Surely most chicken breeders want their birds to live and grow as comfortably as possible. And for this you can’t do without a chicken run - a specially designated place for chickens to stay in the fresh air.
But how to build it correctly in order to take into account all the nuances and provide the birds with sufficient freedom? You can find out about this by reading this article.
Today, as in former times, this is a very popular activity among farmers and ordinary citizens. Such birds produce meat and eggs, which provide their owners with both food and money. But to successfully keep chickens, breeders must remember that it is important for these birds to feel free and easy.
Why is walking so important for chickens? In another way, this structure is sometimes called a corral. This is the same limited space into which owners let their chickens out for a walk. The more they walk, the more:
Therefore, the role of such a corral cannot be underestimated. And it is not at all necessary to spend money on purchasing it; it is enough to know how you can build it yourself and you can safely get down to business.
As a rule, chicken breeders provide them with one of two places to roam:
Of course, both spaces for birds have their advantages and disadvantages. Still, free range has many more advantages.
In an enclosure, chickens cannot roam around like that, so their legs become weaker. They become less cheerful and fertile than with a free lifestyle.
This “closed” type of breeding is used mainly in poultry farms.But free range also has its disadvantages:
Knowing all the pros and cons of both methods of keeping, it is recommended that farmers still focus on raising chickens in the wild, especially since it is not difficult to make a special place for this.
To get a high-quality and durable walk, you cannot do without good building materials. Some of them can be found on your own farm, but you will have to buy something.
However, the cost of these materials will not be commensurate with what would be incurred by purchasing a ready-made pen. At the same time, no one is responsible for the 100% quality of a commercially available finished structure, and it is unknown how long it can serve the manufacturer.
The walk can be built from wood, cement, galvanized mesh, corrugated sheets and other simple small materials that will serve as means of fastening the main components.The mesh is especially suitable for constructing a mobile bird run. Actually, it will be the basis for it.
For a portable pen you will need to stock up on:
The appearance of worms in chickens can have very sad consequences. Read how to get rid of this scourge.
In order to build a stationary chicken run, you need the following basic materials and tools: 
Before you start building a pen for chickens, you need to decide what you should get in the end. And for this, it won’t hurt to develop a plan on which to indicate all the dimensions of the future structure, as well as what the paddock will consist of.
Such a plan will serve as a kind of support for subsequent thinking through steps on how best to use the available space and materials. In addition, this will significantly save time for the builder.
After completing work on the diagram, you can begin to bring the idea to life:
The stationary law for birds is ready!
Many farmers will also be interested in how to build a portable paddock?
You don’t need to make a foundation for it; it will be enough to make a metal frame from corners and mesh. The mesh should also be pulled over the top and then over the sides, leaving an allowance of 20 cm. A mobile canopy can be attached to such a walk in case of scorching sun or rain.
And to completely modernize such a structure, you can attach wheels to it. Then it will not be portable, but a mobile pen for birds. In general, everything is limited only by the imagination and skill of the master!
In general, when arranging a walk, you need to be guided by the following tips:
It’s not enough to build a good barn for chickens; you also need to equip it: secure perches, make nests, install/hang drinking bowls and feeders. But you need to do this in such a way that it is convenient for you to maintain the poultry house. Chickens don't really care how beautiful their nests are. They will fit perfectly on the floor. It will be inconvenient for you to collect eggs from the floor, and they might even get pecked. Therefore, we arrange the chicken coop in such a way as to make it more convenient for you.
First of all, you need to equip the inside of the chicken coop with perches. This is a round or oval stick - a tree branch, a shovel handle, a planed block, etc., fixed at some height above the floor.
On average, they take about 20-25 cm of perch length per chicken. They are attached to the wall at a distance of 25-30 cm, one perch from the other - at a distance of 35-40 cm. You can make multi-tiered ones, but there will be fights for the highest place. Please note that all dimensions are approximate only and are necessary for reference purposes. Everything is selected more according to location: different breeds and chicken coops, and their owners too.
To make cleaning easier, a shield made of some smooth material is installed at a distance of 20 cm below the perch. Litter accumulates on it, so choose a smooth surface: it will be easier to sweep away.
The question remains: at what height should the perch, and therefore the shield, be made? It is most convenient to clean it in a cart. It should fit under the shield so that you can dump the droppings directly into the wheelbarrow with a hoe. For the flood, the height of the shield is determined by the height of your car, and above the shield there will already be perch slats. And again, choose the height of the chicken perch so that cleaning is convenient.
The second required element in arranging a chicken coop is nests. They will lay on the floor, but the eggs will be dirty, and they may even peck. According to the norms, one nest is made for three hens. But in fact, it turns out that no matter how many of them you do, they choose one or two, maximum three, and stand in line. The rest are exactly the same, standing empty next to each other. From time to time their tastes change, they begin to rush to others... From all this it follows that you can safely count 5-6 heads per nest, half will still be empty.
It is better to place the nests so that it is convenient for you to pick up the eggs, i.e. hang on the wall. So that the bird can safely get there, they make ladders - an inclined board with perches/sticks nailed across it. The same ladders are made for perches. If the nests are placed close to the perches and at approximately the same level, they will move back and forth. Quite convenient.
You can make such civil nests
If possible, make sure that the back side of the nests faces the corridor, if there is one. A door is made on the back side. Then to pick up the eggs you don’t need to go into the pen - open the doors and collect them.
Chickens also love to rush in the dark, or at least in dim light. That’s why the entrance is made small, and so that they don’t sit inside for a long time, sleep and shit, the roof is made with a strong slope (in the photo).
You can simply arrange or hang the boxes along the wall, but organize the darkening by placing a partition in front of the nests. In general, it is difficult to predict their behavior. Sometimes the nests are simply ignored and are carried anywhere. Then a stencil or mock-up can help: cut out an egg from white paper and place it in the nest. It might help: they will start rushing there.
Several nests in different designs are shown in the photo below. These are all real chicken coops, you can use them.
Plastic is very practical: it’s easy to wash, it’s inexpensive, you can do a lot of things, and chickens really love these plastic nests. Place more hay in them and they will fly. The space below can be used for perches or an IR lamp can be hung on the bottom to make a solarium.
In the nest you always use your hands with caution: you never know what the chickens laid there... It is much more convenient and safer when the eggs are rolled into a special compartment - the egg receptacle. The main catch in this device is to choose the angle of the floor and the flexible material so that the egg moves it away and stops before it reaches the wall. To soften the “landing”, sawdust is poured onto the bottom.
Since the eggs roll up and the bird does not see them, they may refuse to lay eggs in such nests. In this case, you can make a dummy egg - from thick foam plastic in full size or cut out a stencil from paper - and glue it to the bottom. This almost always works.
Sometimes the birds are kept in cages. But this is for industrial or semi-industrial maintenance. With this method of cultivation, a large number of birds live in a small area. A drawing of a cage for chickens with dimensions is posted below.
Drawing of a broiler cage with dimensions
All sizes are according to the standards, and there is no need to invent anything. This is the minimum that laying hens need. And what can come out of such cells is in the photo below.
Watch the video to see how to make broiler cages from wood. Everything is described in great detail: what, for what, what sizes, how to assemble and what is needed for this. Really useful.
Setting up a chicken coop is unthinkable without drinking bowls and feeders. Moreover, they should be there too. There are periodic and bunker feeders. Periodic - this is when you came, poured out the amount of food and that’s it. Until the next feeding they stand empty.
Climbing in and digging around is a favorite thing
Bunker feeding is when there is a decent supply of feed, which is constantly poured into some container. Both have their drawbacks: periodic ones require you to go to the chicken coop every time and add grain, and the birds crowd around and fight for the best place, which sometimes leads to the feeder being overturned.
If you have a bunker feeder, you need to go much less often, but it is possible to overfeed the bird, which is a disaster for laying hens. Therefore, either the laying hens are given a large walk or only broilers are fed in this way.
There are many designs of periodic feeders, but not all of them allow you to use feed economically. The easiest way is to pour the food into a bowl or container. But, if there is at least some opportunity, the chickens begin to rake up the food, spilling it out and then trampling it down. I have to throw it away. And such feeders allow you not only to dig into the food, but also to climb into the feeder with your feet. Therefore they need to be improved. To do this, install wire dividers on the container. Feed consumption decreases sharply: it is more difficult to rake it out.
You can make, for example, another similar feeder (or drinking bowl), which is conveniently attached or placed against the wall. It is probably easier to weld it from metal, although there are craftsmen who can make something similar from wood.
There are some interesting ideas. For example, an economical auto-feeder is assembled from an old car disk, a basin of suitable diameter and a plastic water bottle with a capacity of 5-10 liters.
Look for a disk of the type shown in the photo: with a large number of small holes along the outer edge. In the middle, cut a hole the size of the neck of the bottle. Cut out the bottom of the bottle cap, leaving only the threaded ring. The feed mixture is poured into the bottle, a disk is put on it, and the cut-off lid is pressed against it. Feed is poured into a basin and a structure is installed on top.
In order not to disassemble the feeder every time when you need to add food to the bottle, you can cut the bottom, making it like a lid. Then the bottle itself can be secured more seriously: fixation with the thread from the cap is not very reliable. But such an improvement does not allow anyone to rummage through the food, and no one can get into the basin.
You can make a feeder from a piece of plastic sewer pipe. Holes with a diameter of about 7 cm are cut out on both sides. They do not have to be round at all - square or rectangular will also work. A corner is installed at the ends at a 90° socket upwards and along a small piece of pipe: feed can be poured here.
A simple but spacious bunker feeder is a decent chest with a folding bar attached at the bottom. In the open position, food is poured onto it.
Another option for an economical feeder is made from plastic sewer pipes. But this is already a bunker structure: there is a decent supply. The design is simple, and consumption is reduced.
An even more interesting design of the chicken feeder in the video: with a lid. To open it, you need to jump on it.
Another option is a bunker feeder made of PVC pipes and a plastic water bottle.
It's almost the same story with drinking bowls. Only here is water splashed, which, when mixed with droppings, gives an exceptionally persistent odor, as well as dirt. All this does not contribute to easier and faster cleaning. Therefore, the choice of drinkers is no less important than the feeders.
The simplest option for a small number of birds - up to 15 pieces - is siphon drinkers. They have legs and allow you to save water. If the legs are designed well, even a chicken flying onto the top will not knock them over.
Siphon drinkers - factory-made and homemade from a plastic bottle
Factory drinking bowls, of course, look more attractive, but a homemade version is almost free, and they work no worse. In the photo you see a simple homemade siphon waterer for chickens: a support was nailed in the corner - a piece of board with a hole cut out for the neck. On top there is a fastening system and a load so that it does not get knocked down. A hole is cut into the former bottom of the bottle into which water is poured. The trick here is to choose the distance at which to install the water container: so that there is not too little or too much of it.
Cup drinkers are convenient when grown in cages, as they are conveniently attached to the mesh. But no one bothers you to hang a piece of mesh, say, on a wall or come up with another mount.
They allow you to water the birds without splashing. Water is supplied to the cup, it tilts under the influence of gravity, cutting off the supply. They drank the water, the cup rose, the water flows again. A hose is connected to the side fitting, the second end of which is located in a container of water, which should be above the level of the drinkers. Convenient and economical.
Nipple drinkers for chickens. These are small devices, a few centimeters in size. A cone-shaped stainless steel rod is inserted into the plastic case.
These nipples are screwed into plastic pipes into which water is supplied. A hole of the required diameter is drilled, a thread is cut and the nipple is screwed in. When you press the rod, a few drops of water appear. The chickens peck at the rod, drinking the drops that appear. The main disadvantage of this method is the drops that fall on the floor. To prevent this from happening, a special drip catcher is placed under each drinker. It simply snaps onto the pipe.
Despite their miniature size, these small drinking bowls cost a lot, especially if they are high-quality - read - imported. Ours are, of course, cheaper, but they break faster.
And the rest are different cups and basins into which water is simply poured. Their disadvantage is that birds often turn them over, and the water in them quickly gets dirty.
There are also interesting ideas from homemade ones. For example, such a pipe drinking bowl is shown in the photo. In a piece of plastic pipe, the water level is controlled by a float mechanism from the toilet cistern. Three drinking bowls are attached to the pipes.
The video demonstrates a drinking bowl with auto-filling.
If you want to arrange the chicken coop, you can arrange it in such a way as to minimize the need for its maintenance. In this case, the bird will bring not only income, but also pleasure: it is always pleasant to look at objects made with your own hands, but keeping a bird in a chicken coop without “direct” hands is difficult and expensive.
Mandatory daily walking of the bird will provide the necessary vitamins and minerals, which it will receive by eating insects, plants, and basking in the sun. Therefore, for a long healthy life, a lot of free space outside the chicken coop is required. A chicken pen will help expand the area.
There are several options for building a portable paddock. It is most often used during the growing season of young animals. Young chickens cannot be immediately placed with adults; they must first be raised, otherwise there is a risk that they will be pecked by old birds.
The chicken run is assembled from wooden blocks, then covered with plastic mesh on all sides. It is not recommended to make a frame out of metal due to its heavy weight. Such a pen is moved around the site as the grass underneath is eaten. If the nights are warm, you can leave the chicks inside during the dark. But first, it is covered on top with waterproof, windproof material from rain and wind.
The dimensions of the structure should be such that it is easy for one or two people to move it.
IMPORTANT: Laying chickens are kept in such enclosures for up to a month and a half, broilers for 2-3 weeks.
An easy-to-build option that is suitable for large areas is one made from chain-link mesh.
To build an aviary for chickens with your own hands you will need:
The construction of the simplest attached stationary pen is carried out in several stages:
A mobile enclosure has its advantages and disadvantages. A voluminous run for chickens is difficult to move, so mobile pens are made small, and they are suitable either for chickens or for a small number of chickens. But this solution allows you to provide birds with fresh grass during the summer season, since it can be moved if necessary.
To create a mobile structure you will need:
The simplest option is to make a structure in the form of a triangular roof, gradually assembling the sidewalls, frame and installing spacers:
Arch-shaped aviaries are separate fenced areas that are not attached to the chicken coop. Their advantage is that the walking area is fenced on all sides and the chickens will not be able to escape or fly away. From the outside it may seem that building such a structure is very difficult. But with a small number of poultry on the farm, they use a little trick.
The arched pen has the shape of a standard greenhouse covered with chain-link mesh. To build it, take a ready-made strong frame of the greenhouse and assemble the enclosure.
Here you don’t have to think through such subtleties as supporting bases or the presence of an entrance door. The developers did everything themselves and offer an almost ready-made solution. All that remains is to cover such a frame with a mesh, securing it with ligament wire.
It is very important to comply with the requirements for the pen. Otherwise, the chickens may feel too cramped or spacious.
The walking area per head is 3 square meters. A smaller space will quickly be trampled down to bare ground and no grass will grow there. And the chicken needs fresh, juicy greens for full development.
Important! If it is not possible to allocate a large area for walking, then you will have to mow and feed the grass every day in the summer. And in winter, treat them with hay and use premixes.
Peculiarities:
Attention! The pen for chickens and adult chickens should not be located in a low area. Constant flooding during rains, dirt, and dampness will lead to disease.
There are various modifications of the chicken pen. Most of them were invented by farmers themselves, who best know the needs of their birds. Taking one or another option as a basis, you can create something new, original and suitable for yourself.
Arranging a chicken coop inside with your own hands: photos and little tricks
Building a chicken coop on a personal plot today is not difficult - there are plenty of building materials and drawings of a wide variety of designs. Showing how to arrange the inside of a chicken coop with your own hands, the photos will help make the home for poultry comfortable, rationally planned and safe.
Poultry must have places to sleep, feed and quench their thirst. If the house will contain laying hens or brood hens, comfortable, safe nests will be provided for them.
To maintain the veterinary-hygienic and stable functional condition of the building, the poultry farmer must take care of:
The first thing to take care of before setting up a chicken coop and equipping it with perches, feeders and drinkers is a microclimate suitable for the birds.
The bird’s well-being, growth and productivity depend on the indoor temperature, lighting, air humidity and freshness. Even when keeping chickens in summer, it is important that the chicken coop is protected from moisture and drafts. Therefore, after assembling the frame and covering the walls, it is necessary to carry out hydro- and thermal insulation of the floor, walls and roof.
Using available materials and little tricks, the internal arrangement of a chicken coop will cost much less, which will have a positive effect on the cost of meat and egg products. Inexpensive and easy-to-install sheet foam, mineral wool, lined with sheets of film and other materials are suitable for the job:
No matter how cold it is outside the walls, the temperature inside the chicken coop should remain positive. It is optimal if it does not fall below 7–10 °C.
To achieve this effect, poultry houses are equipped with a heating system of an autonomous type or connected to the home one.
Read also: Making a drinking bowl for chickens with your own hands from scrap materials
Recently, poultry farmers are increasingly paying attention to infrared lamps or panels used to heat the chicken coop. They are economical and effective, easy to install, provide illumination that does not irritate chickens, and heat not the air around them, but the area under the source of infrared radiation. However, when arranging a chicken coop with such devices, you need to remember that there should be at least 50 cm from the bird to them, and it is better to cover the lamp bulbs with lattice protective covers.
If infrared lamps are intended to be used not only for heating, but also for lighting, then even their dim light can disturb the bird at night. Therefore, after the end of the 15-hour daylight hours, the chickens are provided with darkness for proper rest.
You can save on electricity used for artificial lighting by making windows in the chicken coop. When keeping chickens at the dacha in the summer, the structure of the chicken coop will not change much, but if we are talking about an all-season design, you will have to take care of durable, cold-proof frames.
When setting up a chicken coop inside, as in the photo, you must do the ventilation yourself. It will help get rid of unpleasant odors, and will also help normalize humidity and temperature, which increase during the life of poultry:
For the same purpose, the design of a poultry house must include a door or hatch to clean the floor of the chicken coop from old litter, droppings and other debris. When keeping chickens on deep litter, a layer of lime is first poured onto the floor; the litter itself, no thinner than 10 cm, is made of clean, dry sawdust or straw. During cold weather, the layer is increased and changed regularly as it gets dirty.
Read also: How to make a pond at your dacha with your own hands?
An integral part of a properly equipped chicken coop are nests for hens and laying hens. They can be made from plywood, thin boards or other suitable materials, but if possible, experienced poultry farmers use what they have on hand. Birds perfectly master wicker baskets, plastic containers of suitable volume and buckets. The bottom of such nests is lined with that litter.
The number of nests is calculated at one per five birds. They need to be placed so that no one distracts the laying hens. Most often, nests are installed in one or two levels away from the entrance to the chicken coop.
When setting up a chicken coop with your own hands, inside, as in the photo, perches convenient for chickens are installed. These can be poles or bars with a diameter of about 50 mm. If the master takes square or rectangular bars, the corners are first rounded and the entire surface is treated with sandpaper.
The first row of perches is made at a height of 50 cm, the second and subsequent ones - at a distance of about 35 cm from the previous one. At the same time, it is important not to allow the birds to sit on top of each other, so that the lower chickens do not become contaminated with the droppings of those that settled on the upper tiers. The minimum distance from the perches to the wall should be 25 cm.
For walking birds, an equipped area must be installed next to the chicken coop. If it is planned to raise chickens in the country in the summer, the chicken coop is planned so that the pen:
An example of a convenient design for a homestead is Dodonov’s chicken coop, where the poultry house is adjacent to a small but well-thought-out pen for walking the birds.
A strong, durable pen is made of metal mesh; for the chicken coop, fine-mesh material is taken, which is stretched and attached to poles dug into the corners of the area. To prevent domestic animals from getting inside or the most desperate laying hens trying to leave the coop, the height of the fence should be at least 1.5–2 meters.
Read also: DIY crafts for your dacha
The size of the chicken coop mesh should be such that a curious bird cannot get stuck in it. Here it is important to take into account the difference in size between adult hens and roosters and chicks going for a walk with the hen.
Part of the arrangement of the chicken coop inside is made with your own hands, as in the photo, drinking bowls and feeders. Such containers are installed on the walking area, where chickens spend most of the day in the summer.
Experienced poultry farmers always have their own little tricks for arranging comfortable, practical chicken coops:
http://www.glav-dacha.ru
Arrangement of a chicken coop with your own hands: consider one of the options for making a walking area.
Birds need vitamin D, which their bodies must receive by walking outdoors on fine sunny days.
Reference: The average area for walking one chicken is two to three square meters.
Therefore, the minimum walking area for twelve chickens will be twenty-four square meters.
Let's calculate the length of the fence around the perimeter of the paddock and decide on the amount of material. When building a fence, it is necessary to provide a gate, that is, an entry point to the walking area.
In the walking area it is necessary to provide:
chickens coming out of the coop
canopy
drinking bowls
feeders
perch
FENCE
It all depends on your financial condition, it can be made from any material, we will focus on the following design, which consists of metal sections and pillars.
The rectangular section is welded from a metal corner, a mesh with a cell size of 40x40 (mm) is stretched inside the contour.
The sections are attached to rectangular metal posts. The length of the column consists of two segments:
— section height;
— depth of placement in the ground (must be equal to the freezing depth of the soil, plus 10 (cm)
If you want to completely protect your “birds” during a walk, you need to string a nylon net along the top of the fence perimeter.
LEAVING THE COOP
It is made from a board whose width is equal to the width of the manhole from the chicken coop. Wooden blocks 25x25 (mm) are packed on the upper plane. The board is installed relative to the earth's horizon at an angle of at least 45˚.
CANOPY
You can take any size, the main thing is that it creates a shadow in sunny weather where the chickens can hide.
The picture shows the walking area and what we got.
We'll look at how to equip a chicken coop with your own hands in the next article.
REGULATIONS
In order to quickly and inexpensively set up enclosures for hens, chicks, geese and other livestock, we recommend using “STRAEN” plastic mesh for poultry houses.
Plastic mesh has high strength and durability. And due to the different colors and sizes of cells, you can create cages, pens and enclosures for large and small pets.
Advantages of using STRAEN meshes:
Specifications:
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Photo |
Name |
Cell size, mm |
Roll size, m |
Color |
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Plastic mesh C 6x6 |
dark green, bright green. |
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Plastic mesh C 6x8 |
dark green, bright green. |
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Plastic mesh C 12x12 |
dark green, bright green, chocolate, yellow, red, orange, siren. |
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Plastic mesh C 14x14 |
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Plastic mesh C 18x18 |
dark green, bright green, chocolate, yellow, red, orange, siren. |
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Plastic mesh C 20x20 |
dark green, bright green, colorless |
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Plastic mesh C 23x27 |
1.0; 1.5; 2.5x20 |
dark green, bright green. |
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Plastic mesh C 40x40 |
dark green, bright green, red |
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Plastic mesh C 18x23 |
dark green, bright green. |
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Plastic mesh C 20x25 |
dark green, bright green. |
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Plastic mesh S/W 30x35 NEW |
dark green, bright green, blue, gray |
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Plastic mesh S/W |
dark green, bright green. |
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Plastic mesh C 48x58 |
1.58;1.85x15 |
dark green, bright green. |
|
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STREN S8 |
1.5;2;2.5;4x25/50 |
black, any color by URL |
When engaged in poultry farming, specialists take various measures to protect against rats. Strange as it may sound, the higher the achievements of science, the larger the number of these rodents becomes, and the more harm they are capable of causing. In one night, rats can destroy the entire brood of any bird, be it chickens or turkey poults. Huge holes appear in chicken coops in just a couple of hours. They also spread intractable infectious diseases. Rats are very tenacious and are able to reproduce so quickly that if they are not destroyed, they can soon become a threat to humans.
There are many ways to control rats. Among them, the most popular are the following:
Specialists from our company will help you select high-quality poisons, mouse traps and repellers.
In order not to look for ways to deal with mice and rats, and then not worry about your health, you can do it much simpler. We need to make the chicken coop inaccessible to these overnight guests. When building a poultry house, you should listen to the advice of experienced poultry farmers:
Rats are great burrow specialists, and at the slightest opportunity they will sneak into the coop. Therefore, you should immediately seal holes that appear in the floor or walls;
All chickens and hens will remain safe and sound if the chicken coop is built correctly, and the area for the birds to walk is additionally fenced on all sides with a fine mesh. But even in this case, you cannot do without consulting experts in rodent control. After all, rats are constantly coming up with new and new places to attack outbuildings.
Prices for Deratization |
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| Area to be processed | Rats | Mice |
| 1-room apartment | 1200 rub. | 1200 rub. |
| 2-room apartment | 1450 rub. | 1450 rub. |
| 3-room apartment | 1750 rub. | 1750 rub. |
| 4-room apartment | 2250 rub. | 2250 rub. |
| 5-room apartment | 2650 rub. | 2750 rub. |
| MOP* | 1000 rub. | 1000 rub. |
*MOP - public areas
We offer you to buy a welded grid galvanized from leading manufacturers: welded grid 16x24, 16x48, 24x24, 24x48, 32x48, 48x48, 48x72, welded light, welded galvanized, welded in rolls, for poultry and chickens, rabbits, quails, broilers, chinchil and other home homes animals, enclosures, fur farming net.
Before purchasing a feathered pet, it is necessary to select a suitable net for the bird, on which the comfort and well-being of the bird and chickens largely depends.
The main criteria for choosing a net for a cage are the type of bird, their number, safety of materials and convenience of the cage.
The size of the cage is determined by the size of the bird and should at least allow it to spread its wings freely. If you have free space, it is better to purchase a cage where the bird can flutter between the perches. In general, the larger the cage, the more comfortable your feathered friend will be in it.
Cages are made from various materials, but the best option is cages made of galvanized welded mesh 16x24, 16x48, 24x24, 24x48, 32x48, 48x48, 48x72, coated with a polymer coating. High-quality cages from well-known manufacturers are more durable, and they can only be purchased in specialized pet stores. As a rule, low-quality fakes are sold in the markets, the coating of which peels off very quickly.
You cannot buy a bird cage made of metals containing copper, lead or zinc. These materials are toxic and can cause severe poisoning and death of the bird.
As for the shape, it is better to choose rectangular or square cells. The presence of corners allows the bird to take refuge in them when frightened. Round cages do not provide this opportunity and disorient the bird, which leads to unnecessary stress.
Non-standard cage shapes, for example, in the form of a Chinese house, a rhombus or a pagoda, will be convenient for the bird and look very interesting, but their main disadvantage is the inconvenience of maintenance.
Pay attention to the presence of a tray in the cage and its height. It can be made of metal, plastic or glass. High sides prevent grains and droppings from spilling outside the cage.
If the cage has several doors it will be much more convenient to maintain. An important point for the safety of your pet is the reliability of the doors and locks on them. Many birds are smart enough to open simple locks on their own.
| The diameter of the wire | Theoretical mass of 1 m2 mesh, kg | |||
| longitudinal | transverse | without cover | galvanized | |
| 16 | 24 | 2,0 | 2,48 | 2,84 |
| 16 | 48 | 2,0 | 1,99 | 2,25 |
| 24 | 24 | 2,0 | 1,97 | 2,23 |
| 24 | 48 | 2,0 | 1,5 | 1,7 |
| 32 | 48 | 2,0 | 1,25 | 1,42 |
| Grid 48 | 48 | 2,0 | 1,25 | 1,42 |
| Cell size along wire axes, mm | The diameter of the wire | Theoretical mass of 1 m 2 mesh, kg | ||
| longitudinal | transverse | without cover | galvanized | |
| 25 | 12,5 | 1,8 | 1,4 | |
| 25 | 25 | 1,8 | 2,04 | |
| 25 | 50 | 1,8 | 1,56 | |
| 48 | 48 | 1,8 | 1,01 | 1,13 |
| 48 | 72 | 1,8 | 0,8 | 1,02 |
| 50 | 50 | 1,8 | 1,1 | |
| 50 | 75 | 1,8 | 0,85 | |
| 25 | 25 | 1,6 | 1,64 | |
| 25 | 50 | 1,6 | 1,24 | |
| 50 | 50 | 1,6 | 0,84 | 0,84 |
| 50 | 75 | 1,6 | 0,71 | 0,71 |
The basis for successful breeding of birds is their proper maintenance. To do this, it is important to properly equip the chicken enclosure. The main task of this structure is not only the safety of the livestock, but also an increase in productivity. Therefore, before making an enclosure with your own hands, study all the requirements for this building.
All enclosure design options are divided according to several criteria:
Construction of a simple aviary One of the types of aviaries used for keeping chickens is a simple type of structure.
It is a spacious room, which consists of a wooden frame covered with a fine metal mesh.
Such a mesh should have a cell size of no more than 1.5x1.5 cm. It will prevent small rodents and sparrows from entering the enclosure where grain food can be found.
Before starting construction of an enclosure, its area must be determined. Based on this, the number of wooden beams that play the role of a frame is selected.
They are knocked together into a rectangular shape, onto which the mesh is then stretched. When constructing the frame, it is important to use short nails so that their sharp ends cannot injure chickens and humans during operation of the enclosure.
Boards are always nailed to the back of a timber frame. They protect the chicken population from the wind and possible predators. The upper part is covered with a roof that catches precipitation.
A gable roof is best suited for these purposes. Precipitation does not linger on it for a long time, so the structure is not subjected to strong pressure.
If you consider yourself an experienced poultry farmer, then you should not only know how to build a chicken coop, but also be able to.
Raising chickens at home seems easy. Find out all the ins and outs of this process here.
This type of enclosure can only be installed in dry areas where groundwater runs deep underground. It is desirable that the soil on the site be sandy.
If it is clayey, then before construction its top layer is removed (about 30 cm of soil).
In its place, 2 cm of lime is poured, and the rest of the hole is filled with river sand or small stones.
Simple enclosures are usually installed as far away from the farmer's home as possible. In this case, its front side should face southeast or south. Only in this position will the chickens be able to receive the maximum amount of sunlight.
This type of enclosure is always installed on a solid foundation.
It will protect the structure from the penetration of predators, and will also ensure a long service life.
To create a foundation for the future enclosure, a ditch 0.7 m deep is dug.
Large logs or stones are placed in it and filled with cement mixed with sand.
After hardening, vertical supports are installed on the base, the main task of which is to hold the frame of the enclosure.
You can make a small vestibule near the entrance to the enclosure. It is made of boards that prevent birds from flying out when a farmer enters.
After completion of construction work, the enclosure is covered with lime on the inside and painted with oil paint on the outside. However, it is better to paint the mesh used to fence the enclosure with paints that do not contain lead.
As a rule, a garden aviary is always built together with an insulated chicken coop. This allows you to protect the bird population from any colds.
In the poultry house, chickens will be able to warm up from the cold and also hide from bad weather. The barn itself, where the birds will spend the night, should have the same height as the aviary. It should be equipped with electric lighting, ventilation, heating and window openings.
Chicken farming is popular in agriculture. Birds provide eggs and meat, the sale of which brings good, stable profits to the breeder. However, without a chicken coop and a run for birds, farmers will not be able to control the movement of their large farmstead.
In addition to the main food, birds happily peck grass and dig seeds out of the ground. Therefore, a fenced space is necessary for birds.
To minimize costs, you can build a pen for chickens with your own hands. The process will take a lot of time, but the result will live up to expectations.
Most often, the chicken run is fenced with a metal mesh. Its height is at least two meters. Otherwise, the bird will fly over the obstacle. The space allocated for the enclosure can be sown with grass.
Before building a pen, you need to accurately calculate all costs and decide on the location of the paddock. Only after this stage can the construction process itself begin.
Creating a pen begins with accurate measurements of the area. It is recommended to install a walk where the birds will be located, as far as possible from the house. It gives off an unpleasant smell. And if you build a building at a decent distance from the house, this will not be felt.
First you need to draw up a room design. This will help calculate the required amount of materials for the poultry house.
On the construction market you need to purchase approximately ten meters of iron chain-link mesh with a cell size of about a square centimeter. You will also need wooden blocks from which you can make walls and. Their number depends on the desired length and width of the room.
In addition to materials for building a poultry house, additional tools will also come in handy. You will need nails, a saw, an ax, and an iron mesh for fencing. If you have all the necessary materials and tools, you can build a wonderful run for chickens.
Step one is the foundation. The construction of a room begins with the foundation. To prevent birds from getting their paws and feathers dirty, a shallow layer of soil is removed along the perimeter of the future pen. Then the place for keeping chickens is sprinkled with lime, small stones or sand. Next, you need to make supports in the corners of the poultry house by burying wooden beams in the ground; the height should be about two meters.
Step two - walls. Now you can lay out the walls of the chicken coop from wooden beams. It is important to build a spacious walk in which they will move freely. If the pen is being built for summer time, a chain link will be sufficient. Along the perimeter of the floor, walls and ceiling, a mesh is attached to supports using nails.
Step three - roost. Laying hens definitely need a roost in the pen. To do this, build a wooden box of any size. Cut three pieces of equal length from the board. They will serve as the basis and longitudinal walls of the perch. Connect the boards together perpendicularly so that you get an inverted letter “P”.
Now you need to secure the other two walls to the perch. Measure the required height of the boards, saw them off, then attach them perpendicularly to the base. The walls are also fastened together with nails. Finally, cover the perch with straw.
Step four - the door. This is where a mesh that is attached to a wooden structure comes in handy. The width of the door can be arbitrary, but its height should be equal to the size of the walls of the pen. In addition to the rectangle, which will serve as a frame, a transverse bar is required. It is attached to the longitudinal door boards and serves as additional support for the mesh.
Step five - roof. To protect the paddock from external influences, an ordinary sheet of slate, which covers the building, is suitable. The design will allow birds to hide from bad weather or from the hot sun. The paddock can be covered with a polycarbonate sheet, screwing it with the most common self-tapping screws.
It is necessary to prepare perches where the birds will spend the night. Here, wooden beams are used, which are attached to the walls of the pen parallel to the floor. Depending on the number of birds, feeders, drinking bowls and nest stands are installed. These are all the necessary elements that should be in any chicken coop.
If you doubt your abilities, you can watch a training video. With its help, the technical side of the issue and the sequence of actions will become clear. After some time, the pen for laying hens, made independently, will be ready.
If there are few laying hens in the yard, they can be placed in a portable pen. This structure can be moved to areas with fresh grass. Most often, the pen is used in the summer and for raising young animals. However, a smaller pen is made for chickens than for adults.
To make a portable enclosure, it is not necessary to prepare the foundation. It is enough to assemble the frame and cover it with metal mesh. The ceiling of the structure will be slate, plywood or polycarbonate. Before starting construction, you can find and study a video with step-by-step instructions.
So, a portable pen is assembled from scrap materials. As a rule, wooden slats or plastic pipes and metal mesh are used for its construction. The construction of the pen begins by connecting the wooden boards together. The result is a rectangle; exactly the same design will be needed to fix the walls of the pen.
At the corners of the figure, as well as along the perimeter of the structure, slats of the same length are attached vertically. It is determined by the farmer depending on the desired height of the building. A second rectangle is attached to these pieces of wood. The frame for the portable walk is ready. Now you need to cover the structure with mesh.
