How to Make a Chicken Coop: Teach Yourself to Build a Chicken Coop
If you want your chickens to be highly productive and grow up healthy, then choosing a chicken coop is also crucial. Of course, we can also build comfortable chicken coops for our chickens ourselves, so how do you make a chicken coop? Below we share with you what chicken coop making methods there are!
Layer Cage
Layer cages are generally used from 141 days of age of laying hens until the end of laying. Each single cage is 400 mm long, 450 mm deep, 450 mm high at the front, 380 mm high at the back, with a cage floor slope of 7.5 degrees. The cage door opens at the front. The bottom net mesh has a longitudinal spacing of 22 mm and a transverse spacing of 60 mm. The mesh sizes of the top, side and rear nets vary over a wider range and can be adjusted flexibly, but the side mesh is best at 25-30 mm high and 40-50 mm wide, because this mesh size can prevent chickens in adjacent cages from pecking each other. Each single cage can hold 3-4 chickens. The total height of the cage body is 1.7 m and the door width is 210-240 mm.
Brooding Cage
Brooding cages are generally used for chicks before 140 days of age, usually in 3-4 tier stacked cage systems. The total length can be determined according to the rearing scale. The feet of the cage frame are 100-150 mm high. Each single cage is 700-1000 mm long, 300-400 mm high and 400-500 mm deep. The mesh of the cage is rectangular or square; the bottom net mesh is 12.5 mm, and the side and top net mesh is 25 mm. The cage door is set at the front, and the adjustable gap of the cage door ranges from 20-35 mm. Each cage can hold about 30 chicks. The overall width is 1.6-1.7 m.
Growing Cage
Growing cages are generally used when chickens are 41 to 140 days old, and are all 3-tier. The height is 1.7-1.8 m. Each single cage is 800 mm long, 400 mm high and 420 mm deep. The bottom net mesh is 20-40 mm, and the top, side and rear net mesh is 25 mm. The cage door is 140-150 mm wide. They are stacked in 3-4 tiers, and each single cage can hold 7-15 growing chicks.
Broiler Chick Cage
Broiler cages for meat-type chickens are all three-dimensional cages. The cage structure and stocking density are similar to those of growing cages. Some farms also achieve very good results with flat raised-wire floor rearing.
The design of chicken coops has a major relationship with the growth and development of chickens. A more reasonably designed chicken coop will be more conducive to the growth of chickens. The principles for selecting cage group materials, equipment maintenance, overhaul, disinfection, ventilation of the chicken house, installation of chicken coops, and the quality of the keepers should all be standardized in a unified way. These practices are all worth learning from.