How To Build A Chicken House

Well, I seem to be busy here today at chicken nesting boxes. Although this site has been directed primarily at the nesting box side of raising chickens, I am finding myself drawn more to the housing side of things as well. I learnt how to build a chicken house myself a few years ago, and to be honest it was not the tidiest thing I have ever built. That's not to say that it isn't very sturdy and will probably last for years to come. The more I keep chickens, and the longer I spend collecting eggs and cleaning them out, the more I wish that I had put a little more thought in to the design. I should have waited until I had plans a little more like those below.

I think things would have been slightly different then. Don't get me wrong, I learnt how to build a cheap chicken coop with no guidance and it keeps the hens warm and dry and they all lay an egg practically every day. Some detailed plans may have just made the chicken coop a bit more practical.

If you have been following the recent posts here at what I think I will rename how to build a chicken coop, or how to build a chicken house, you will know that I have been talking about the book that you can get by clicking on the big banner. It is exactly what I should have bought before I began my construction. It gives detailed plans for all manner of chicken houses and teaches how to build a chicken house in a vast array of different sizes.

What does my chicken house look like?
As you can see, it is sturdy but messy. I should have given a bit more thought to siting the nesting boxes and a few other things. At some point I will build something a little more aesthetically pleasing from the book.

Anyway, if you want your chicken house to look a little tidier than mine, have a look and see what you think. Learning how to build a cheap chicken house can be fairly straightforward, especially if you have lots of very good plans to work from.

Chicken Nesting Boxes

By now I have covered quite a few aspects of chicken nesting boxes but today here at chicken nesting boxes I wanted to do something slightly different. After the last chicken nesting post I wanted to talk a little more about finding chicken nesting boxes to buy. It is nearly impossible! I am amazed at how little there is to buy, and what there is to buy is quite often homemade. Finding where to buy chicken nesting boxes involves so much searching that to be honest I think you should read the last post and simply make your own, unless you find something very good to buy. What there is to buy seems very expensive as far as I am concerned.

The big banner on the right leads you to a book that gives all manner of plans for building chicken coops but also for building nesting boxes. I have always tried to make my own and I think you could save a lot of money if you did likewise. The book is also invaluable for the future if you want to either make a new chicken coop or build one for your first set of chickens.

Many people who come to this site will be new to keeping chickens. This is an ideal time to learn how to build a cheap chicken coop and also chicken nesting boxes. I think that a homemade nest box may be much more ideal than purchasing one in many cases. You can amend designs to suit your needs and also have a lot of plans for great chicken coops as well. With prices of poultry equipment the way they are at the moment it may be much more cost effective this way.

If you are looking for sources of chicken nesting boxes, and you find a good one then see how the prices compare to actually making your own. The cost of a book that gives chicken coop plans as well as chicken nesting box plans may still mean it is cheaper than buying them, especially once you factor in shipping. Just my thoughts on trying to keep the price of raising chickens down. I am certainly a "make it yourself" person if I possibly can, and in todays current financial climate I get the feeling more and more people will be going a similar way.

Read through the chicken nesting boxes site and see what ideas you can come up with. You may, like me, decide that learning how to build a cheap chicken coop and a nesting box yourself will save you some money in a fairly short space of time.

Chicken Nesting

We looked at choosing chicken nesting boxes not so long ago and I wanted to look at the subject of chicken nesting in a little more detail. Before I do I have been thinking about this for a while and wonder what the answer may be. You may notice that on the top right of the page I have a link that takes you to a book that you can download that shows you how to build all manner of different chicken Coops and also gives details of how to build a chicken nesting or laying box.

Quite a few people that come here have bought it and I can vouch for the quality of the instructions. What I wonder is how many people actually build their own chicken nesting boxes and coops and how many people buy them. Personally I build whatever I can myself. I always have materials around so I can usually make something, like a nesting box or even a house if I want to. It is books like this one that make life easier if you decide to build your own nesting boxes for chickens. It especially saves money if you are going to build a larger, or even a small chicken coop of your own. Learning how to build a chicken coop can be a bit daunting without plans for many people.

Anyway, the point of this is, are you a new owner of chickens looking for general information on how to build chicken nesting boxes? Or are you thinking of getting chickens and looking at the various things you need? This is one of the problems with the web. The term "Chicken Nesting Boxes" could mean many different things. You could be looking for information on what they should be made from, how big should a chicken nesting box be, or plans so you can learn how to build a chicken nesting box yourself. If you are one of those people looking to buy chickens for the first time and are doing research then I strongly advise you save yourself a lot of money and build your own chicken coop and chicken nesting boxes. You really will save an awful lot of money and can build something to the exact dimensions you want.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Back to the point of this post. Chicken nesting.

When purchasing, or making, your chicken nesting boxes there are a few important considerations that should be kept in mind. You need to enusre that you have the correct number of nesting boxes for chickens for a start. I always recommend that if it is purely for egg laying then you only need one nesting box for three birds. We have two nesting boxes for our four hens and to be honest it can be exasperating at times. Why? They all lay in the same one! For some reason, even though both boxes are identical, they all lay in the same box. Why this is I have no idea, but this is why I would never get more than one box for three chickens. They seem happy to take it in turns to lay their delicious eggs. If you are still thinking about getting hens then do it, there is no tastier egg on the planet than those layed by your own birds.

Chicken nesting considerations also mean the housing. When deciding on which laying boxes for hens you are going to use you must ensure you have a good home for the birds. It should be spacious enough, provide adequate ventilation but not be draughty, and should be secure from predators. This is why I build my own. It is much cheaper for a start but it also means you can ensure it will safely protect the hens and make sure they cannot escape at the same time.

It is easy to purchase an inferior product. Ensure that any chicken coop or chicken nesting box you purchase at least has a god review and can be vouched for.
Having chickens is a very rewarding experience, just make sure you house them well and use the best chicken nesting boxes that you can.