If you are thinking about keeping chickens, one of the most important decisions you need to make is how to house them.
Chicken coops come in a large array of styles and sizes, so you can easily accommodate your needs and preferences.
Here are a few types to consider.
Elevated Coop and Run An elevated coop and run is a common housing option for smaller flocks.
The elevated coop has a little ladder leading up to the entry.
Being elevated helps keep the coop safer from predators.
The coop is enclosed inside a small fenced in area, called the "run.
" This way, when your chickens are closed in they can still access the outside.
It isn't advised to leave chickens in this enclosure all the time.
It is best to let your chickens out of this enclosure from time to time to have the run of your yard, preferably every day.
They can then be penned back up in the run during the night to keep them safe from predators.
Chicken Tractor A chicken tractor is usually built like an elevated coop and run, but it designed to be portable.
Some of them are built with handles and wheels so you can pull it to a different area; others have a hitch for attaching to a tractor or cart.
The advantage of a chicken tractor is that you can move it to different areas of your lawn so that no one spot becomes over taxed by the chickens.
Due to their scratching behaviours and eating the grass, any permanent chicken run will quickly become bare earth.
Not only will you spare that part of your lawn from becoming depleted, but by moving the coop and run around, your whole lawn can benefit from the manure the birds leave behind, which is fantastic fertilizer.
Chicken Ark Though sometimes any portable coop and run is referred to as a chicken ark, they are technically different from chicken tractors.
These are built to be especially light weight and portable, and are typically much smaller than chicken tractors.
A chicken ark is usually triangular in shape, or rounded by construction with arched supports.
Chicken arks are among the simplest designs of chicken coops, and do not typically have special features like elevated structures or egg collection boxes.
This also means they are typically easy to construct and inexpensive, making them a good option for anyone whose primary concern is not egg collection or to have a large flock, such as those raising chickens for meat or ornamental birds kept for looks and/or pest control by eating bugs.
Chickens are not fussy creatures, and as long as their very basic needs are met, they can be kept in very simple and inexpensive structures.
However, for those who enjoy a creative building project or pampering their chickens, coops can go so far as to have multiple levels, functioning windows, electric lights and environmental controls such as heating and cooling.
Chicken coops come in a large array of styles and sizes, so you can easily accommodate your needs and preferences.
Here are a few types to consider.
Elevated Coop and Run An elevated coop and run is a common housing option for smaller flocks.
The elevated coop has a little ladder leading up to the entry.
Being elevated helps keep the coop safer from predators.
The coop is enclosed inside a small fenced in area, called the "run.
" This way, when your chickens are closed in they can still access the outside.
It isn't advised to leave chickens in this enclosure all the time.
It is best to let your chickens out of this enclosure from time to time to have the run of your yard, preferably every day.
They can then be penned back up in the run during the night to keep them safe from predators.
Chicken Tractor A chicken tractor is usually built like an elevated coop and run, but it designed to be portable.
Some of them are built with handles and wheels so you can pull it to a different area; others have a hitch for attaching to a tractor or cart.
The advantage of a chicken tractor is that you can move it to different areas of your lawn so that no one spot becomes over taxed by the chickens.
Due to their scratching behaviours and eating the grass, any permanent chicken run will quickly become bare earth.
Not only will you spare that part of your lawn from becoming depleted, but by moving the coop and run around, your whole lawn can benefit from the manure the birds leave behind, which is fantastic fertilizer.
Chicken Ark Though sometimes any portable coop and run is referred to as a chicken ark, they are technically different from chicken tractors.
These are built to be especially light weight and portable, and are typically much smaller than chicken tractors.
A chicken ark is usually triangular in shape, or rounded by construction with arched supports.
Chicken arks are among the simplest designs of chicken coops, and do not typically have special features like elevated structures or egg collection boxes.
This also means they are typically easy to construct and inexpensive, making them a good option for anyone whose primary concern is not egg collection or to have a large flock, such as those raising chickens for meat or ornamental birds kept for looks and/or pest control by eating bugs.
Chickens are not fussy creatures, and as long as their very basic needs are met, they can be kept in very simple and inexpensive structures.
However, for those who enjoy a creative building project or pampering their chickens, coops can go so far as to have multiple levels, functioning windows, electric lights and environmental controls such as heating and cooling.
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