Building A Chicken Coop
Building a Chicken Coop – A Great Do-It-Yourself Project that Gives Back
Building a chicken coop is an enterprise that thousands of people are undertaking each year. A large percentage of these people are not professional poultry farmers but rather hobby enthusiasts seeking a way to become more environmentally friendly and health conscious. Are you seeking a new project that you can do with friends, neighbors or your entire family? Raising chickens offers multiple benefits and best of all, there are easy to follow construction plans available so you can build your own coops without having to purchase expensive ready-made options.
Benefits of Raising Chickens
The most obvious benefit from raising chickens is the fresh eggs you will receive. These eggs you collect will be all organic without any growth hormones and other chemical additives that store bought ones may have. Chickens raised on farms do not have the option of grazing on fresh grass and bugs but instead are fed fattening grains, health supplements and possibly hormones for fast growth. Your chickens will produce healthier eggs that will taste better.
Because the average hen lays 200-300 eggs per year, you will have a steady supply of eggs ready for your breakfast and baking needs. If you are raising multiple hens, you could share your egg bounty with friends and family or even sell the extras for extra income. You can use the excess cash to pay down debt or save for special extras like a vacation or donations to charity.
Gathering the waste from your chickens is another aspect you can look forward to when you start building a chicken coop. Chicken poop is a great fertilizer for gardens as nutrients like nitrogen are absorbed into the soil to feed your plants. You will realize a more bountiful yield of whatever you grow whether it is tomatoes and lettuce or lima beans and herbs.
Choosing the Right Plans
If you are ready to commit to raising chickens, it is important to choose easy to follow plans that help you keep costs down and do not require special tools that you may never use again. In addition, the plans you use should offer some variety as well as take into account the space availability and the terrain in which you plan to build on.
Do you want to build a nice two-story coop or a simple, cozy one story model? Have you considered constructing a portable model that you can move around your property? What about a coop with an attached chicken run? The plans you choose should include instructions for building nesting boxes for the laying hens as well as areas for the chickens to perch on off the ground. Of course, sage advice on raising chickens should accompany these plans, especially if you are new to the world of poultry.
A plentiful garden and a healthier lifestyle are just two of the many beneficial end products of building a chicken coop to raise your own poultry. For a much smaller price tag than prefabricated options, you can do the work with ease and reap the rewards for years to come.
