 Chickens can adapt to
most any type of structure. You just need to keep them dry, safe and
out of drafts. One of the most important things you will need to do is
to protect them from predators and these include the neighbors dogs and
cats! Here in Texas I have coyotes and fox all around me so that is my
number one priority when it comes to my birds, keeping them safe from
the predators. The type of predators you have should dictate the type
of structure you build or buy. If you need Fort Knox, then build or buy
it. If you feel your birds are safe from predators then you can have a
less secure structure.
Ok
so your not a carpenter you say. You can convert a garage as your coop,
a shed, back porch or even a dog crate. Just remember, you need 4 sq
feet of living space for each bird. So an 8" X 8" shed would be 64 sq
feet divided by 4 means you can house 16 birds in an 8 X 8 shed.
If
you have a pasture or field you can build or even buy a chicken
tractor. What is a chicken tractor? A chicken tractor
(pictured above) is a portable chicken pen that you move around to
different locations that you want to weed, fertilize, debug and trim.
The chickens trim the grass, eat the bugs and you simply move them once
a week to another location. The only drawback is the chicken tractor
has to be small enough and light enough so it can be easily moved
around.
 If
you only want to house 4 or 5 birds then a medium size coop such as the
one pictured on the left, can easily be built. It was built using
mostly free scrap wood that I found behind a local Lowes. It was a wood
delivery crate used for tractors. I just tore most of it apart and
built it to my needs.
On
the other end of the scale is a larger size coop such as the one
pictured at the top of the page that I recently built. This one is 8 X
8 and will house about 16-20 chickens. You can also buy a wood shed and
convert it to a chicken coop if you have some wood working skills. All
a coop needs is a trap door so the chicken can go out on their own,
nesting boxes and a place inside to roost at night. A simple 2x4 will
suffice as a roost.
Inside
of each style of coop you will need wood shavings on the floor to
control and contain the waste from the chickens. Shaving make cleaning
the coop a much quicker and easier job while adding protection to the
floor.
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