When I was a kid growing up on the farm, most poultry coops in the area were just additions to the barn. The chickens pretty much had free range of the place for most of the day as long as we were around. My mother made sure they were put up in their pen if we weren’t going to be close. Today with all the great blueprints for a chicken coop available today, you can build some pretty extraordinary coops.

At the time I didn’t know how lucky I was to grow up around these great birds. I, like most people I know, have taken the all mighty chicken for granted. It’s been a wonderful turn around these last few years as people have come to realize that raising your own chickens has some definite advantages over buying meat and eggs at the grocery store.

However, I find making decisions about poultry coops has some people really nervous about going ahead and building a coop. I hope that reading this little report will help people relax a little bit so fear won’t stop them from getting involved with raising some chickens of their own and get those plans for a chicken house out and built.

The first thing to know about chickens is they have been around a long time and if you pay attention just a little bit, they’ll let you know what they need and when. Your job in the beginning is just to make sure they have a chicken house that protects them from bad weather and critters that would like to eat them before they’re ready.

Knowing this should help you sit back and make a few good decisions based on the space and time you have available. Once you have that down, the rest is easy.

You’ll need about twenty minutes a day and another half hour to an hour a week to keep the flock fed, watered and clean. No, you won’t have to bathe them but you will need to clean their coop and the nesting boxes you’ll have for your egg layers.

It’s a lot easier for me to clean up after the chickens than it is for me to clean up after the kids, just in case you were wondering how hard it was. You will also need to plan for a spring and fall cleaning that will take you a bit longer because you will want to really do a thorough job a couple times a year. During these big cleanings you’ll want to check all the working parts as well as any place where the chickens might be able to squeeze out or predators can get in. This way you make sure any and all repairs or minor corrections get done. Of course if you’ve dome your homework, your coop shouldn’t need much fixing up.

One thing to know as well is it doesn’t make any difference to the chickens whether you build them a nice coop or buy one. I hear a lot of people debating if one is better than the other and I promise you; the birds don’t care. Just make sure you build or buy one that will work in your situation. That’s why it’s important to know the space you have to raise them in as well as the time you have to devote to them every day.

Chickens are social animals so it’s best to have more than one unless you intend to make it a pet; and they do make great pets so that’s okay if that fits your need. Be aware that most breeds will squawk and make noise so if you live in an urban area you’ll want to raise a quieter chicken and there are breeds that fit the bill. You also don’t have to raise a rooster to have eggs. Hens will lay eggs all on their own as long as they feel safe and have adequate nesting boxes available.

So don’t worry so much about what poultry coops are the best. Just decide on one of the plans for chicken houses that will work for you, the size based on the space and time you have available, and get started. My bet is you’ll be glad you did.