In the modern world, many country dwellers prefer to breed poultry in their area. Most often these are chickens, because their maintenance is not so expensive, but the farm always has meat and eggs. To provide yourself and your family with organic products and grow only healthy poultry, you need to follow the basic requirements. One of them is a cozy chicken pen, as well as proper care.
Chick care rules
Basically, any chicken owner will have to focus on creating the right temperature, humidity, lighting, ventilation, and proper diet. Everything needs to be done in stages.
First of all, you need to select the strongest and healthiest chicks. After all, if they are initially weak, no matter how hard the owner tries, everyone will not be able to leave. Usually non-viable chickens inevitably die after some time.
After sorting, you can start the basics of care. The first 24 hours are the most critical. During this period, immature chicks are most defenseless against all kinds of diseases. Therefore, they need to provide a comfortable environment.
Chicken pen
After hatching, the babies are transferred under the wing of an experienced hen. If not, a brooder will perfectly replace it. While the chickens are settling, they need to prepare a permanent habitat. People usually call it a chicken coop.
The main requirements for this room are as follows:
- Dry and clean.
- The temperature in the first days is not lower than 32 ° С, in the following days - not less than 21 ° С.
- Comfortable lighting and ventilation.
At first, everything seems rather complicated, but in fact, the bird itself will tell you whether the owner organized everything correctly. If the chickens huddle together, then they are cold. If feathers are pushed and descend, it is hot.
As for lighting, it is recommended to keep the lamps around the clock at first. This will give babies more time for active growth and development. Then the light is turned off for 15 minutes, increasing the rest period every day.
Choosing the right diet is considered the most important aspect. The sooner the chicks start eating, the better for their acclimatization. First, they give a hard-boiled egg, then add boiled millet, and then corn. The main thing when introducing new products is to follow the reaction of the body.
Why walk chickens
Walking for chickens is an equally important point in their breeding. Without it, the bird becomes less active, does not receive the required amount of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, which is necessary for the production of calcium.
Why walk chickens
If chickens, especially broilers, are kept locked up all the time, they will start to get fat, eat more, get sick and weaken more often. It is very important to organize the walking area correctly. Experienced poultry farmers recommend building a portable chicken coop. Firstly, the young do not have to swarm around in a crowded place. Secondly, birds need grass for good development. If the pen is stationary, it is highly likely that by the middle of the season it will be left without vegetation. There are many chicken fences. It is difficult for a beginner to choose from all the variety of variations. But, if you study each species in detail, you can choose the right one for each case and find a universal answer to the question of how to make walking for chickens the most effective.
DIY aviary
If you nevertheless decide to breed chickens and organize their walking, you should start by building a pen for chickens with your own hands.
In an area with free space, it is best to make a corral from a chain-link mesh. Thanks to her, you can arrange semi-free walking, both for adults and young chicks. After all, this is not only a large walking area, but also reliable protection from predators. It's great if one side is made of boards or plywood. So the bird will be closed from the winds. So that she is not afraid of rain and heat, you can build a canopy.
Such a structure can be of 2 types: portable and fixed. It is worth choosing based on the area of the site. But in any case, it is better to erect it directly near the poultry house so that the chickens can freely go for a walk.
DIY chicken aviary
A mobile or stationary pen is built according to the same scheme. The only difference is in the size and transportability.
To begin with, you should decide on the construction site. It must be kept out of sight, as ground trampled by chickens is not the best solution for landscape design.
When you figured out the location, you can start construction:
- For a stationary pen, it is optimal to fill the foundation.
- The next step is to erect support pillars. They can be either metal or wooden.
- After installation in pre-dug pits, up to half a meter deep, the height of the supporting structures should be at least 2 meters.
- Angles are attached to the base of the pillars. This is necessary for the further installation of the walls and ceiling of the pen.
- The mesh is usually pulled from the top, smoothly moving to the walls. The latter are recommended to be overlapped to prevent their divergence. Be sure to secure with wire.
- The back wall or canopy can be made of corrugated board or polycarbonate. This will increase the service life of the building.
There are a lot of little things to consider when building a chicken or poultry house. They are more clearly displayed in the drawings and diagrams for the construction of chicken houses.
Reviews of experienced poultry farmers
Breeding chickens is a very profitable and reliable business. Meat and eggs are always at hand. True, if the birds are not fenced off, they can cause significant damage to garden and horticultural crops. At first, all inexperienced poultry farmers suffer from this. The twigs wander around the site, trample and stir up all the crops. But once you build a small enclosure for them, all the problems are solved. When the hens have all the grass gone, you just need to move the chicken enclosure to a new location.
It is most difficult to raise a bird when the site is located next to a forest. Here you can't do without a fence. Otherwise, chickens cannot be protected from foxes and other predators. Craftsmen build it with their own hands from a chain-link mesh, following step-by-step instructions. Both the hens and the owners are happy.
Chicks
Among poultry farmers there are many adherents of free-range chickens. They recommend giving the bird complete freedom. In the morning, let out of the chicken coop into the street and do not close it until the chickens themselves settle for the night. Chicks usually come in at 9 pm in the summer. But all day they walk on their own in the wild. Of course, you still need to look after them so that they don't go far.
Another valuable tip is to keep the hazel grouses in the former sheepfold. As an entrance-exit, you can make a small hole in one of the walls. Each chick decides for himself when to go for a walk and when to return. As they grow older, you will still have to fence off the walking area. The chicks will start to scatter and may get lost. It is better to make the height of the hedge at least 2 meters, otherwise the grown bird will fly over. In the summer, you can keep it inside the corral, and in the fall in the afternoon, release it.
Building a chicken coop and poultry pen will not be a hassle and will take very little time. But it will allow to create all the necessary conditions for young growth for normal development and will protect them from predators, as well as unfavorable weather. Plus, you can, therefore, even refine the territory if you organize the construction in some original way.The main thing is the presence of desire and a lot of ideas. The better the owners take care of their hens, the more active and healthy they will be. This means that they will allow you to feel all the benefits of keeping poultry. You no longer have to buy poultry products in the market or in the store. Everything will always be at hand.
