Building Chicken Coops

With being a chicken keeper for such a long time I have often been asked the same questions by people who want to start keeping their own chickens, below I’ll answer some of the most frequent ones..

How big should my chicken house plans be?

If you let the chickens out to exercise you should allow at least one square foot per bird. So for example a four by four foot coop would keep sixteen chickens. This is only a rule of thumb so bear in mind that larger birds will need more space. More detail can be found in this guide.

How much room do the chickens need to exercise?

Commercially the regulations state ten square metres per bird, but studies have shown that free range hens don’t stray too far from their house. Personally I think twenty square feet is enough for four birds, but there is no set rule.

Can chickens damage my backyard?

As we all know chickens love scratching around and unfortunately this means that any plants or vegetables they come across may be uprooted and any seeds devoured. However, this will also count for weeds and pests that get in their way. The simple solution is when building chicken coops use fencing to contain the chickens to areas of your garden where they can happily scratch around without disturbing your cultivated areas. Remember anything they do eat will be turned into nutritious fertilizer!

I have a dog and a cat, can I still keep chickens?

The size of the chicken will at first spook your cat, in fact most cats will be petrified of them at first, but there will soon be a mutual realization that they are not going to harm each other and will generally ignore one another. The exception is feral cats who may attempt to kill the chickens.

With dogs being larger than cats they pose a grater threat to the chicken. The only person who knows if your dog will be OK with the chickens is you, you know your dog, if it is an aggressive and disobedient dog you may have a problem (regardless of size, small terriers are just as bad). Most dogs however will realise the chickens are part of the family and leave well alone.

Do I need a rooster to produce eggs?

Only if you want to breed chickens, hens will still produce eggs everyday without a cockerel around but obviously they will be infertile without his assistance. Remember that roosters can be very loud at early hours of the morning so take this into consideration and think about your neighbours!

How many eggs will I get per chicken?

Chickens usually produce 250 to 280 a year but it is reliant on a number of factors. The chickens health and age will affect the amount of eggs as older birds tend to lay less, also, different breeds of chickens can produce varying amounts of eggs.