In making a chicken coop, the important thing to remember is figuring out what the size of the coop you would want to build will be. Check several factors to determine how big the coop is going to be because the number of chickens you will put and raise, as well as the space for laying eggs must be considered.

Size of the Chicken Coop

The most significant thing to remember in planning the size of your coop is the number of chickens you would be able to keep because each chicken needs at least 4 sq. ft. of space for them to move freely without congesting them. Small chicken coops with minimal space could endanger the lives of the chickens because narrowing their spaces may make them peck at each other. Aside from that, overcrowding can lead to the rapid spread of diseases especially if the floor gets damp.

To give an example, if we would decide to raise 16 chickens, we can build a coop using the following computation:

16 chickens X 4 sq. ft. = 64 sq. ft floor area

But then again, giving them 5 sq. ft each would be much better so that makes the floor area would be 80 sq. ft. In this case, 8 X 10 sq. ft. is just perfect for 16 chickens.

Roosting and Laying Eggs

When we want to build a chicken coop that would be comfortable for the chickens, we have to look into their needs for roosting and egg-laying. In other words, the roost is a significant part of the coops because chickens sleep normally on high places as part of their instinct in protecting themselves against predators. The roosts are also necessary because this is where their droppings accumulate. Additionally, nests are an essential part of the coop because this is where they lay their eggs, so consider enough space for nests as well.

For the hens, nests are most important. But if you do not want to add more space or augment the height of your coop, we can just put the nests on the corners or edges of the coop. However, for our convenience, it would be advisable if we can put the nests on the walls near the door so that it would be easier for us to collect the eggs.

Essential Tips

So here are the best ideas in building chicken coops. Always remember that chickens are delicate animals and it is always nice to make chicken coops that have more than enough spaces to make the animals live healthy. Overcrowding is seen as the culprit in chicken deaths in coops so we have to avoid that. Healthy chickens can provide us healthy meat and if we want them for their eggs, we can expect good harvest of eggs every morning. Nothing beats having fresh eggs from our own chicken coops for breakfast.