If you are fond of pets and have made up your mind for having backyard chickens then you should pay attention to some critical factors while building a chicken coop.
These tips may appear trivial but these are extremely important for getting good quality eggs every day and for the health of your birds.
When building a chicken coop you would obviously be looking into aspects like space, orientation, insulation, lighting, flooring etc.
These are factors that are covered in detail by most good quality DIY guides.
The first important tip is to look into a proper guide for building a chicken house.
By following a guide you will avoid approximations and adopt exact specifications.
This will ensure you don't waste time and money doing trial and error.
The second important tip is to build proper roosting for the birds to sleep.
These hens have a natural tendency to sleep on elevated structures like the trees.
The best way to emulate this inside a coop is to provide something similar.
Roosting can be of wood or metal, but make sure they are smooth and comfortable.
The roosting structures should be placed above the nesting boxes.
Make sure there is enough space for all the birds to sleep comfortably.
You can place some plastic trays beneath the roosting so that the dropping can fall on the trays.
This will help in maintaining a clean coop environment.
Another important tip for getting good quality eggs is the availability of nesting boxes.
Have a nesting box for every 2 to 4 hens.
The size of these boxes should be such that the birds feel comfortable.
A 12 x 12 x 12 inches dimension is commonly used while building these boxes.
These boxes should be at a height below the roosting to prevent birds from sleeping on nesting boxes.
Following these simple steps along with a good design guide will help you in building a chicken coop of optimum quality.