What Necessities Do You Need To Build A Simple Chicken House

So you want to build a chicken house?

Do you know what you need?

What sort of chicken coop are you planning to build then?

Let’s get into this further.

Building That Chicken House

If you want to have success at building your own simple chicken house, then you need to take into consideration a few things first which affect the overall design of your chicken coop.

How Many Chickens Do You Want

It does not take much to know that the smaller the chicken house is going to be, the easier it is going to be to build right.

And if you are having trouble trying to find a place to put your chicken house because your backyard is not that big or there are other buildings that make it harder.

Then, perhaps you should think about scaling down your plan and try and build a smaller chicken coop altogether.

So…

If space really is your issue, and you really want a bigger chicken coop, you then need to make sure that you have all the necessary building materials to complete your hen house.

And might need to put a few angles here and there to the chicken run itself to have it all fit in.

Your Chickens Needs

It has been shown research has found out that chickens are at their healthiest when they live a more natural life.

Chickens as with other pets need their space, they need adequate room for exercise, to be more comfortable in all climates.

Say if it’s hot, like us your chickens will want to have adequate space for their own to keep cooler.

And to easily access their nesting boxes, you don’t want a small maze for them to contend with.

See also Do Chickens Really Pick Their Own Chicken Bedding?

Oh yes…

And one thing, you might think that a hen will need a big nest to lay their eggs in.

No.

That is not the case, yet do not make it too small either, they want the cosy feel, not too big and not too small.

If you have smaller chickens like bantams, then make the nest boxes according to their size.

And if you have a mixed bunch of big and small chickens.

Well then you have an issue, make smaller and larger boxes.

Although some chickens might end up in a bigger nesting box because the other ones are taken up.

Or a bigger chicken sits uncomfortably in a nesting box that is too small for them.
I am afraid that you will just have to go with it…

Don’t forget air ventilation…

All chicken houses will need adequate ventilation so to help stabilise the temperature, and decrease any of those foul odours.

Get it?

Fowl odours…

Use Only Premium Materials?

I know that they say that what you use to build your hen house will ultimately determine how long it will last.

As it is an outdoors building, and be exposed to all the elements and harsh weather conditions.

But I have used things that are around my place if you have tin and other materials…
Yet do use wood that has been treated and has that good degree of water resistance for moisture and rain.

Do though, make sure that it is structurally sound and can take those high winds, without becoming warped or deformed.

Would not want you to go out and see your chicken house in ruin because the weather got a little rough.

And I am sure your chickens would not appreciate it either…

So any old metal hardware you use should be treated so as to be resistant to rusting.

See also What Is An Automatic Chicken Door Really!

If you have metal in your backyard, you can use this.

Just make sure that you sand it down and then paint some rust paint on it to stop the rust fast in its tracks.

Yes.

It is called rust paint.

If the metal is not rusty, do still sand it then paint it to protect it, with the paint being the protective layer.

What colour do you paint it?

Well…

You can go crazy, if you are conservative like myself you will go for the more natural look.

Make That Chicken Care As Easy As Possible

Having that responsibility of maintaining every aspect of your backyard chicken’s lives…

You need to build your chicken house somewhere that is easily accessible to you for starters.

Make the hen house easy to feed your chickens.

Their nest boxes are preferably off the ground and easy for you to collect the eggs, you might decide to have this as an extension to the outside of the hen house.

So you don’t have to go inside to collect the eggs all the time and also disturb your chickens.

Not that that should be an issue, as the more times you spend with your chickens, the tamer they will become.

The chicken house does not have to be elaborate, simple and well planned is probably easier for you to construct and will not put out your chicken’s beaks at all.

So I am calling it simple not basic because there is much you can do with a simple chicken house you know.