Creating A Better Home For Your Birds With A Large Chicken Barn

Last Updated on October 12th, 2020

If you are reading this article, chances are that you probably want to change your chicken barn, or you are about to start your poultry but require little help choosing the right one. There are many barns designed to keep your birds safe. However, barns are not selected based on their physical features alone. Instead, the major factor that influences your choice of a barn is whether it satisfies the basic house needs of your birds or not. Here, we would be discussing some basic knowledge about chicken coop and how to go about choosing the best ones.

Tips For Choosing An Ideal Chicken Barn

To successfully raise this animal in your backyard, there are certain things that you need to pay attention to or consider. Although there are many types of chicken barn you can choose from depending on your needs, an ideal one should be selected based on the nature and number of the birds, purpose (domestic or commercial), and the environment. Barns include broiler barn/specialty chicken, pullet barn, free-range, etc. Before deciding on a choice of a barn to keep your chicken, let us take a look at some tips that can help in the selection process.

1. Chicken type: The size, structure, and features of an ideal barn are determined by the type that you wish to keep. If you want to keep layers or few hens, a small cage or a loop house is a good place to house them. For larger hens, you would definitely require a larger house or adopt the free-range system. Special cages or lose indoor housing are best for keeping meat birds since they don’t need to run around so much. The house can be attached to the house or it can be constructed independently away from the home. For efficiency, you should choose a temporary house for temporary raising and permanent housing for lengthened raising. In all, you need to know the nature of the chicken you wish to raise before deciding on a barn type of choice.
2. Neighbor: Though an A-frame chicken barn is ideal for raising chicken in rural areas, the same cannot be said for its functionality in urban areas. For rural dwellers, you can choose a neat and big barn with old pallets. However, for individuals living in urban areas, it might not work as neighbors can find it annoying and unhealthy. Instead, you can prepare a part of your backyard or garage and fix a neat shed for the birds there. Also, you also need to ensure that it is secured enough to keep the birds away from walking or running down the road.
3. Predators and weather conditions: before choosing or building your chicken house, you need to evaluate the dangers that the birds will be exposed to. Among many dangers, the commonest include dogs or alligators around your house, then it is a sure sign that you need to choose or build a house that is strong enough to contain your birds and help them grow comfortably. You can also make use of welded to keep predators off your backyard.
4. Convenience: you will always need to feed, collect the eggs, and clean the barn. A small chicken house will make you always stoop when you are collecting eggs or cleaning the house. Cleaning a small barn is not always convenient as you are unable to reach some corners and parts of the house. For convenience, consider selecting a barn with top ceilings that allows you to stand in the chicken house.
5. Keep the kids in mind: If you have little kids that enjoy playing around in the house and the backyard, it is safe to select a barn that can properly secure the birds from the reach of children. This will ensure safety for the birds and the kids. In all that you do, always look for ways to make your hens safe.

Making Your Poultry Stay Healthy

Some people have a notion that raising birds is stressful and requires much attention. Well, it does require attention, but it is not overwhelming or impossible to keep your birds clean and healthy before going to work. As a raiser/keeper, you need to understand that birds have some basic needs that need to be met on a daily, monthly, yearly, and seasonal basis. Here are some basic tips to keep both your hens and barn healthy and clean.

• Daily health and care: hens require water every day to stay hale and healthy. Ensure you supply your birds with fresh and clean water daily by choosing the right waterer for your pen. Because they are very picky, they will not drink dirty water. Likewise, check to see how each bird is behaving. If you notice any abnormality like inactivity, book a visit with your veterinarian. There should also be a nesting box in your chicken barn where they can lay their eggs. This way, you can easily pick the eggs without any stress. You can even prevent predators by picking the eggs daily.
• Monthly care: emphasis should always be on cleaning and replacing the bedding in the nesting box and chicken coop. Droppings on beddings need to be cleaned out to ensure that your chicken doesn’t get infected. For easy removal of droppings and dirt, you can select one with cleaning accessories.
• Bi-annual care: at the end of every six months, you will need to take out all bedding, nesting materials, feeders, and container. You should thoroughly wash and clean all the parts of the barn. Ensure that all the items taken out are well rinsed and that they dry out well before returning them. Clean and sweep it inside-out to keep it healthy for the birds.

Conclusion

To be a good chicken keeper, you need to pay close attention to their needs and be open to new ways you can make their living conditions better. There are obviously many ways to care for your chicken. To know more about chicken care, visit https://www.wikihow.com/Take-Care-of-Chickens.