Step-by-step instructions for building a winter chicken coop with your own hands

Arranging a winter chicken coop is a rather difficult task for a farmer. With the correct implementation of this procedure, it will be possible to keep chickens in the winter. In this case, it is necessary to strictly adhere to a certain sequence of actions - to calculate the area, choose materials, select means for insulation. The device of nests, feeders, drinkers is of no small importance.

What is the difference between a winter chicken coop and a summer one?

In order for the birds to survive the winter without any problems, it is necessary to build an all-season chicken coop. The birds are highly sensitive to frost. Therefore, when arranging a frame poultry house, important features should be considered:

Humidity. This is one of the main enemies of chickens, especially in low temperature conditions. In such a situation, the respiratory tract of pets suffers. Therefore, the chicken coop must be completely dry.
Lighting. In winter, chickens face a lack of lighting. Therefore, a winter chicken coop should be equipped with a large number of windows. They are certainly insulated. Artificial lighting is also required.
The size. For winter, do not make a chicken coop too large, since it is difficult to heat it.

Choosing the best place

To choose the best site for construction, you need to focus on the following features:

It is rather damp in the lowlands. Therefore, the room should be placed on a hill.
Birds need rest. Therefore, the house is built away from sources of noise.
The well-being of birds depends on the amount of sun. Therefore, the windows of the house must face south.
It is harmful for birds to overheat. Therefore, in hot weather, the windows are shaded.
The chicken coop should be placed not far from human habitation so that you can watch the birds.
It is recommended to place the building on dry and sandy ground.
The area for the chicken coop must be reliably protected from the wind. For this, trees and bushes are used.
A walking area should be located near the chicken coop. It should have a shelter from the sun, wind and other unfavorable climatic phenomena.

The wrong place for birds is bad for their health. Chickens become weak and painful, they lay poorly, and there are difficulties in fertilizing eggs.

Size calculation

When choosing the size of the house, it is recommended to consider the number of birds. The area of the winter building depends on this.

For 10 chickens

To equip a mini-chicken coop in the country, a shed with an area of 10-15 square meters is suitable. This is enough for the birds to be fully active. The room must have at least 1 window and a ventilation grill.

For 20 chickens

For such a number of chickens, a full-fledged barn is required. Its size should be 18-20 meters. The height of the walls is about 2 meters. Walking area - 2x3 meters.

For 30 chickens

For 30 chickens, the same option is suitable as for 20. For such a number of birds, a room with an area of 20 square meters will suffice.

For 50 chickens

For this number of chickens, a fairly large room will be required - about 50 square meters. The height should not exceed 2 meters. The site covers an area of 3x4 meters.

For 100 chickens

The project for a chicken coop for 100 chickens has a considerable area of over 50 square meters. Such a large room needs high-quality insulation.

Material for construction

For a building to be durable, it is required to use quality materials:

For the foundation you will need a mixture of sand and cement, roofing material, gravel. You also need wooden formwork, screenings, a mesh with small cells. In addition, it is worth preparing a thin rope, tape measure, rods, pegs.
For walls, you need to take wooden beams, staples, bricks, plywood, cement, foam blocks.
For arranging the roof, you can use slate, plywood, fiberboard or chipboard. You can also use roofing felt, roofing felt, wooden slats and beams. Slate is considered the most suitable option.
For the floor, it is worth using floor logs, wooden boards, beams. Sheets of chipboard or fiberboard are also suitable.
Pipes and dampers are required for ventilation.
For nests and perches, it is recommended to use slats, sectional partitions, fiberboard, shavings.

Take a look also

Types of bedding on the floor for a chicken coop and how to do it yourself for the winter

In addition, you should arm yourself with means for attaching the feeders, a stapler, a jigsaw, a hammer. It is also recommended to prepare nails.

Before using wooden boards or plywood, they should be treated with an antiseptic compound. After which the material must be sanded with sandpaper.

Preparatory work

Before erecting a winter chicken coop, it is worth completing the preparatory work. First of all, it is recommended to correctly choose a place for construction, make an accurate drawing of the building and calculate the amount of materials required.

If the site has clay or swampy soil, drainage work is certainly carried out. If this procedure is ignored, the supporting structure of the structure will quickly fail.

How to build a chicken coop for winter with your own hands

In order for the construction of a chicken coop to be successful, it is worth strictly following the rules for carrying out all work.

Poultry house foundation

The construction technology is determined by the material from which it is planned to build the chicken coop. The columnar structure is piled, with a small depression, or tape. It is used as a rigid base for heavy brick walls. The foundation for light structures from beams or logs can be made in the form of blocks or pillars.

Floor

The floor can be made of wood or concrete. However, in such a situation, its insulation will be required. For this, sawdust is used.

It is better to use boards for the floor. To do this, you should follow these steps:

Upholstery the bottom layer with unedged boards. Place steam and waterproofing on top.
Place the bars at a distance of 65-80 centimeters.
Place insulation between them.
Put edged boards on top and fit them tightly.

Frame

Before making the frame, you need to decide on the roof structure. Usually it is made shed. In this case, one of the walls is made higher.

The construction of the frame implies the following works:

Lay a timber on the surface of the foundation. It should be fixed with anchor bolts.The bars are fastened together with metal corners.
Put the timber vertically in the corners and attach it to the lower belt.
Attach the upper horizontal belt to the vertical bars. On the outside of the frame, make a crate from small strips or slats. Insulating material is laid on it.
Roof rafters are placed on the upper belt.

Roof

It is recommended to nail a crate made of unedged boards or plywood leaves to the rafters. It is worth fixing a vapor barrier film along it. It should be overlapped, gluing the seams. Insulating material and waterproofing are placed on top.

Then transverse strips are nailed to the rafters. When using a soft roof, it is worth laying plywood or OSB, and then laying roofing material. When using slate, timber cladding is not required.

Insulation of walls and floors

Heaters are selected taking into account the budget. The most affordable option is foam. You can also use mineral wool. In this case, you should first lay the double-sided membrane. The most comfortable option is polystyrene foam. It comes in the form of even and smooth slabs. However, this material is quite expensive.

Natural materials will cost almost free. For this, a mixture of sawdust and clay is used. However, the quality of such insulation is much lower.

Arrangement of a winter chicken coop

After the construction of the premises, it is worth paying attention to the internal arrangement of the winter chicken coop.

Making roosts

For this design, beams with a section of 4x4 or 6x4 centimeters will be required. It is important that they have a rounded shape. Therefore, the bars should be cleaned to smoothness in order to avoid damage to the paws.

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How to make roosts for chickens with your own hands, options and sizes

When using multiple perches, the distance between the planks should be 30 centimeters in width and 20 centimeters in height. A small ladder should be attached to the lower tier.

Nests

Nests are best located in the far corners of the room. For this, wooden boxes are used. For 5 chickens it is worth providing 1 nest. If you plan to grow only layers, you can make more nests.

Feeders and drinkers

The feeders are arranged in length. The size is selected taking into account the number of chickens. There should be about 10-15 centimeters per bird. At a height of 15 centimeters from the floor, it is worth making 2 more feeders in the form of boxes. They are filled with gravel or shells. There must be drinkers in the house.

Ventilation in a winter chicken coop

Ventilation is required for a normal indoor climate. Its functions can be performed by a plastic pipe. It is placed under the ceiling, passes through the roof and exits at a height of 1 meter. The inflow is through the slots. If they are well sealed, a pipe should be built into the wall slightly above the floor.

Lighting the chicken coop in winter

The coop is complemented by windows. To keep warm, frames should have 2-3 glasses. They must be sheathed inside and out with a net.

In order for chickens to rush in winter, they are recommended to increase the length of daylight hours. It should be at least 11-12 hours. Therefore, it is worth using artificial lighting.

Litter

For chicken coops, 2 types of bedding are used:

deep - means 2-3 layers;
shallow - it is made in 1 layer.

Deep bedding is preferred. For this, natural materials are used - moss, sawdust, straw. You can also use peat or hay.

Heating system installation

To keep the coop warm, additional heating must be provided. In winter, you can heat with electricity or other methods.

Electricity

You can heat the chicken coop with infrared lamps. Infrared radiators do not heat the air, but objects. Therefore, they are placed above the perches. Several pieces are additionally hung above the floor. Fan heaters can also be used.When choosing them, it is better to give preference to a programmable model. This will help save electricity.

It is not recommended to use oil radiators for a chicken coop. They waste a lot of energy, but provide too little heat. Devices with an open spiral lead to a fire, therefore it is very dangerous to use them.

Boiler and potbelly stove

The chicken coop can be heated with a wood-burning boiler or a stove. You can also fold a brick stove. In this case, the pipe is best placed in the chicken coop. This will provide the maximum amount of heat.

Heating the chicken coop by decomposing sawdust

To maintain a positive temperature, use the heat produced by the decomposition of sawdust. However, it will be possible to achieve a tangible effect only under the condition of minimal insulation.

Pour sawdust on the floor. The first layer is used in the fall, the second - before frost. The layer thickness is 10-15 centimeters. It should lie for 1-1.5 months.

After a month, add a fresh portion of sawdust. In this case, the thickness should be approximately 10 centimeters. By the end of winter, the layer is 50 centimeters. In the spring, the composition is taken out into compost.

Walking yard

Chickens love to be active. Therefore, they should definitely equip a walking yard. It is isolated with a mesh. This will help prevent other animals from getting there.

Feeders should be placed near the entrance using a polycarbonate visor.

Building a winter chicken coop is not that difficult. To do this, you must follow the basic recommendations for the selection of materials and the construction of the structure. You should definitely pay attention to the interior arrangement of the room. This will provide the birds with a comfortable environment. Thanks to this, the birds will be able to fly well. In addition, a high-quality chicken coop will become a reliable disease prevention.