In winter, chickens should be kept in a warm chicken coop, otherwise they will become lethargic, painful and less productive. Such a building can be built with your own hands, having previously decided on the type of house, making its detailed plan and preparing all the necessary materials.
Winter Coop Requirements
In order to maintain the health of chickens in the winter season and get a large number of eggs from laying hens, you need to build a house that meets the following requirements:
- equipped with electric and lighting to maintain continuous daylight hours for 11 hours;
- insulated and maintains optimal temperature conditions (above + 12 ° C);
The conditions for keeping chickens should be balanced, because with increased humidity they become lax and sluggish, and with heat and stuffiness they experience a strong lack of moisture, which threatens dehydration and death of birds.
- equipped with a ventilation system and waterproofing, otherwise the air will be suffocating and unnecessarily warm;
- suggests a place for walking, as hens can walk outdoors in the absence of winds and precipitation, as well as at air temperatures not lower than -15 ° С.
There are different types of chicken coops, but for 20 chickens, a building with a walking area consisting of two parts is best suited - a warm room and an open courtyard made of netting. Here is an example diagram of such a house:
Where to equip a winter chicken coop?
The place of the house will be comfortable for chickens if it meets the following requirements:
- remote from sources of noise and outdoor activities, as birds love peace and quiet;
- It is located on a hill, not in a lowland, where it is very damp, and the soil dries slowly after the snow melts and is covered with puddles after rain
- located on dry sandy soil (if the soil is clay, marshy or just wet, it must be drained before construction work);
- reliably protected from cold winds, for example, by planting in the form of trees and shrubs;
- located near the breeder’s home so that he can regularly monitor livestock;
- it is well lit by the sun's rays, since the health of the birds is proportional to the amount of sunlight received (in the extreme heat of the window, it is still worth shading).
If in the future it is planned to increase the number of birds, the chicken coop should be located if possible in a place where additional buildings can be built if necessary.
Calculation of the size of the chicken coop and preparation of drawings
To calculate the optimal chicken coop sizes for 20 chickens, you need to proceed from the following parameters:
- area - a minimum of 15-20 square meters. m, so that inside the chicken coop at least 2 square meters come to 2 heads. m, and it was also possible to allocate part of the room for drinking bowls, feeders and other auxiliary elements;
In cramped hens feel great discomfort, which affects their health and egg production. If the size of the site does not allow you to build a house for 20 chickens, it is better to reduce their number.
- height - about 2 m, so that the chickens and the breeder would be comfortable in the room.
It is not worth doing a great height, since such a room will be difficult to heat in winter.
The proportions of the walk depend on the size of the bird house. If its width is 2 m, then the enclosure should be done at least 2x6 m.
Having decided on the size of the chicken coop, you can begin to prepare an individual drawing. To make it easier to draw, you can consider a typical scheme of a 20-hen house with an open range of nets:
It is desirable to design a chicken coop so that the windows face south.
Material selection
During the construction of the chicken coop, durable materials must be used, among which are the following:
- Wood. The most popular solution, attractive in terms of efficiency and practicality. In order for the wooden structure to have durability, the bars must be carefully processed. The finished wooden house looks harmoniously in the landscape of any site.
In regions with a warm climate, you can do without a heater if you build a house of logs or timber. All seams must be caulked, and top with wooden planks.
- Sheet materials. They are used in the implementation of budget frame technology. Using the bars, you need to knock down the skeleton of the house, which is sheathed with sheet material - a board, OSB, etc. Between the inner and outer skin of the frame, it will be necessary to lay the insulation, which on both sides is covered with a steel mesh to protect from mice.
- Cinder blocks. They consist of several materials - sand, cement, slag and water. They are excellent for laying walls of the chicken coop, as they are very warm and can withstand the low temperatures typical of winter. You can purchase this building material in packs laid on wooden pallets.
- Brick. The material is durable, therefore, with proper maintenance, a brick building will stand for decades. The disadvantage of brick is its low thermal insulation.
- Foam blocks. Such material scares high cost, but is the most comfortable option for chickens.
- Priming. With a shortage of materials, the house can be made in the form of a fellow countryman, leading the walls out of the ground by 0.5 m. On the south side of the house, put windows with two glasses, and insulate the roof and the parts of the walls protruding from the ground with any material. All three walls, except the south side with windows, can be covered with soil.
Special attention should be paid to the choice of material for the foundation, which depends on its type:
- Columnar. Such a foundation requires the implementation of pedestals. For these purposes, you can use ordinary stone or any brick.
- Tape. It is made of reinforced concrete. The frame will require metal fittings. In advance, you must also prepare all the necessary components for the concrete mortar.
- Pile. It is built from special piles made of reinforced concrete or metal. Metal piles are more popular because they can be easily screwed into the ground without the help of a professional.
The chicken coop is a light construction, so a columnar foundation can be made under it. It does not require a large investment of time and effort, but guarantees the construction reliability and stability.
How to build a wooden chicken coop?
The chicken coop for 20 chickens can be erected from the bars, and then competently equip it from the inside. Here is an example diagram of such a building:
We consider each stage of the organization of a wooden chicken coop separately.
Foundation installation
The column foundation for the chicken coop should be prepared in the following order:
- Mark up. To do this, in the corners of the future chicken coop, at a distance of 1 m, drive in a peg and pull a rope or metal rod. Carefully ensure that the markings are even. The rope should be pulled, but it can spread along the topsoil.
- Inside the resulting rectangle, using a shovel, remove the turf layer with a thickness of about 15-20 cm, and then dig holes in the places of hammered stakes to columns to a depth of 60-70 cm.The width of their walls must be determined by the blocks used for the foundation. For example, if it is 2 bricks, then the optimal width of the walls of the pit is 50-55 cm.
- Pull another rope over the rods to align the height of the poles along it. Its height above ground level should be 20-25 cm.
- Pour sand and gravel into each hole in layers of 5-7 cm to get a pillow of the future foundation. Lay 2 bricks on top, apply cement mortar (1: 3) and lay 2 more bricks across. Repeat these steps until the height of the posts reaches the level of the stretched rope. With insufficient height, align the posts with cement.
Instead of constructing the formwork, asbestos-cement pipes can be inserted into the pits.
- To protect the foundation from the damaging effects of moisture, fill the recess inside the marked rectangle with gravel or small gravel.
Floor and wall arrangement
The floor in the chicken coop can be done in two ways:
- Lay boards on logs. This is a simple option in which you need to properly trim the boards, otherwise there will be holes in the floor. In order for such a floor to keep warm in winter, it is necessary to lay a heater on it - sawdust or straw. If you use OSB boards, this floor will not be afraid of moisture and insects.
- Make a two-layer floor. A more complicated option, but the floor is insulating. To do this, under the lags you need to install bars, and on them - a layer of boards as a rough floor, insulate and another layer of boards.
The wooden walls of the chicken coop must be installed in the following order:
- From the load-bearing bars with a cross section of 100x100 mm, build the main frame, which is laid on the pillars of the foundation, not forgetting to put pieces of waterproofing, for example, from roofing material.
- Nail vertical racks from the same beam to the frame, and horizontal crossbars that will become the basis for the ceiling to them. In the window and doorways between the racks, attach jumpers.
- Sheath the assembled frame with the selected material.
Ceiling and roof construction
To make the ceiling, you need to fix the beams, to which boards, insulation and waterproofing are attached. At the end, lay the final ceiling itself. The roof itself is of three types:
- Flat. Lay the main beams at a distance of 50-100 cm, and on them - a continuous flooring from boards or OSB-plates, heat-insulating and moisture-resistant layers. This option is considered the most impractical, because the breeder will not be able to make an attic. Perhaps in winter a flat cover will fail under the weight of the snow.
- Single slope. Such a roof is somewhat more difficult to perform, since it needs to provide an angle of inclination. To do this, vertical racks will need to be attached to the supporting beams, and already on them sequentially nail boards (should go beyond the walls) and a fiberboard sheet. To use the roof as an attic, on top of it you can sheathe roofing material and cover it with slate or tile.
- Gable. From a board with a cross section of 50x100 mm, triangular rafters need to be knocked down, and the finished structures attached to the upper frame of the frame with a pitch of 600 mm. Interconnect all elements with a crate assembled from boards 25 mm thick. As a roofing, it is better to use light materials - corrugated board or soft roof.
The best option for a winter coop is a gable roof that can be used to store bird feed.
Regardless of the type selected, the installation of the roof must be approached with special attention, because the temperature inside the building depends on its reliability. It is important that there are no gaps in the roof and that it does not leak.
Ventilation
You can organize ventilation in the chicken coop in various ways:
- Make a few ventilation ducts at different ends of the chicken coop. It is advisable to equip one end of the ventilation channel at the ceiling level and the other below 50 cm. In ventilation pipes, it is necessary to provide dampers to be able to control the influx of fresh air and temperature in the chicken coop.
- Make some ventilation holes in the floor. In winter, they will have to be plugged with corks, and in summer they should be covered with a grill that does not impede the flow of air.
Here is a diagram of a chicken coop with competent ventilation organization:
Lighting
If in the summer the chicken coop does not need to be additionally illuminated, then in winter this is a prerequisite. Therefore, for additional lighting in the winter coop, you need to conduct electricity and install a lamp. It is advisable to close it with a shade to protect against hay or cobwebs, as well as to avoid dust.
Heating
In winter, it is extremely important to heat the chicken coop so that the air temperature in the building does not drop below 0 ° C. For these purposes, you can use the following settings:
- Fan heaters. Choose better programmable models. They have a high cost, but consume little electricity, so you will have to pay less for the winter than with a conventional device. Automation can be adjusted according to time or temperature. In the case of chickens, it is better to choose a plant with the ability to adjust the temperature. With its help, in winter you can maintain a constant temperature regime in the chicken coop. For example, when the temperature drops to 0 ° C, the device will turn on and raise the temperature to 3 ° C, after which it will automatically turn off.
- Infrared lamps. Unlike conventional devices, such lamps do not heat the air in the room, but objects falling into the zone of exposure to the rays. Infrared lamps should preferably be placed above the perches, as well as above the floor. When the chickens are cold, they will be able to gather in the zone of action of the heaters and create the optimal temperature regime for themselves. For fire safety, lamps should be placed in wire cages. Thus, they will not fall out and will not lead to irreversible consequences.
From constant on and off, infrared lamps will quickly burn out. To prevent this, they should not be turned off. In this mode, they will be able to run smoothly for several months, and without large energy costs.
- Potbelly stove, wood-burning boiler or brick stove. These are alternative options for heating the chicken coop that do not require electricity. The main thing is to hold the pipe around the room so that it carries maximum heat. For greater efficiency, it can be lined with bricks that retain heat for a long time.
Interior decoration
The winter chicken coop needs to be equipped with such elements:
- Perches. For their construction, you need to take a beam with a section of 40x50 mm, slightly round its upper edges and strengthen in a quiet place at a distance of 30 cm from each other. To prevent chickens from crowding, about 30 cm of perch should come to each head. Therefore, with a content of 20 chickens, its length should not be less than 5-6 m. Under the perch, it is worth placing trays for waste in order to facilitate the cleaning of the house.
- Nests. There are open and closed type. The former are easier to install, and the latter is preferable for chickens, as they give them a sense of security. In the winter chicken coop, you can get by with an open bay of at least 30x40 cm in size. Chicken nests are best made of wood - boards or plywood. For 20 chickens, 10 nests are enough. It is worth lining their bottom with sawdust or straw, so that the layers feel more comfortable.
- Feeding troughs, drinking bowls. Along the perimeter of the entire chicken coop, it is worthwhile to arrange several feeders and drinking bowls so that the birds do not crowd during drinking and feeding. Dishes should be placed a few centimeters above the floor so that litter and debris do not get into it.
Here is a diagram of a well-equipped winter chicken house for 20 chickens:
Do it yourself winter coop from cinder blocks
A chicken coop for 20 chickens can be built from cinder blocks. The optimal size of such a building is 6x4 m. We will consider each stage of its construction separately.
Site preparation and excavation
The selected plot of land should be prepared as follows:
- To clear the ground of weeds and level the surface of the soil with a bayonet shovel.
- Remove the top layer of soil with a thickness of 15-20 cm and lay in a separate pile.
- Measure the flatness of the site using a water level and mark it under the foundation. To do this, set the corners of the future building with wooden pegs, tie a synthetic cord to them and stretch it around the site.
- In the resulting rectangle, with a bayonet shovel, dig a hole under the foundation before red clay appears.
- Using a hammer and metal nails from wooden boards, assemble the formwork without cracks, which is strengthened by transverse bars and jibs.
- Cover the formwork from the outside with soil and carefully compact.
Preparation of concrete mix and its pouring into the basement formwork
The concrete mixture must be kneaded in an electric concrete mixer using bulk building materials and fresh cement without lumps. You need to act in this way:
- Pour pure water into the mixer with constant stirring.
- In the right proportion, pour cement and add sand and gravel mixture in small portions.
- If necessary, add a little water to make the mixture homogeneous and plastic.
Put the finished composition in a building container and deliver it to the construction site, and then pour it into the formwork in the following order:
- Lay a layer of gravel at the bottom of the formwork and carefully tamp. The surface of this cushion can be slightly moistened to promote better adhesion of concrete.
- Lay the concrete mixture with a shovel and compact well to remove all voids and strengthen the foundation.
- Thoroughly smooth the concrete from above with a trowel, regularly wetting it with clean water.
- Cover the foundation with a dense cloth to protect from sunlight and leave for 2-3 days. It must be kept moist so that it does not dry out or crack. To do this, regularly moisten the surface of the concrete with water.
Masonry walls with cement mortar
The walls of the chicken house are constructed in this way:
- Lay the cinder blocks, fixing them with a solution in the corners, and pull a synthetic cord around the wall perimeter.
- Using a trowel, lay an even layer of mortar on the foundation surface, onto which cinder blocks are laid and fasten them in a level position with a construction hammer, focusing on the stretched cord and without leaving it.
- Using a plumb line, check the verticality of the masonry walls, paying particular attention to the corners. They can be additionally checked with a metal corner.
- In the wall that faces the south side, leave openings for windows of an appropriate size, and install a concrete bridge on top.
- To make scaffolding for masonry at height. To do this, use boards and softwood bars, as well as nails and a construction hammer. Nail the crossbars on the sides to make the structure more durable.
- Install scaffolding along the wall and strengthen them well. It is possible to lay cinder blocks and a container with cement mortar on them, and then masonry the walls. If necessary, the forests can be moved and set up in another place.
Mounting wooden beams
Bars with a size of 150x150 mm should be used as an overlap. They should be with smooth edges, without knots and cracks. Lay them on walls pre-treated with cement-sand mortar at a distance of 2 m and mount using forged metal brackets. To protect the beams from decay and destruction, they should be wrapped with roofing material.
Ceiling installation
To perform this work, it will be necessary to prepare boards with a thickness of 50 mm and a width of 15 cm. They need to be dried, drilled holes in them, and then nailed with a hammer and metal nails, avoiding splitting. To make the boards fit snugly, you need to use clamps.
In order to waterproof on top of the boards, lay a layer of roofing material with a 10 cm overlap. Fir trees and cracks in the ceiling are unacceptable.
Production and installation of rafters on the walls
To make the rafters, you need to act in this order:
- Lay the bars on the ground, and then mark with a tape measure and a pencil on wood.
- Saw the bars at the edges at an angle of 45 ° C and connect with metal screws.
- To strengthen the structure, rafters should be marked and sawed to the required size, and wooden bars should be installed across and secured with screws.
To give the rafters rigidity, you need to make stoics from the bars and nail them with nails with a hammer. Next, raise these rafters with ropes and vertically set at a distance of 2 m. The evenness of their installation can be checked by level, and then attached to the walls with forged brackets. The structure is reinforced with wooden blocks and metal nails.
Laying and fixing the lathing
Next, you need to prepare the crate, using for this a board 30 mm thick and 15 cm wide. Fasten it to the rafters with nails using a construction hammer. Pull the vapor barrier film under the crate, which is secured with metal brackets. When fixing the boards, leave small gaps to evenly distribute the roof load. From the inside, the crate is hemmed with planed boards and screws.
The release and overhangs of the roof must be performed with a margin in order to protect the walls of the chicken coop from precipitation.
For the size of the roof, you need to prepare corrugated board, but preferably with a small margin. With it, you need to perform flooring from one edge of the crate. The leaves of the corrugated board are sequentially fixed to the crate with metal screws using an electric drill. In this case, it is important to expose the outlet and overhang of the roof along which to pull the cord. At the end, fix additional elements in the form of a corner to the roof ridge. It is better to fix them with screws with rubber gaskets so that the connection is tight.
The finished coop from cinder blocks must be equipped in the same way as a wooden chicken house.
Features of winter chicken house warming
The walls of the winter chicken house for insulation are best covered with polystyrene foam, but it must be closed, otherwise the birds will peck it. In the case of a chicken coop, it is best to put mineral wool between the two layers from the boards.
In order to maintain the optimum temperature regime inside the chicken house without additional heating, you can use ordinary sawdust, since they produce heat during decomposition. From the autumn, before the first cold weather comes, they should be poured on the chicken coop floor with a layer of 10-15 cm. After 30-35 days add a new layer of sawdust 10 cm thick. After some time, repeat the procedure so that a layer forms in the chicken coop by the end of the winter season 50 cm sawdust.
According to its characteristics, sawdust is better than hay, as they regulate the humidity in the room. Chickens also love to rummage in the litter, where the temperature is kept at 20 ° C.
In spring, the entire sawdust mixture needs to be taken out into the compost pit, so that after a while you can get excellent fertilizer from them.
You can build a winter coop for 20 chickens with your own hands, using various materials and drawings for this. If everything is done correctly, the birds will be able to winter in comfortable conditions, therefore they will not get sick and will rush even in the most severe frosts.