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| Coops are available in various shapes and sizes, from luxury accommodations to the bare minimum. You can purchase a prebuilt coop for several hundred dollars or create your own using scrap wood and chicken wire. There are coops built specifically for small spaces and chicken "tractors" that you can wheel around the yard to fertilize various sections. Our coop was built onto the side of an existing shed. Private Comment
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| There is nothing quite like the chirping of baby chicks waking you up in the morning. Chicks need to stay warm, so educate yourself on the care of chicks before taking charge of these little lives. In the early days they are housed indoors (a cardboard box works at this point) with a heat lamp. A little food, water and newspaper, and your chicks will spend happy days pecking around and sleeping in their cage. Private Comment
You can buy chicks at your local feed store or try an online site like this Hatchery for rare breeds shipped to your home when they are one day old. |
| Before you know it, those sweet little chicks quickly turn into full-feathered chickens complete with dust and chicken poop. You will not want these creatures inside your home after this point, so a coop is a must. Private Comment
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| Whether your coop is custom made, catalog ordered or homemade, there are a few mandatory components. First is safety. Chicken wire is a must, and it should cover every surface of the coop. Chicken wire should also cover the floor of the coop if it rests on land. Raccoons would think nothing of digging a tunnel under the coop and gobbling up your chickens. Private Comment
You can see another version of this basic design at Natalme by Natalie Wright. For more photos, coop plans and information on raising chickens in urban areas, check out urbanchickens.org. |
| Hens will begin laying eggs at around six months old, so getting laying boxes up early is good practice. Once the chickens start laying, they prefer to lay in the same place, so you want to train them to lay their eggs where it is convenient for you to collect them. Private Comment
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| These laying boxes are located directly across from a full-size (chicken-wire covered) door for easy access. The bottom of the coop is lined with grass and hay. Private Comment
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| Chickens tend to go to the highest spot to roost, so provide ladders and enclosed space for them to sleep. This space is lined with wood shavings, but hay, straw and dry grass also work well. Private Comment
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| If your chickens are not allowed to roam during the day, they will need dirt baths. A dirt bath is simply a box of dirt with a little sand mixed in. The birds roll in the dirt to clean themselves; without it, pests can be an irritant. Private Comment
Karen puts a dirt bath in a tub for her chickies. Check out her amazing designer chicken coop at The Art of Doing Stuff. |
