DIY step-by-step instructions for building a chicken shed
On a summer cottage or a personal plot, in addition to plant growing, keeping chickens of egg or meat and egg breeds is of great help. The physiological needs of poultry dictate the need to arrange a room, the simplest of which is a barn. Consider the stages of building a shed for chickens, where it is better to arrange it, what and how it should be inside, what microclimate needs to be maintained.
Where to install a chicken shed?
On the site, select an unshaded, level or slightly elevated place that is not flooded by melt water and does not experience spring outflow of groundwater. The area for walking chickens can be located in the openwork shade of trees. Do not spare room for her, since the egg breeds are active and move a lot, while the meat-type chickens move little. Areas of rectangular shape are preferred.
Important! The area for the shed is calculated based on the norm: 3 birds per 1 square meter.
A competent approach to the construction of a barn involves the creation of a general site plan. A future shed for chickens and plantings should be applied to it ahead of time. If there are valuable light-loving plants on the site that will be in the shade of a barn, they should be transplanted in advance.
Based on the plan, they draw up a list of works and a plan for the purchase of building materials and equipment for building a barn, assess the level of material costs, and, if necessary, find ways to reduce the cost.
Required tools and materials
Construction equipment and tools include:
- concrete mixing equipment and masonry tools;
- a set of tools for woodworking (saws, jigsaws, hammers);
- drilling equipment (screwdrivers);
- measuring devices (tape measures, levels);
- consumables (nails, screws, screws, corners).
Materials for building a foundation:
- brick, cement, crushed stone;
Materials for the construction of the frame and the construction of the roof:
- wooden slats, beams, boards for flooring, chipboard sheets for wall cladding, insulation material (mineral wool, penoplex), slate, roofing felt or tiles.
The chicken shed should have windows for sunlight. You will need glass and a wooden frame or small ready-made frames. The walls inside the chicken coop are painted with water-based paint, the floors are lined with linoleum or ceramic tiles.All materials can be picked up from old disassembled furniture, after repair and alteration of the floor, kitchen unit.
Note! Before purchasing materials, carefully consider the construction technology and how you will keep the chickens - year-round when heating or during the season.
How to build a barn with your own hands?
For 18-20 chickens, it is enough to build a rectangular barn with an area of 6 square meters with a length of 3 and a width of 2 meters. It is quite possible to build such a shed with your own hands. Let's see how to do this.
Preparatory work
The site intended for construction is cleared of plant residues, stumps and rhizomes are uprooted. If the soil at the site of the future construction is fertile, the top layer is removed and leveled. Small bumps can be easily aligned using a rail tied to a rope on both sides, or a wooden ladder.
Refinements are made by level. After alignment, the structure is marked. Stakes are driven in at the corners, a cord is pulled over them, which marks the boundaries of the shed and is an indicator of the height of the foundation.
Foundation
The foundation for a chicken coop can be of two types:
- columnar;
- solid.
For a small building of 2x3 meters, a columnar foundation of 4 or 6 racks is sufficient. The main purpose is to protect the building from flooding and freezing of the floor in winter. The foundation racks for the shed are placed at an equal distance from each other. For the strength of the structure, the load-bearing logs must be thicker than 80 millimeters.
Square or round holes 0.5 meters deep are dug under the foundation posts. Crushed stone is poured into the bottom and compacted with a bar or column. The racks can be made of brick or pour cement mortar inside the formwork made of wood, roofing material or foam concrete blocks.
A solid foundation is poured into the formwork around the perimeter of the shed. Consumption of cement slurry increases, but logs of smaller thickness may be used.
Important! Any type of foundation must be at least 30 centimeters above the ground!
Floor
A moisture-insulating layer of roofing material is placed on the foundation. Then, the lower trim is attached to the concrete racks with anchor bolts. Wooden logs are connected between themselves according to the "half-wood" method. Boards are attached along the perimeter of the lower strapping, forming the bed of the future floor or box. Several support logs are placed along the box, fasteners are performed and floor boards are nailed. In a winter shed, it is better to make double floors with an insulating layer in the middle or install an electric floor heating system.
Building walls
Along the perimeter, beams are attached to the floor, on which the vertical racks of the frame with a height of 2.0-2.2 meters will rest. The main pillars are in the corners of the building, additional pillars are in each corner of the windows and doors. It is also recommended to make intermediate vertical posts along the width of the insulating material. The minimum width of the vertical beams is 50 millimeters. Check the verticality of the racks more often by level. A second strapping is performed on top of the racks by attaching them with corners.
Roof and ceiling construction
The roof rafter is attached to the top trim. Choose a lift angle large enough to ensure that rain and snow can flow normally, or leaks cannot be avoided.
The transverse rafters are made with a pitch equal to the fastenings of the roofing material and the width of the selected type of insulation. Too narrow a step leads to higher construction costs, and a wide one - to roof deflections and possible stagnation of rainwater in places of deflections.
A waterproofing layer is laid on top of the rafters. If a soft roof will be used, an additional chipboard layer is provided for sealing or slate sheets are laid. From inside the shed, under the upper harness, a ceiling is attached.
Doors and windows
It is advisable to make windows on the east and west or south side.The total area of the windows should be at least 10 percent of the floor area in the shed. In order to ventilate the interior, the windows should open from the outside of the shed. In addition to windows and doors, a bird hole is made in the lower part of the wall connected to the walk.
The door should open outward and close tightly, and the bird's door should be closed with a latch from the outside.
Warming
The outside walls are lined with insulation, followed by a vapor barrier in the form of a dense cellophane film. Outside, sheathing is performed with chipboard sheets, boards or plastic siding.
Microclimate in the barn
The conditions inside the shed for laying hens are of particular importance, as the correct microclimate can prevent the development of infections in birds and regulate their productivity. What you should pay attention to:
- ventilation of the room;
- lighting and mode of changing day and night;
- air temperature.
Let's take a closer look at each of the points.
Ventilation
The optimal range of humidity inside the barn is 60-70 percent. In the summer it is maintained with frequent ventilation. If there are a lot of birds in the room, an electric fan is mounted on the window, which acts as a supply ventilation. Provide ventilation openings under the roof and at the floor.
Lighting
To maintain egg production, layers are provided with lighting for at least 13-14 hours a day. One 40-watt fluorescent lamp is suitable for the selected area, which is suspended from the ceiling in a reflective shade.
Temperature
The optimum temperature for keeping chickens of egg breeds is from 16 to 23 degrees. When the temperature rises, the bird becomes stressed and dehydrated, and when the temperature drops, productivity drops sharply, since the energy consumption for warming the body increases. In summer, the bird feels comfortable on the walking area.
Heating for the winter
If a warm floor was provided during the construction, then this heat is enough to maintain the temperature in the barn at 16-17 degrees. In severe frost, they are additionally heated with a stove or oil radiator. The bedding of straw and sawdust is increased to 20 centimeters, adding a new layer every week.
What is needed in a chicken shed
Inside, the barn is equipped with perches, nests where hens lay eggs, feeders and drinkers.
Perches and nests
The perches are round poles, for which the bird clings with its paws and rests in this position. It is advisable to fix them in two tiers at a distance of 30-50 centimeters from each other. The first tier is at a height of 50-80 centimeters from the floor.
The simplest nests are arranged along the darkest wall of the barn, from wooden or cardboard boxes measuring 30 x 40 centimeters, one nest for 3-4 birds is enough. The bottom of the boxes is covered with straw. An inclined design is possible, which allows for faster egg collection.
Drinking bowls and feeders
The industry produces ready-made drinkers and bird feeders of various designs. One head needs 8-10 centimeters of space at the drinker and feeder.
Note! Drinkers and feeders are installed at a distance from each other so that the water in the drinker remains clean.
For dry food, wooden feeders are suitable, for green ones - mesh ones. In winter, the bird actively digs in the litter, so it is added all the time, layer by layer.
Swimming place
Chickens need baths of ash or sun-baked sand. This measure protects the feather cover from insects. The ash must be dry and settled for several months; fresh ash contains substances harmful to poultry. In the summer, the bathing place is arranged on the street, in the winter - in the dressing room of the barn.
Walking area
The site is connected with the barn through a manhole for chickens, it is fenced with a metal or nylon mesh with a height of at least 2 meters.The lower and upper edges are reinforced with boards or metal shields. The walking area for one head is at least 1 square meter.
