring the desired temperature in the chicken coop. Or you can use a less expensive option: cover the floor with wooden panels. These shields are boards tightly fitted to each other, attached to the joists. In winter, plant litter up to 15 cm thick is laid on them to increase floor insulation, and in summer they are removed from the chicken coop, cleaned and disinfected.
The arrangement of the chicken coop should be such that the birds are comfortable both in winter and in summer.
Sometimes electric heating devices are placed on the walls inside the chicken coop, and the installation sites are protected with heat-resistant material. But more often infrared lamps are suspended from the ceiling.
Lighting
The design of the poultry house must have windows. Despite the fact that they are a source of heat loss, their presence cannot be abandoned, since the supply of sunlight is required to maintain the health of the birds. Therefore, triple glazing is built into the windows, and a mesh is installed on the glass for the safety of birds.
In winter, it is imperative to ensure that the daylight hours are at least 14 hours. This is done with the help of artificial lighting. And when installing an automatic on/off system, you get rid of the unnecessary hassle of maintenance, although you will spend additional money on it.
Lighting devices can serve as heating, but must be safe for birds
At first, individual individuals will roost for the night directly on the floor. This is not dangerous if the floor is insulated and covered with shavings or hay. Over time, the birds will get used to it and, at nightfall, will begin to move to their roost. But you can do it differently: wake up the birds early in the morning, turning on the lighting for this, and allow them to fall asleep at sunset.
Ventilation
In a warm chicken coop, a ventilation device is required to remove excess moisture. To do this, a piece of plastic pipeline is installed in the ceiling, which rises 1 meter above the roof. This way ventilation will be carried out naturally due to the existing pressure difference. If the air flow is weak, then an additional channel is made at the floor level (far from the nests), which must be covered with a grille. And the damper installed on it will allow you to regulate the ventilation speed. You can also install an electric fan in the wall.
The ideal humidity level is 65%. A decrease or increase in this indicator negatively affects the activity and health of the bird. To increase humidity, it is enough to install a container with water, and to reduce it, install a hood and hang an infrared lamp: it dries surfaces well.
The chicken coop must be equipped with ventilation so that the birds do not get cold from rising humidity.
Making perches
The perch is made of timber with a cross-section of approximately 4x4 cm or 6x4 cm.
All corners are ground into a rounded shape, and the surface is cleaned to a smooth state so that the birds do not injure their paws. You can also use a tree branch as a perch.
If several perches are installed, then the distance between adjacent planks should be about 30 cm in width and 20 cm in height. For convenience, a small ladder is attached to the lower perch.
Perches are mounted either between two walls, or in the form of a ladder installed across the room
To install perches, you must:
- Determine the location and height of the perch - attach one or more planks near the window at a height of 0.5–0.7 m from the floor level.
- Measure the width of the chicken coop and cut off the required amount of timber.
- On opposite walls, nail 0.5 m pieces of board with cut grooves for perches.
- Place perches in the grooves and secure with self-tapping screws.
Nests for laying eggs are made in the form of a semi-open box assembled from timber, boards or plywood. And sometimes ready-made plastic boxes are used as nests. If the nests rise to a certain height, then they are mounted on supports.
A ladder is provided to the nests for ease of movement of birds.
Video: do-it-yourself warm chicken coop
Tips for setting up a chicken coop in cellars or basements
There are some features of arranging a chicken coop in the basement:
- Use of bedding - sawdust or hay is used. The sawdust bedding is replaced once every 6–7 days, and the hay bedding – once every 3–4 days.
- Lighting - an electric lamp with LEDs with a power of more than 5 W is mounted. Using a lamp, the required length of daylight hours is ensured: the longer it is, the more chickens will lay eggs.
- Insulation - use cotton wool or any roll insulation with a thickness of at least 5 cm. The use of a waterproofing film is mandatory.
- Ventilation - intake and exhaust ducts are installed. Direct ventilation of the premises is carried out periodically.
- Internal arrangement - the nests are made of timber covered with plywood. One nest is used for several chickens and is approximately 40x40 cm. The perches are attached at a height of at least 50 centimeters. It is allowed to connect the perch and nest by placing a board between them.
There are certain rules for arranging a winter chicken coop that must be followed.
Care after winter: how to treat walls
Sanitation of the poultry house is carried out annually with the onset of warm weather. This prevents the spread of infectious diseases among chickens.
During disinfection the following is carried out:
- Cleaning - all surfaces of the walls, ceiling, floor, perches and nests are cleaned of dirt with a stiff brush and broom, and then washed with a solution of soda ash in hot water.
- Surface treatment - special means are used (two percent solution of caustic soda or four percent xylonaftha emulsion). When preparing solutions, you must strictly adhere to the recipe and be sure to use personal protective equipment.
After treatment, allow the chicken coop to dry completely for 5-6 hours, thoroughly ventilating the room.
There is always an opportunity to work on decorating the chicken coop
Construction of a chicken coop is a simple task and can be completely solved independently, without involving the services of third-party specialists. You just need to study these instructions well, and also read the advice of other people involved in breeding poultry.
It would not hurt the owner of a dacha who permanently resides there to acquire a chicken coop. The benefits of this idea are obvious: there will always be fresh eggs at home - a complete product for consumption, and caring for the bird does not require large expenses or much effort.
By calculating the cost of purchasing feed and comparing it with the cost of eggs, you can be sure of the profitability. If you add organic fertilizer, which laying hens can provide to your garden completely free of charge, the economic effect will be even higher.
How many birds should you have in order to provide your family with a good dietary product, but not be too immersed in the worries associated with care? How you can properly make a small chicken coop for 10-20 laying hens with your own hands, see in the photo below. We will try to give answers to the questions that concern people involved in poultry farming.
Features of building a chicken coop
To provide for a family of 3 people, ten laying hens are enough. Twenty birds can feed a family of more people a delicious omelette. You should not have a lot of chickens on your summer cottage, otherwise there will be problems with the sale of finished products and with neighbors.
Building a mini-chicken coop for 10-20 chickens in a country house with your own hands, using drawings, videos, and diagrams, cannot be considered an overly complicated task. The key elements need to be carefully considered. In this case, a superficial approach is unacceptable, since the health of the bird and productivity depend on the conditions of detention. It is better to immediately tune in to high-quality work, rejecting the common opinion that a poultry house can really be made from scrap materials and at random.
Choosing the optimal location for the chicken coop
The place should be well lit and dry. Shaded areas under trees are absolutely not suitable for it. It is very good if the terrain has a slight slope. This will allow rainwater to drain away fairly quickly without soaking the soil. The entrance to the poultry house and chicken run should be located on the south side. In this case, the rays of the sun will warm the ground and the room even in winter.
The dimensions of the walking area are calculated by experienced poultry farmers, so there is no need to do your own research. It is advisable that there be at least 1 m² per hen. Therefore, a chicken coop for twenty chickens should have a run, the area of which is at least 20 m². Here is a photo of the simplest small chicken coop being built at the dacha with your own hands.
The proportions of the enclosure should be tied to the existing dimensions of the house. If the housing for ten laying hens is two meters wide, then make the paddock 2x7 or 2x5 meters.
The size of the house is selected based on current veterinary standards: 4 laying hens can be placed per 1 m². This means that for ten chickens along with a rooster, an area of 2x2 meters will be quite enough.
Instructions used for construction
After determining the dimensions of the aviary and poultry house, you can begin the construction stage. We do not recommend installing the chicken coop directly on the ground. In such a house the bird will be cold and damp, and insects and rodents will be able to enter it without any obstacles. Build the object according to the rules, paying special attention to a reliable foundation.
There are several options:
- concrete slab foundation;
- columnar foundation, slightly raised above the ground.
The concrete foundation slab for the future poultry house should be made in the following sequence:
1) mark the dimensions of the building using a cord and pegs;
2) remove an even layer of soil to a depth of 30 cm;
3) pour a cushion of fine crushed stone and sand 15 cm thick and compact it;
4) we make formwork from boards;
5) we lay the steel mesh on a sand-crushed stone cushion (cell 6-10 cm) and fill it with concrete (M200);
6) After curing the concrete for two weeks, you can begin laying the walls.
A foundation for a chicken coop that has a columnar structure will be easier to manufacture. To do this, it is necessary to drill holes 0.9 meters deep and fifteen centimeters in diameter. After this, roofing felt formwork is installed in them.
Before concreting begins, reinforcing bars (fourteen millimeters in diameter) are placed in the formwork, three pieces per column. One of the reinforcing bars should have a threaded end. It will be needed to secure the wooden beam on which the floor is laid.
If you want to use the space available under the house for walking, then the height of the foundation pillar above the ground should be at least fifty centimeters.
Walls
It is important that the chicken coop in the country, built with your own hands, has warm and wind-proof walls. They are built on a monolithic slab from blocks (foam or aerated concrete, sawdust concrete or porous ceramics).
You can make panel formwork and fill it with clay-straw mixture. The final choice depends on financial capabilities and preferences. The main thing is that the wall material is easy to install and warm.
Before laying, the foundation must be waterproofed using bitumen coating or laying several layers of roofing material.
For a columnar foundation, a frame wall structure will be optimal. It is erected quickly and at low cost.
A timber frame is considered the best base for floors and frame walls. All you need is a sufficient number of bars for racks, struts and horizontal crossbars, which increase the degree of rigidity of the structure.
The support beam will serve as the basis for the walls of the poultry house and the lower part of the fence for the run. It is better to make the frame of the door and walking area from a metal corner. Then the mesh is fixed on it, and the paddock is covered with slate or polycarbonate.
carefully insulate after completing the frame assembly. For thermal insulation, ecowool or mineral wool is used. It is better not to use polystyrene foam. This material does not allow steam to pass through well, so the house will be damp, which is undesirable.
Another option: walls made of timber or logs. They are durable, warm, easy to assemble and look good. A log house poultry house on an estate with a house made of similar material looks great.
For lovers of beauty, a mini chicken coop that looks like a gazebo will suit you.
In this case, the poultry house with walking is under a common roof. This saves the area of the site, and the unusual shape captivates the eye.
If a small chicken coop is intended for winter use, then, in addition to insulating the walls, it is necessary to reliably protect the floor from the cold. For a columnar base, the structure must be double. The assembly process is absolutely simple: logs are attached to the support frame and hemmed underneath with a board. Insulation (ecowool or mineral wool) must be placed in the space between the joists and a finished floor made of tongue and groove boards must be laid.
For a slab base, laying wooden logs and insulating with ecowool is quite suitable. Mineral wool is considered worse, since it accumulates moisture very much and then releases it poorly. Under the insulation layer you need to lay waterproofing.
If you decide not to insulate the floor of the chicken coop, then in winter do not skimp on dry bedding made from sawdust or straw. In frosty months, its thickness should be at least twenty centimeters.
Roof
The best type of roof for a poultry house is considered to be a gable roof. It helps to increase the usable height of the room. There is no need to build high walls. If good insulation is done, the structure does not require additional laying of the floor.
The roofing material for a chicken coop can be absolutely anything: metal tiles, slate, reeds or roofing felt. The lower part of the rafters should be covered with chipboard or boards and the gaps between them should be insulated.
Interior arrangement
It consists of using natural ventilation, lighting, nests and perches for birds. The windows will take on part of the functions of lighting and ventilation. You can do just one or several. It is important that the total area of the windows is at least 1/12 of the floor area.
Keeping the window open all the time for ventilation is not the best option, especially during the cold season. Chickens do not tolerate drafts well, so be sure to install supply and exhaust ventilation in the poultry house. An exhaust pipe is placed above the perch, which extends beyond the roof. The second pipe is installed in the far corner of the chicken coop, preferably at a height of 50 cm from the floor.
It is better to make a hole for laying hens on the south side. Its width should be at least thirty centimeters, and its height from thirty to forty centimeters. Sometimes the hole is combined with the front door (it is cut at the bottom).
To make perches, planed wooden slats with a square section of 4x4 cm are taken. They are attached at the same level in increments of about fifty centimeters. The height of the perch from the floor is 75 cm. Below will be a photo of the inside of a country chicken coop, made with your own hands.
Cozy nests for laying hens are a guarantee of productive laying. Therefore, you don’t need to take the easy route by adapting can boxes for them, but rather make a new design.
There are a lot of different options. Some people make nests using the “house within a house” option, while others try to approach it from a scientific point of view. They are trying to do auto-cleaning and calculate the angle of rolling out the eggs.
Whatever option you choose, remember that the basic principles of this design are the correct dimensions (width - 35 cm, height - 35, and depth - 40 cm). Ease of cleaning is important. According to existing standards, one nest should be allocated for 4 chickens.
Nesting boxes are sometimes placed directly in the chicken coop, but it will be better if they are partially moved outside. A door and a lifting lid must be made.
Mini chicken coop with external nests
Today this option is the most popular. In this case, it is much easier to change the bedding, collect eggs and inspect the birds.
Now, thanks to this article, the proposed diagrams, drawings, videos and photos, you will learn how to quickly build a chicken coop for 10-20 chickens at your dacha with your own hands.
In winter, chickens can lay eggs no worse than in the warm season. If they are warm enough (ideal regime from -2°C to + 20°C), there is enough light and good (not excessive, but balanced in composition) nutrition, the number of eggs may be the same or slightly less. Plus, knowing that your bird is warm means you don't have to worry. Therefore, we immediately build a winter chicken coop with our own hands with sufficient insulation, or take measures to reduce heat loss if an already finished room is being converted.
A warm barn for chickens and lighting are important for their normal well-being
Let's talk about the size of winter chicken coops. The recommended standards for placing poultry indoors are: from 2 to 5 chickens per square. If you are limited in size, you can “populate” the house more densely. You just need to make more nests and perches. They can be arranged in rows, one above the other. In multi-tiered small rooms, laying hens feel great. With broilers, of course, the situation is worse - it is difficult for them to climb, but they are rarely kept until winter.
Winter walking is also necessary: laying hens can walk outside down to -15°C. Only in calm weather. With height, everything is also more or less clear. A meter and a half height is enough for chickens, but you need to do it in such a way that it is convenient for you to maintain the premises.
What to build from
You can build a chicken coop inexpensively from cinder block or foam concrete. If there is a place nearby where there is clay, you can remove the walls using adobe technology (mud or dried bricks).
If you need a budget warm chicken coop, you can make it like a dugout. The walls can be raised half a meter above the level; in the south, well-insulated windows with double or triple glass can be made. It is good to insulate the piece that protrudes above the ground and the roof. For warmth, all walls except the southern one can be covered with earth. If there is still snow on top, it will be quite warm.
Another perhaps most popular and economical option is a do-it-yourself frame chicken coop. Since the rooms are usually small, the timber for the frame needs a small cross-section and little of it is required. The frame can be sheathed with boards, plywood, OSB and other similar materials. Place insulation between the posts and sew up the other side. To prevent mice from settling in the insulation, people came up with the idea of covering the insulation on both sides with a metal mesh with a fine mesh. This makes construction somewhat more expensive, but fighting mice is more expensive. It turns out to be a warm chicken coop and the thickness of the insulation depends on the region. You can focus on the recommendations for.
A chicken coop made of logs or thick timber can do without insulation in the middle zone. Only the caulking seams need to be sewn up with slats. Not so much from drafts, but from chickens: so as not to pull the tow or moss.
Chicken coop foundation
There are options. They most often build on posts - they make a columnar foundation. It happens - they make a shallow pile or strip. But this is the case if the material chosen for the walls is heavy, or which requires a rigid base: brick (ceramic, silicate, adobe), foam and cinder blocks, shell rock, etc. For light buildings made of wood - frames, timber, logs - it is enough to fold the columns or install ready-made foundation blocks (you can make them yourself).
These are posts for a frame barn for chickens
In the case of columnar and pile foundations, supports are placed in the corners and 2-3 meters in between them. The load on the base will be small, so they rarely work too hard.
Insulation
Insulation and heating - these two issues are very closely connected: in a warm chicken coop, even in severe cold, you can do without heating. There are many examples. No matter how economical heating is, it ends up costing a pretty penny. Therefore, it is much more cost-effective to build a well-insulated shed right away than to pay annually for heating it later.
Any modern materials can be used as insulation. They can be stuffed from the inside or outside. The main selection criterion is most often cost. The most optimal is polystyrene foam. It is inexpensive and has excellent thermal insulation ability: a 5 cm thick slab replaces a 60 cm brick wall. Mounted with glue or long nails with plastic washers, you can put pieces of some kind of plastic.
You can also use mineral wool and polystyrene foam. But mineral wool requires membranes on both sides. On the outside they install a wind-hydro-protective one with one-sided vapor permeability (vapors must be removed from the insulation). Steam from inside (indoors) Not permeable.
Expanded polystyrene is definitely good. The characteristics are even better than those of polystyrene foam; even mice don’t like it. But it's expensive. But you don’t even have to sheathe it: the slabs are even, smooth, and can also be colored.
You can also use natural insulation: hammer sawdust between two planes, coat it with clay mixed with sawdust, etc. In terms of heat conservation, such insulation is inferior to modern materials, but costs practically nothing. So such methods are also used. For the southern regions with mild winters, “folk” insulation is more than enough, but even in the central part, and especially in the North, they are probably not enough.
It was about the walls. The ceiling in the chicken coop must be insulated: warm air accumulates under the ceiling. If it is not insulated, it will always be cold. If you line the bottom with cardboard (it holds heat well) or any board material (plywood, OSB, fiberboard, gypsum fiber board, etc.), and throw sawdust or lay hay on top of the attic, it will become much warmer. And if you insulate according to all the rules, it’s generally great.
Floor insulation is done according to the same scheme as for a house: subfloor, joists on it, insulation between them, finished floor on top. Make it as warm as possible: you won’t regret it.
Not everyone makes wood floors. There is also adobe - clay is mixed with straw and allowed to dry, or concrete. The coldest is concrete, but if you add enough sawdust, it will be fine. And if, suddenly, you also make a concrete floor with insulation (at least wall up the bottles), it will be absolutely great.
When you are still planning a winter chicken coop with your own hands, consider the presence of a vestibule. This small extension can significantly reduce heat loss, and therefore reduce heating costs.
Heating
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of properly installed heating for a winter chicken coop. All poultry house owners know this: at above-zero temperatures, laying hens feel great and lay eggs well in winter.
Electricity
If electricity is supplied to the chicken coop, you can heat it with fan heaters or infrared lamps. Fan heaters It's cheaper to buy programmable ones. Not in the sense that they are cheaper, but in the sense that they will use less electricity over the winter. There are two types of automation: temperature and time. Naturally, to heat a chicken coop it is better to take one that reacts to temperature. As soon as it gets cold, say, to 0°C, it will turn on; when it rises to +3°C, it will turn off. In general, you choose the settings yourself. The method is effective and quite popular.
Chickens are also often warmed IR emitters. But they do not heat the air, but objects that fall within the range of the rays. They are hung above perches and several above the floor. If the birds are cold, they gather under them. It can be cold in the chicken coop, the main thing is that its inhabitants are warm. This is exactly what happens with infrared heating. One caveat: IR lamps burn out from frequent switching on/off, so it is advisable to turn them off very rarely. For people, they burn for months, fortunately they “draw” little electricity.
It is also important to know about the operating features of IR heating lamps (they are for lighting, do not confuse them). The surface of the lamps heats up; the design of the lamp itself is not adapted to such loads. Plastic sockets do not hold the lamp well, but finding ceramic ones is a problem. To ensure fire safety, it is better to make a wire cage for the lamp. This way, the chickens won’t get burned, and if the lamp falls out, it won’t break and the litter won’t catch fire.
Oil radiators ineffective: high consumption, little heat. Homemade devices with an open spiral are effective, but very fire hazardous, and you will have to leave them on. This is too much of a risk.
Boiler and stove
There is also a heating option - a boiler and radiators. But these are dreams for most. They also heat it with a potbelly stove, a wood-burning boiler, or build a small brick stove. Moreover, they try to route the pipe through the chicken coop so that it provides maximum heat. If the stove is iron, it can be lined with brick, like an iron pipe. Once heated, the brick retains heat for a long time. With normal insulation, one heating is enough for a couple of days.
Heating a chicken coop by decomposing sawdust
There is a way to maintain positive temperatures without heating - using the heat released during the decomposition of sawdust. But it only works if there is normal (at least) insulation. Sawdust is poured onto the floor. The first layer is poured in the fall, before the first cold weather. The layer is about 10-15 cm. It lies for a month and a half.
This bedding is much better than hay: chickens do not get sick, since sawdust regulates humidity well. They also love to rummage in the litter, and are constantly busy with this, so that laying hens do not get fat even with plenty of food and limited walking.
After 30-50 days, add a fresh portion of sawdust (you can tell by the smell and appearance). And this time, too, about 10 cm. Then - again. By the end of winter, a layer of about 50 cm has accumulated. Moreover, even in decent cold weather, the temperature inside the chicken coop remains at least 0°C, which is enough for laying hens. If you bury yourself in such litter, it will be about +20°C. What chickens do in the cold: they dig holes and sit in them. This is sawdust: a decomposition reaction occurs, releasing a large amount of heat.
In the spring, the entire mixture is taken to the compost heap, after some time it will become an excellent fertilizer. But one more thing: in the fall, you have to put a high board in front of the door so that the bedding doesn’t spill out. Walking is uncomfortable, but the draft from under the door is eliminated.
Ventilation in a winter chicken coop
To maintain a normal microclimate in the chicken coop, ventilation is necessary. This is usually a plastic pipe that is located under the ceiling, passes through the roof and sticks out above it at a height of about a meter. With such a difference, natural traction may be enough. The influx usually occurs through cracks, but if you have done everything properly, you can install a piece of plastic pipe into the wall just above floor level. From the side of the room, the pipe is covered with a metal mesh, and dampers are made that regulate the intensity of air movement.
Another option without an exhaust pipe on the roof: install a small exhaust fan directly into the wall. But such a system works forcibly even in the presence of electricity. The pipe is energy independent))
Fan in the chicken coop
The optimal humidity in the chicken coop is about 60-70%. Deviations in either direction are undesirable. It’s not very difficult to increase the humidity - add more water, but reducing it can cause problems. The IR lamp dries condensation very well: it dries drops on the walls and ceiling in a couple of hours. So at least one is needed to regulate humidity.
Lighting
Any chicken coop should have windows. And although heat escapes through them, it is impossible to do without them: to maintain a normal state, the bird needs sunlight. And to keep it warm, the frames are made with two or three glasses. And they must be sewn up with mesh from the inside, although it wouldn’t hurt from the outside, but not for the safety of the bird, but for its safety.
In order for chickens to continue laying eggs in winter, they need to extend the daylight hours: at least it should be 11-12 hours. That’s why they turn on the lighting for them. Here it is better to immediately install a controller that will turn the light on and off automatically. You'll spend more money, but you'll spend less time at the coop.
At first, some chickens will stay overnight on the floor (those that did not climb onto roosts and nests), but if the floor is warm, with sawdust, it’s okay. Gradually they will get used to it and by the time it is turned off they will sit still.
There is an option - make them wake up early and leave the evening natural. Then the light will be on in the morning, and in the evening, at dusk, they will go to bed according to the sun.
How to build a chicken coop: video
In this video, a chicken coop is built with his own hands by a city dweller who fled to the village. The video series contains photographs of the process, so that all stages are visible.
Another video with a clear sequence of assembling a chicken coop from timber
Every self-respecting farmer keeps chickens if he wants. Nowadays, this is common not only among farmers, but also among novice poultry lovers. This type of cattle breeding is attractive because it is not labor-intensive work and you do not need to put in much effort. The farm is also an excellent source of income.
We want to buy chicken meat less and less in stores and markets. We often hear talk that chickens that were raised at the enterprise do not have a very good chemical composition. Increasingly, I want to eat meat raised on normal feeds of plant origin.
In villages, villages and small towns, raising poultry at home is gaining popularity. It is much more pleasant to fry a chicken in the oven and eat it with pleasure, knowing that there are no foreign impurities in it and that it is grown on grain and grass, and we will receive the necessary amount of protein, vitamins, micro and macroelements.
In order to keep chickens at home or in the country, you need to build a chicken coop with your own hands and create all the necessary conditions for their life. Immediately select a project for building a chicken coop.
If you are going to take a bird all year round, then it is most profitable make a warm chicken coop with the transition to a summer chicken coop. To build a chicken coop at your dacha with your own hands, you need to decide on the following:
- the place where the structure will be located;
- season;
- building design;
- temperature factor;
- square.
The ideal location for the poultry house would be building from east to west. The sun should penetrate into the room as long as possible. This affects the duration of egg production of chickens. This bird cannot tolerate heat and severe frosts. All this affects how the chicken will lay eggs.
During winter, the optimal temperature is considered approximately 10–12 degrees. You can find out what dimensions of the building you need at the rate of 1 chicken per 0.5 square meters. m. Since chickens do not like wet soil, the building must protect from heavy rains, winds and from predatory animals.
What materials are needed to build a chicken coop?
Initially, no matter where you decide to build a poultry house, you will need a standard builder’s kit, which includes the following:
Once you are sure that you have all of the above, you can think about the materials from which you are going to build the chicken coop. The materials usually used are boards, timber, bricks, cinder block and even plastic.
How to build a chicken coop with your own hands
In order for the structure to stand for many years and be inherited by your children and grandchildren, you need to make it strong. To do this, they first make a foundation that will hold the walls and prevent predators from getting to the birds.
The foundation is usually poured mortar of cement, sand, crushed stone. But you can also build a columnar foundation. The main thing is that the floor was covered with boards so that the chickens would not freeze in winter, which could lead to illness.
The next step in building a summer chicken coop is walling. The material for this can be either timber, foam concrete or ordinary bricks. The focus must be on ensuring that the walls can retain heat in winter. The best energy-saving material is timber.
There is a special beam laying technology which must be adhered to. At the end, when the beams are laid out, it is necessary to fasten them with boards on both sides for better fixation. An insulating layer is also immediately applied.
An example of insulation is cotton wool, sawdust or other material. We must not forget about the windows and doors in the poultry house. The more light that enters the chicken coop, the higher the productivity of the chickens. The roof on the chicken coop can be done in several ways:
- Single-pitch.
- Gable.
When building a gable roof there is an advantage, on such a roof convenient to store grain. The roof is dry and is considered a good place for storage.
The ceiling is constructed from beams and at the same time insulated. To prevent water from getting into the attic when it rains, it is covered with roofing felt, and slate or something similar is placed on top. It is worth remembering that the chicken coop must have ventilation.
Arrangement of a chicken coop at the dacha from the inside
This section deserves considerable attention. For a chicken, the roost is an important element. You can find out how much space is needed for a chicken by calculating that for 1 chicken there is 30–35 cm on the perch.
Based on the number of chickens you have, you can calculate how many roosts you need. Makes excellent perches made of timber 40x55 mm, which ultimately needs to be rounded. There should be a distance of at least 40 cm between the floor and the perch. The distance between the perches is approximately 40–50 cm.
If you place trays under the roost, this will make cleaning the chicken coop much easier. Initially, a chicken coop was built so that we could get meat and eggs during the production process. Therefore, due attention must be paid places where they will rush your chickens. Usually these are boxes of some sort with an internal filling of sawdust or hay for the chicken's comfort.
The most important aspect is food and drink for chickens. Water should be available in the house 24 hours a day. The drinking bowls must be clean and the water must be changed at least 2 times a day. If you want your birds to gain weight quickly, then the feeder should always be filled.
It depends on the type of chickens what you feed them. If you took broilers, then you will need special food with additives for their rapid growth. Moreover, we know that not everyone can be given grass. Basically, all chicken breeds eat grain:
- barley;
- wheat;
- corn;
- oats;
- They even add shit.
And also some farmers, worried about their animals, add elements of personal development, such as pieces of foam concrete or penza so that the chicken sharpens its beak.
Chicken coop floor should be warm. When building a chicken coop in a country house, it is often insulated with either straw or sawdust. And it will also help speed up the cleaning process.
How to build a summer chicken coop in the country
A farmer or just a novice hobbyist who wants to build a chicken coop must have skillful hands. A summer chicken coop is usually built to keep birds during the summer period turning into autumn. In the spring, chicks are taken in and kept under control and warm. In a few months they turn into young animals, which require space.
Summer chicken coop must have a canopy, for protection from rain and sun. Since everything is built by hand, it is necessary to accurately calculate how much materials are needed and what tool to use.
For a summer chicken coop, a frame is used, which is made either metal or wood. By frame metal woven cell is stretched approximately 3x3 cm in size. The height of the mesh should be at least 2 meters to prevent birds from flying over the fence.
The walls must be fine fixed at the very base. You can dig sheets of slate around the perimeter and this will definitely protect against digging and small predators. Since chickens love to row and can unwittingly dig, which will lead to a lot of problems later.
The area of the summer chicken coop should exceed the main one. To walk birds, it is necessary enough space. For a breed such as a broiler, which is designed for meat, not much space is needed; the less the bird moves, the faster it gains weight. But for laying hens, the smaller the territory, the worse they lay.
If necessary, nests are made in the far corners of the chicken coop, where the hen can hatch the egg calmly and with a sense of security.
The chicken coop for the summer should include bird feeders and drinkers. If you get a large number of birds, then there should be more than one drinking bowl and feeder. Summer is a hot season and regular drinking is necessary for animals. To avoid fights and infringement, they put at least two.
When night falls, the chickens go to sleep on their roosts. Perches must be made at a height from the ground of 70–100 cm. The area occupied by one chicken is approximately 50 cm. From this indicator you can calculate how many perches you will need.
It is advisable that the place be elevated to avoid stagnation of water during rain. You can make a summer chicken coop with your own hands different shapes, different sizes in size. Anything can be done, but whatever you build, the chicken coop must contain all the conditions for the birds:
- Feeding methods.
- Perch.
- Nests for laying hens.
- Protection from rain, sun and frost.
By observing all these conditions, your farm will bring you benefits in the form of high-quality meat and eggs.
