Chicken coop for cottages: how to build with your own hands simply and quickly. 95 photos of modern projects

Upon request, "photos of a chicken coop for a cottage", the Internet begins to be full of all kinds of photos showing a variety of structures: small and large, bright and monochrome, with a flat or gable roof, ordinary and the most fabulous.

Summary of the article:

Stationary chicken coops are a standard construction for summer or permanent residence.

Chicken coops look similar to a cottage with an attic and have a couple of boards in the design, thanks to which it can be moved from place to place.

A chicken coop in the form of a wheelbarrow, where the "house" is connected to a uniaxial frame with wheels. It is used to move around a small area.

Chicken coop trailer. For structures with a large weight, decent size and significant capacity. There is a two-axle trailer that allows rolling the chicken coop over longer distances in comparison with other types of mobile chicken coops.

Ready-made chicken coops are common in countries with a mild type of climate, but in our country they can be used only in the warm season. Pros: compactness, ease of "assembly and disassembly". Cons: financially costly acquisition, not suitable for every climate.

Despite all the variety of ready-made bird houses, chicken breeders often prefer to build them themselves.

What you need to know before starting construction

It should be remembered that chickens are generally more unpretentious than other domestic birds: turkeys, quails, guinea fowls, and so on, but for their maintenance it is necessary to take into account some nuances.

If you are interested in the question "How to build a chicken coop with your own hands?", then, before starting work on the construction of a bird house, learn a few rules:

For a comfortable life of a bird, the temperature from +10 to +20 degrees is considered optimal, since the temperature above or below the declared segment can affect egg production in particular and the well-being of chickens in general.

High humidity is harmful, because it provokes the reproduction of bacteria, the spread of mold and unpleasant odor, so it is advisable to place the building on a site somewhere higher.

Excessively damp soil must be drained with the help of various means: tools for removing moisture, or you can fill this area with sand, or arrange pits or channels for water withdrawal.

It is useful to equip chickens with a shallow pond for bathing procedures, where, by the way, you can redirect the collected excess water.

With a longer daytime period, the egg production of chickens increases. It is recommended to build a chicken coop turned to the south-east side: it is desirable that the door faces east and the windows face south, although it is better to shade them when it is too hot and light.

The room must be well ventilated, but drafts are unacceptable — to protect against them, you can use building materials, as well as a hedge.

The place for construction should be located where there is no hum, you can't hear the screams of passers-by or vacationers and passing cars. Peace and quiet are important components for the normal life of poultry;

The space inside and outside the chicken coop is also important. Crowding can lead to the formation and spread of diseases, pecking and poor or zero egg production. "Golden" ratio: two birds per square meter of free space;

The place of walking must be provided with lawns, but certainly with shelters from the sun and bad weather.

Foundation, floor and walls

How to build a chicken coop? Where to start? After choosing a place and preparing drawings with the necessary materials, you can proceed directly to the construction. The foundation, as the basis of any structure, is laid first.

There are two main types:

Ribbon. It is more often used when a building is built of bricks and other "heavy" materials and has a large mass. Although the ribbon type of foundation is more reliable, it is also more time-consuming, energy and effort spent on construction and, most importantly, on financial investments.

Columnar. The most optimal option for the Foundation of the coop, especially if he will be constructed from wood. Often as poles use cement with sand, gravel and bricks.

The advantage will be that the raised floors provide space for ventilation and, importantly, protection from rats, ferrets and other undesirable animals for domesticated birds.

Foundation construction:

The place allocated for the construction is cleared and the marking is made according to the pre-drawn plan of the chicken coop;
The top layer of soil in 15-20 cm is removed;
Pits are prepared for poles: mandatory at the corners and additional around the perimeter. The distance between the pillars should be about a meter, the dimensions of the pits are about 65x50 cm, where 65 cm is the depth and 50 cm is the width for two bricks;
Next, with the help of a rope and a level, it is necessary to make a reference point, which will need to be equaled when erecting pillars. The distance from the ground should be approximately 25 cm;
In the pits, sand is first filled in and compacted, and then gravel. Each layer should be approximately 10 cm.
It's time for laying: two bricks are placed on the bottom, then a mortar is placed on top, then the other two bricks, but with a dressing, — across those that lie below, continue to repeat these actions until the landmark marked with a rope (see point 4);
After a week's rest, the pillars should be treated with bitumen or bitumen mastic;
Fill up with crushed stone or gravel the space between the pillars and the ground around the perimeter of the future chicken coop.

A good floor should be:

Warm and reliable, therefore it is recommended to insulate it: in the space between the bars laid on a layer of waterproofing, a heater made of glass wool or foam, mineral wool and similar materials is laid, then sheathed with a layer of vapor barrier and a ready-made floor made of boards or OSB plates is arranged;

Providing ventilation: it is possible to make air vents for ventilation of the room — in summer grilles are installed on them, in winter they are completely closed. Without dampness and moisture: thanks to the waterproofing layer.

We erect walls in several stages:

The beginning is connected with the binding of the foundation, made of timber and insulated with several layers of roofing material;
After that, you can start installing crowns on the columns, where the ends of the bars are connected using the "half-tree" method;
You can also lay the walls along the perimeter in rows, as if you are standing a house made of timber, or use OSB plates;
It is advisable to make at least a couple of windows, you can use used frames with glasses for them, plus it is worth covering the openings with a grid so that the birds themselves do not escape or no one else can get into them;
The turn of the upper binding.

Ceiling and roof

A gable roof is recommended by many masters of their craft, since it is possible to store the necessary household equipment and feed for chickens in the attic. For its construction it is necessary:

Make, fix and strengthen the rafters;
The process of sheathing, while the roof is sheathed with any suitable material: slate, tile, ondulin, roofing material and the like. It is better that the roof is not "dark", otherwise it will attract the sun's rays, which, with poor ventilation, can provoke a heat stroke in chickens.;
Strengthening the ceiling beams and arranging the ceiling is the most important thing, so that it is reliable and strong.
It is better to insulate the ceiling with expanded clay or coal slag, which fall out on the floor. To hide the insulation, it is better to sew it up with boards or all the same OSB plates.
Ventilation of the chicken coop, as already mentioned, is very important. In this case, natural ventilation can be done: two ceiling openings placed in opposite places from each other, into which pipes must be inserted in the future.

Chicken coop from inside

To understand more precisely what kind of "decoration" should be and where it should be located, you can enter the query "how to equip a chicken coop inside a photo" in the search, but the basic principles are the same:

One of the walls for laying hens and their nests is selected. At a height of a meter, a shelf is put together, and a ladder is attached to it. This is a spacious board with slats that are nailed horizontally.

The nests are placed on the shelf itself and are made, as a rule, from old boxes, or are made from the remains of boards, plywood, chipboard and other similar materials and straw, which must be cleaned regularly. It is not advisable to use hay, as it quickly fades and rots.

The required number of nests is calculated from the ratio: one to 2-3 chickens, which can nest in 2-3 nests, occasionally changing one to another. In summer, it is recommended to arrange roosts for walking. A well—designed chicken coop for laying hens is already 50% of the success of the construction.

Along the remaining perimeter, it is necessary to equip roosts for sleeping: two sticks are put together in the shape of the letter "A" — these are racks — then they are connected on the sides, as well as the tops with oblong poles. It is worth considering that one meter is designed for about 5-6 small or 3-4 large chickens. The height from the floor is approximately 50 cm.

Drinkers and feeders are better if they are semi-closed, but with slots for heads, so the feed and water will be less clogged, and everything will become cleaner.

It is necessary to install a trough with mixed ash and sand: here chickens can clean their feathers from parasites or dirt.

A place for walking

The matter is not limited to just one "house" — often a mesh net is attached to the chicken coop, creating a kind of safe space for walking birds:

The minimum strip foundation is enough to install pipe supports.
As soon as the solution has solidified, a grid is stretched between the columns — it is recommended to stretch it over the site, as well as add a roof or some additional shelter that can protect chickens from the sun or rain, for example.

If you adopt at least a small part of the above tips and hints, then you can build not only a "simple" summer, but also a "insulated" winter chicken coop with your own hands.