How to make a chicken coop for 50 chickens
Chickens are one of the most popular poultry not only in the post-Soviet space, but all over the world. These picky helpers consistently supply the families of millions of farmers with delicious dietary meat and eggs. But every owner knows that a good result from this bird cannot be achieved if you do not invest effort and money in the correct maintenance of the wards. The birds need proper nutrition, timely vaccination and decent living conditions. I would like to emphasize the last point especially.
- Things to Consider Before Starting Building a House
- We take into account all the important nuances
- Planning the construction of a chicken coop for 50 chickens with your own hands
- Drawings and diagrams will make the task easier
- What building materials will be needed to build a chicken coop for 50 heads
- Instructions for beginner builders
- Let's sum up
For many regulars of the household, a chicken coop is any free outbuilding without surplus. But such a negligent attitude towards the family's breadwinner is fraught with low egg production and poor health of chickens. How right equip a dwelling for birds with their own hands? What should be a chicken coop for 50 chickens? We will deal with these questions in this article.
Things to Consider Before Building a House
First of all, I would like to clarify why the number of livestock is considered precisely in 50 individuals. This number of heads is considered optimal for the average household. It will systematically provide for the needs of the family in meat and eggs, while leaving the opportunity to leave part of the production for sale. At the same time, the hen house itself will not be too voluminous, and its construction will be overhead for the inhabitants.
So, if you have planned the construction of a chicken coop for 50 chickens with your own hands, then try to provide all the conditions that could protect your pets from the effects of the weather, because chickens, like all other pets, are susceptible to disease due to overheating or hypothermia. If you plan to breed birds all year round, consider about the possibility of insulation their abode. After all, it is important for them to maintain a temperature of at least 5 ° C, even in winter. Look at the photos of frozen birds and you will realize that they will not be able to produce large numbers of eggs.
Don't forget that in order to collect the maximum amount of your favorite breakfast product, you need to equip comfortable nests for chickens. For broilers, the most important part of the chicken coop is their feeder. It is extremely important to think over its correct arrangement and the possibility of maintaining cleanliness in it to prevent the development of infectious diseases.
We take into account all the important nuances
A chicken coop for 50 heads should not constrain the birds in space, otherwise it will not be possible to get the desired result in the form of a large amount of meat and eggs, which is why it is important to think in advance about a place where it would be possible to build a spacious house with a place for walking the birds. In addition, projects for the construction of a poultry house should provide for competent lighting of the premises.Here, of course, it is important not to overdo it, because excessive light can negatively affect egg production... The ideal option would be the windows in the hen house.
Since birds are on the move for most of their day, consider having quality floors in your poultry house. They are recommended to be made thick and raised about 40 cm above the ground. This will prevent unwanted guests such as mice, rats and small predators from entering the chicken coop. When building a chicken coop for 50 individuals with your own hands, it is important not to forget to level all the unevenness of the floor. If there are grooves on it, moisture is quite capable of collecting in them. She, in turn, can provoke rotting and the appearance of fleas and other small animals that poison the life of chickens. To inhibit reproduction parasites you can soak the entire floor with special products with an ecological composition.
It is preferable to make the floors thickened and raise at least 40 cm above ground level. This will protect the chicken house from the penetration of rodents and small predators. Also, the floor should be level so that moisture does not accumulate in the corners. The coating is impregnated with ecological compounds against pests and decay. The combination of all factors will provide comfortable living conditions for birds, which means it will contribute to an increase in your income from breeding.
Planning the construction of a chicken coop for 50 chickens with your own hands
Creating a quality residence for layers and broilers is not an easy thing to do. In order for all 50 heads to remain healthy and productive, you will have to try pretty hard and think everything over. Old assistants to engineers will help to build a poultry house according to all the rules: diagrams and drawings.
Where to begin? First of all, you need to calculate the area of the future chicken kingdom. Every square meter will make a difference. Among poultry farmers, it is generally accepted that 5 birds live comfortably per 1 sq. m. Based on this, the size of the chicken coop for 50 chickens should be at least 10 square meters. m. If it is possible to expand this space, go for it, but experts recommend not to reduce these indicators. The size of the house should not constrain the inhabitants.
The same applies to the height of the room. For 50 heads, experienced poultry farmers advise building a chicken coop with a height of 2-2.5 m. The fact is that chickens, like all birds, like to sit on perches of different heights, moreover, such an organization of space will save the total area.
Drawings and diagrams will make the task easier
House drawings for 50 birds should include ventilation ducts and window openings. They will allow for timely airing of the house and its drying in natural ways. The chicken coop schemes provide for an approximate drawing of calculations for wiring and heating the room, because it has already been mentioned about the importance of maintaining the temperature regime for birds during all 4 seasons. A proper calculation of the correctness of the conditions will lead to the fact that the hen will thank him with useful home eggs.
Why else are drawings needed? For planning the space of the future home of birds. Experienced owners advise to immediately note the location of the feeders, drinkers and other devices even before the start of construction. It is recommended to mark them in accordance with the dimensions of the chicken dwelling in advance, so it will be possible to simplify its further arrangement.
Building a chicken coop with your own hands for 50 chickens is not so easy. When calculating its parameters, it is important not to forget about the number of required nests. Professionals recommend calculating its size, given that on average, 10 chickens need 4-5 nests. They should be placed at a height of 40-45 cm from the floor, so that cool boards do not harm the health of the laying hen. Fill them with warm straw for greater comfort of the bird. For easier access to the nest, many owners equip small stairs to each tier.They should be displayed on your building plan.
Drawings of the future house for layers and broilers should take into account not only the area and internal arrangement, but also its external space. A chicken coop for 50 heads cannot be equipped without a special enclosure for walking chickens. You can also build it with your own hands, fencing the required area around the building itself. It is important to seek help in the correct arrangement of the chicken enclosure from the numerous videos on the Internet.
This amount of advice can be intimidating to budding farmers. However, you should not despair: in some photos, an approximate drawing of a chicken coop for 50 chickens is depicted very easily, and it will not be difficult even for an amateur to decipher it. If everything is done in accordance with the recommended sizes, it will turn out to grow a productive chicken family.
What building materials will be needed to build a chicken coop for 50 heads
So, after the main recommendations have been studied, a photo containing an approximate drawing of a chicken coop for 50 chickens has been found, it's time to start implementing the plans. In order to build a good house, you will need:
- cement, stones and bricks for the foundation;
- wood for the construction of walls (brick can also be used, but it will be colder in the winter);
- clay (for insulating wooden walls);
- galvanized mesh (for enclosing the aviary);
- sand;
- lime (for processing the premises);
- boards (for stairs, nests and perches);
- roofing material and slate;
- doors, windows and all adjacent fittings.
It is better to immediately prepare the required amount of each material based on the parameters of the planned chicken coop.
Instructions for beginner builders
Of course, to obtain more detailed information about the construction algorithm, it would be better to refer to photos and videos on the Internet, which describe the entire process in an accessible way.
The main stages can be reduced to an elementary plan.
- Pouring the foundation. Mark out the territory of the future chicken coop, dig a hole at least 50 cm deep and fill it with a solution of sand, cement and rubble. When the foundation is dry, cover it with roofing felt and lay the first layer of timber.
- Floor preparation. Prepare the base of the poultry house floor with the help of the lags installed by the ribs every 1 meter, and the boards, cover it with a waterproofing and vapor barrier, add insulation to the free space.
- Forcing walls. Lay the beams on top of each other, couple and drive the pins through each meter to a depth of 6-7 cm. Treat the walls with plaster or plywood. Insulate the walls by filling in all the cracks with foam. After completion of the work, the walls should be 25 to 50 cm thick.
- Cover the structure with a roof. To do this, install additional boards and beams, lay everything with expanded clay, lay out the final boards and cover them first with roofing material, and only after that with slate.
- Insert doors and windows into the room.
After all the basic work is completed, proceed to the internal arrangement. Set up nests and perches for chickens. Find a photo or video of the correct construction. Choose a place to feed the birds. The final stage of construction involves fencing aviary for chicken walks. Experienced poultry farmers recommend combining it with the size of the main room. It is easy to do with the help of high nets, so that the bird does not try to fly away.
Let's summarize
A chicken coop, so necessary for the normal life of layers and broilers, can actually be built with your own hands. By adhering to the basic rules, even a novice farmer is able to master this task. And he can be sure that his works will not go unnoticed. It is not for nothing that folk wisdom says: "What you sow, so you reap."
The more favorable conditions are created for pets, the greater the return in the form of a large amount of meat and eggs can be obtained. This means that the family will always be provided with delicious and healthy homemade products.