Happy Chickens and their Coop Life

Keeping a chicken coop maintained and having the best results from each member of your flock may only require a few simple items and methods. One of them is the housing that they will live in, and the setup within and around it to keep them safe, entertained and healthy.

Chicken Temperament

Before building your coop for your cluck-y friends to live in, or getting your feathered friends, it may be helpful to find out what chicken breeds will get along the best. Whether they are chicks to adults age, if they look too different from each other, there may be problems.

It seems as though chickens not getting along may be due to preening time, as this could mean some of your chickens are distracted by the features that another has, or even personality differences, where more aggressive chickens could become an issue with timid, laid-back types. Multiple roosters may also fight with each other if kept in the same coop.

Many issues can be resolved by making sure you hold and interact with your chickens if you get them as chicks, and letting them run around and interact with each other. If they still develop issues with one another, you may want to have ready, or build a separate coop alongside the main coop.

It’s important to know which chickens get along when planning your coop. Common breeds of chicken that can be housed together easily include the Silkie, Rhode Island Red, White Bantam Brahma, Australorp, and more. Among these breeds, Silkies and Brahmas are commonly kept for their calm, docile temperament, and Australorps have shown to lay a large amount of eggs.

Chicken Coop Designs

Building a chicken coop can be done in many different configurations, like a more tailored housing for chickens to aid breeding and egg collection or something that is more for pet chickens.

A raised coop, which is a little off the ground, allows for your chickens to have a shaded, semi-covered space to relax in. It can also assist in avoiding any problems that Mother Nature may bring to your flock if it was on the ground, such as flooding.

These coops can be an A-frame or other type of build, and they are commonly built from wood or metal and plastic. A-frames are better for smaller flocks, as they don’t offer as much space, unless they are built very large. Keep in mind that wherever the flock may drop feathers or feces should be easily accessible to clean and sanitize.

If your plan for several chicken breeds runs smoothly, and you have a larger flock around six or more hens, then you may want to try out a larger coop size. A large coop would take into account the total size combined for each chicken, which seems to be around 3-4 feet squared inside the coop, or about 2-2/12 times that in the run.

Nesting boxes should be realistic in size to the size of the hen themselves, and many hens will use the same nesting box. A general rule is for every 3 to 5 hens, provide a nesting box. Nesting boxes should be about 7 to 9 inches off the ground, and have a width and depth or length of a foot or more, if you have larger-breed chickens.

Housing for your flock, whatever breeds they are, should have enough space, shield from the elements, provide a large run space and be able to allow them to be productive if breeding and laying eggs.

Checking with chick providers as to what they recommend for breeds and how to house them together may also assist you.