Mini Bird Houses
The Art Of Building A Hen House
Building a hen house is not a difficult task, considering the amount of help that is available on the internet. You can download all sorts of high quality chicken coop plans from the internet, many of which contain detailed information about woodworking, and the general raising of chickens. This article explains some of the more common features of the modern hen house, and directs you to the best DIY building schematics.
Popular, Practical Hen House Features
To some, the term “Do-It-Yourself” is synonymous with “dodgy”. This couldn’t be further from the truth, with contemporary construction guides pushing for secure, professional looking structures.
Some features that can easily be built in DIY fashion include:
- A semi-automated egg collection device, where eggs roll from nesting boxes into an external collection box.
- An automatic chicken feeder, where the grain slowly runs down into a feeding trough.
- Built-in predator proofing.
Assorted Hen House Styles
Though you generally wouldn’t think of a hen house as stylish, it certainly pays off to focus a little on aesthetics. The last think you want is a chicken coop that looks like a pile of junk!
Some of the more attractive designs include:
1) The standard hen house – This is the most common type, and can be customized quite easily. You can fit around 20 birds inside, and attach a large chicken run. This allows for a truly free-range mini-farm.
2) Small, portable chicken coop – Of course, if you want to go for something a bit less extravagant, the small, a-frame coop is great. It’s also extremely simple to build. You only require a few bits of treated pine, some chicken wire, and some plywood or chipboard.
3) The box-shaped coop – Arguably less attractive that the other 2 designs, the box-shaped coop is tall, but narrow. It contains separate areas for nesting and feeding, allowing you to create a kind of incubating room. Great if you want to breed chickens fast.
There are obviously many more designs to choose from, but it all comes down to your unique requirements and personal taste. Don’t forget that you can take a design and personalize it to your own desires.
To download construction schematics for building a hen house, check out this Chicken Coop Plans website now.
About the Author
Check out a range of modern chicken coop designs by clicking here: Chicken Coop Plans
Spring Mini Bird House Episode #10 by Cathie Rigby
