Chicken Coop/Hen House Plans

Pretty soon the baby chicks will be too big for their galvanized steel tub. As the weather gets warmer and the new feathers replace the downy, Joey will be helping his grandpa build a new home for them. Since the chicks are pullets they will not only need a coop, but they will also need a hen house. 

A coop is a safe place for the chicks to roam from dusk till dawn when they want to walk around and eat and drink. Chicks usually sleep all night though. Chicks can free-range all day because they never stray too far from their hen house. But, even when they are free ranging they are still at risk that a fox or some other animal could get them, even in broad daylight.

This is what Joey has chosen for the hen house and coop. Joey's grandpa built a coop a few years ago and he now knows what changes need to be made to make it a better and safer place for the chickens to live. 

This is the coop/hen house that his grandpa built a few years ago. This hen house doesn't have good ventilation with just one small window in the back. And he learned that a good foundation is very important even for a chicken coop/hen house. This coop allows a fox or other burrowing animals to dig a tunnel and slide into the coop.

 Grammy showed this one to Joey's Grandpa. Grandpa said, "Whoa, I don't thinks so. That's way too much work."

Joey thought "The Hobbit" style hen house would be perfect. But, grandpa thought it would be too difficult to keep the inside clean.

 And so, this is the winner. It's well ventilated, easy to clean, adults can stand up in the coop and it has an easy to access egg box. Perfect! This hen house/coop can be viewed on Pinterest with building instructions.

Cleaning and Caring For The Chickens

 

Every day Joey cleans the tub.It's a messy job but somebody has to do it.

Tearing up the newspaper is the most fun part when cleaning up after the chicks. 

 The chicks get fresh water each day...

 and fresh food.

All the chicks go back in the tub once it's clean and the bedding is down.

 Joey carefully places each chick back in the tub and turns on the heat lamp to keep them warm so they can grow.