If you plan to breed chickens on your site, then the first thing you need to take care of is a good chicken coop. In size, it should correspond to the number of chickens that will be kept in it. Such a house must be light, warm and fully equipped.
It is easy to arrange a chicken coop if several chickens start up, and if there are more of them, you will have to tinker a lot. But all efforts will be justified by the result. In this article, we will consider the independent construction of such a structure as a chicken coop for 100 chickens.
Types of chicken coops
A shed for chickens can be winter or seasonal, in which chickens can only be in the warm season. In order to understand which type of chicken coop is suitable, you need to learn more about each of the existing types.
Winter type chicken coop
In the summer months, chickens can be outdoors almost all day, which cannot be said about the cold season. For the winter, many breeders try to settle chickens in unsuitable outbuildings, but this is not the right decision. Chickens need a house where everything will be created for their comfortable keeping. Therefore, if you plan to keep them in winter, you should take care in advance of creating a warm, completely equipped chicken coop.
Since the temperature in winter drops below 0 degrees, you need to make sure that the chickens do not freeze. For them, the optimum temperature is one that is between 15 and 25 degrees. In this microclimate, chickens will feel comfortable and regularly lay.
So that the temperature does not drop, the hen house is insulated... To do this, it is necessary to finish the roof, walls, as well as all the smallest cracks and holes with insulating material. This design will help to avoid drafts inside the mini-poultry farm and maintain the necessary microclimate.
Since the days are short in winter, and the chickens will be inside the hen house all the time, you need to take care of the lighting. It is imperative to have a window for natural light and a light bulb under the ceiling. But you shouldn't keep the light on in the hen house round the clock - it is turned off at night in order to bring the conditions closer to natural.
But you do not need to keep chickens locked up throughout the winter, as this can adversely affect not only the health of the chickens, but also their productivity. You can walk chickens under a roof and in an area that is completely closed from all directions from the wind. This can be done even at sub-zero temperatures, but in the absence of strong gusts of wind.
Summer type chicken coop
The summer chicken coop is not as capital construction as its winter version. The main time of finding chickens in it will be the period from spring to autumn. If the owner does not plan to keep chickens in the winter, then this option will be ideal for him. A chicken dwelling has the following components: the barn itself, a fenced area for walking, nests, perches, as well as feeders and drinkers.
The design of a summer house for chickens can be very diverse, but, the main thing is that the walking area is not located in dampness and shade. An ideal location would be a plot under trees in partial shade.It is possible to make a low chicken coop or to make it raised, here it all depends on the number of chickens and the owner's desire.
For those who have a large number of chickens on the farm, modern sandwich-panel chicken coops are offered. They can be of different sizes and shapes, and they are erected quite quickly. Caring for such a chicken coop is minimized, since the material does not rot and corrode.
If it is not possible to make a chicken coop with your own hands, then you can buy it disassembled and mount it on the site. Of course, the cost of such a house for chickens will be many times more expensive compared to making it independently, but the aesthetic side and ease of use remain at their best.
Do-it-yourself chicken coop construction
If, nevertheless, it is decided to make a chicken coop for your livestock of chickens with your own hands, then you need to learn about the technology of this process. For a large number of chickens, in our case 100 heads, you need a room that will correspond to the number in size. To keep such a number of chickens, it is necessary to equip a capital chicken coop with an area of at least 16 square meters. Moreover, the winter chicken coop may be smaller, but in any case, not less than 16 square meters. meters. This is because in winter the chickens huddle together and bask next to each other. In summer, in hot weather, more space is needed, as the chickens scatter and they need free space.
Foundation installation
Like any capital structure, a chicken shed must necessarily have a foundation, the design of which depends on the configuration and size of the chicken coop and can be piled, columnar or tape.
The first type of foundation for a chicken coop is the most laborious to build. It is used if the bearing capacity of the soil is too low. To install piles, it is necessary to rent heavy equipment and place them strictly vertically. After installation, they are tied with a grillage, which performs the function of connecting all elements. It can be metal, reinforced concrete or wood.
If a the chicken coop is installed on the frame, then the columnar foundation under it will be an excellent solution. A project is created in advance, which indicates the location of each pillar. The pillars can be reinforced concrete, brick or wooden.
A strip foundation is suitable for a brick hen house. It will help the load to be evenly distributed around the entire perimeter of the building. According to the scheme, it is necessary to prepare a trench about 50 cm deep, level its bottom and sprinkle it with sand. After that, a formwork is installed in the prepared trench, and a reinforcing cage is installed in it, which is welded in advance. Concrete is poured into the trench and they are waiting for it to get stronger.
Execution of walls
You can talk for a long time about the installation of walls for the poultry house, since they are made from a variety of materials that the master has in stock. The simplest option would be wood, from which you can quickly build a structure. In addition, the chicken coop will turn out to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The only drawback of such walls is their fragility. But it can also be minimized if the wood is pre-treated with special protective compounds.
The most convenient option is a bar chicken coop. Only coniferous wood is used, but with the correct moisture content. The timber should not be completely dry, as it will dry out even more and deform, as a result of which cracks will appear.
An interesting option is the shield chicken coop, the walls of which are made of OSB sheets or board-type boards. Such a building is mounted quickly and serves for a long time.
Another option for walls for a chicken coop is blocks. They can be made of aerated concrete, shell rock, brick or foam concrete.Such chicken coops have good thermal insulation, which allows them to be used even as a winter option.
Also, other materials are used to make a barn for a hundred chickens. For example, it is clay that has been used since ancient times. And now there are such owners who make the chicken coop from it. For this, layer by layer of the wall is laid on the prepared wooden frame.
A modern way of building for chickens can be called a chicken coop made of sandwich panels, which have a layer of insulation inside that allows you to keep all the heat inside the room.
Implementation of the floor and roof in the poultry house
To create comfortable conditions, a wooden floor is created, which rises several centimeters above the ground. It is considered the warmest, therefore it is used for the poultry house.
To install the floor of the chicken coop, logs are first laid, and already a floorboard is laid on them. The connection is made with nails. From above, the floor can be sprinkled with sawdust or hay, so that the chickens are as comfortable as possible.
To reproduce the roof of the hen house, it is necessary to clarify which type will be used: gable or single-pitch. Flat roofs are not used, as the outflow of water from them is difficult. For a shed for 100 or 1000 chickens, a gable structure is best suited. In this case, the angle between its slopes is at least 40 degrees. The roof support is carried out on the Mauerlat and on the girder, the rafters must be embedded in the corresponding rafter elements.
Next, the roof lathing is performed, on which a vapor barrier is attached, which excludes the occurrence of condensation and moisture insulation. After that, the insulation with a waterproofing layer is laid. Next, the roofing material for the chicken coop is laid. It can be metal, slate, roofing felt or another type of roofing.
Doors and interior arrangement of the chicken coop
The front door of the chicken coop should correspond to the growth of the owner, so that you can go inside without any problems, and will be carried out according to the project. The canopy is attached so that it opens inward to control birds as they enter. To exclude the penetration of strangers, a lock is required.
In the hen house, a vestibule must be provided so that in winter time the cold does not run inside the room at the entrance. Its construction is reflected even at the drawing stage.
When the outside of the chicken coop is completed, you can start filling it inside. First of all, a hole is made in the wall through which the chickens go out into the street. It is additionally equipped with a ladder so that the chicken can get up and calmly go out.
It is very convenient for a herd of 100 chickens to make an automatic door, which will open at certain times to ensure that the chickens go outside. Moreover, the feeder can be automated.
For laying hens nests are provided inside the hen house where they can rest and hatch their eggs. It is very convenient to bring a tray to each nest, along which the nest can slide to a certain place for collection. The following video provides practical advice on setting up a chicken coop.
Walking installation
In order for the chickens not to scatter around the yard, it is necessary to install a chicken coop with a walk, fenced with a net. Its size is calculated depending on the number of livestock. The paddock may be covered or may not have a roof at all. A chain-link mesh or a fence is used as a fence. The fence is built around the perimeter and, if necessary, from above. In the walk, there should also be a door for the owner so that there is an opportunity to clean the territory.
Conclusion
The construction of a capital chicken coop for 100 chickens is a complex process that has a lot of nuances. If you take them into account in construction, you get the most convenient house for keeping chickens, which will have everything you need. This article gives general advice on the construction of such a structure, so before starting work it will be useful to read it to the question "How to build a chicken coop?" was not that difficult.
