A garden with chickens makes your backyard entertaining and joyful. Their chirping and little fights can make your backyard alive and happy. Their funny activities can entertain your guests or little children. These folks are not just a source of entertainment but also provide fresh eggs. But all this joy and benefits can be stolen away if you fail to protect them.
A chicken coop and run can be that place for them where they can live securely, even in bad weather. As we are taking them into our yards, it becomes our responsibility to provide them with a safe and secure environment. It will also help you get the fresh, healthy eggs if they are secure and live a healthy life. This blog can be the best guide for you to build a pet-friendly coop and run.
- The coop: A safe shelter for themA coop provides them a safe shelter where they can sleep, lay eggs and sleep at night. It protects them from bad weather and from other harmful animals.
- Give them a proper space
When you design a coop for them, consider a proper space where they can stay freely. Keep the coop spacious and not congested. The coop should be large enough that they can live freely and not feel stressed. Because a stressed condition is not good for their health.
- Protection: The reason for building a coop
A chicken coop can be a home for them where they feel safe and protected. To maintain that safety, you have to build every corner of the coop in a way that it can handle weather effects and animal attacks. Wall and roof parts should be strong and waterproof so they can remain safe even in heavy rain. Consider a strong lock on the doors so no animal can harm your cute chickens. Build a solid wooden floor to provide total security, and it is also easy to clean.
- Comfort: Source of their happiness
Just like us, they are also living beings, and they need proper ventilation. Give them a space or install a small vent screen on the corner of the roof. It will provide a way for fresh air and remove the moisture and humidity from the coop. Install a roosting bar for them, as they like to sleep in them. Built a nest box for them where they can lay their eggs. Put this box far from the roosting bar, or else they will start sleeping in it and make it dirty by pooping in it.
- The run: Outdoor playground for them
The run is the fenced place in your yard attached to the coop. It can be the playground place for them where they can play, eat and move around during the day.
- Space to run and play
Chicken needs a space to run and move around to eat their food. Run areas should be bigger than the coop. The outdoor space should approximately cover ten square feet of area for every chicken. Mentioned square feet is for a bird, you can increase the size according to the total number of chickens.
- Security: Walls and roof
Provide strong fencing that can protect the small animals. You can use hardware cloth, which is tougher than chicken wire. Provide them with a strong shade that can protect them from a flying predator. It also protects them from rain.
- Environment: For their survival
Keeping them in a coop might feel like a case for them. You should create an environment where they feel free and can live a natural life. Maintain the dust, sand and wooden chips in the run area, it helps them to forage bugs. It also helps them in dust bathing, the way they keep clean and protect their selves from parasites. Don’t keep the run path empty and boring.
- Daily clean up and care
A pet-friendly coop should be easy to maintain and keep clean for the better health of the chickens. If your coop is big, then you can design the walk-in design so you don’t have to band over every time you want to check in your birds. Install the nest box so you can easily get the eggs without searching for much. You can also use drop boards for easy cleaning. It will help you to clean the poops more easily. Make sure they do not starve for clean water and quality food.
Conclusion
When you understand the benefits of having chickens in the backyard, you will realise why building a coop is required. They provide you with eggs, entertainment and accompany you when you feel alone. Coop and run are the place for them where they can live freely and safely without fearing wild animals and the weather. Proper space, protection from animals and ventilation are the main factors you should not miss while building a home for them.
