Gathering the Right Materials before Building the Chicken Pen

Being a starter in the world of raising chickens, one of the important thing you should consider and is also necessary is the fact that you can protect your raised chickens without even being on a shot-gun watch for 24 hours every waking day; that is why you have to build a pen that will last for a very long period of time. Before building, planning and gathering is the very first step.

Location is the first thing to consider. Do you live in a rural or in an urban area? Your answer will depend on the chickens you can keep. Usually in rural communities, the number of livestock you want can be unlimited but when in urban settings, raising chickens can have restrictions regarding its number. Or sometimes, they are totally banned.

Another thing is the kind of chicken that you are planning to raise. If they weigh heavier, this will be an advantage because this kind of status will make it more difficult for them to fly away. A simple wire and post design pen can be used. But in most instances chickens are more prone to flying away. Especially if they are not used to the place, a fence with a higher walls or wires is more appropriate.

The place where you construct your pen must be safe and sturdy enough to withstand any predator’s mark. It should be constructed in a way that your poultry are not easily snatched not only by scavengers but also by people who are pretty much interested in chicken stew. They must be protected and locked-in, especially at night.

What is a post and wire type of pen? It is by far the simplest kind of design wherein materials like posts, strong wires, fence staples are used. The tools needed to help you complete the job are the ordinary hammer, wire cutters, crowbar and sledgehammer. Gathering these materials are the very first thing you have to do upon planning.

Fence post can’t be bought one at a time but in bundles. If you became worried that the excess lumbers will go to waste once the fence is finished, worry no more. This is because fence posts can be used in incredible purposes like supporting beams for sheds. Chicken wire is usually used. But for safety purposes a stucco wire is stronger and is more recommended for holding building sides.

There are really no actual fence staples, that is why the local staples used for wiring can be used as an alternative. Skimping the staples should not be stressed. You need a lot while construction is ongoing and also additional supplies in cases of emergencies.

The sledgehammer is used to pound the post into the soil. Weight is the first thing that you have to take note of when choosing a sledgehammer. Make sure that it is not too heavy that you can’t lift it up and not too light that you will need to exert all your efforts just to pound your post.

The crowbar is used for digging a hole where the pole will be placed. Lastly, the regular hammer will be useful for those hardheaded staple wires to dig in the posts.

Now that all materials are properly intact, you can plan on the actual building of the pen.

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Proper Construction of a Pen Suitable for Raising Chickens

Constructing a pen is easier than it seems. You need to pinpoint some important matters like the materials to buy and the tools to use. Plus, you also have to consider the area where to build the suitable pen for raising your chickens.

Alright, the easy yet crucial part begins with planning. First, the area, then the size of the pen. The pen size usually depends on how many chickens will be raised. Look at the option on what kind of birds you are dealing with.

Novice or not, it is still better to start off with the most basic pen – using the wire and post design. Here, the materials that you’ll need are the posts, wire, and staples that can be used for fences. The tools are also basic namely a sledgehammer, the ordinary hammer, wire cutters, and crowbar.

Now that you have gathered all materials and tools, surveyed the area, and is assured that there is none to worry about, it’s time for the construction.

To start with, look at the ground you’re working on. Notice the stiffness and dryness. If it’s anything like that, you have to bring in with you a bucket full of water. This will help soften the ground. Pound the ground using the pointed tip of the crowbar. By doing this, a hole is being formed.

While pounding, occasionally pour few amounts of water in the hole to soften the ground. By leaving your crowbar inside the hole, pull your body against it. By doing so, you’ll widen the proximity of the hole. If the hole is prominent enough and is 20 cm deep, that will be sufficient. Make sure that the hole has a wideness that can hold a pole in place.

You can now put the post inside the hole that you have made, pointed tip first. Using the sledgehammer, pound the pole to the ground. Do the pounding until you are sure that it has remained firm. Sometimes, it is better to have someone hold the post for you to ensure better stability. Always practice caution and focus on what you’re doing because you might pound your assistant instead of your post.

If your first post is standing firmly, you can now start on your second, and third, and fourth, and so on. Give about a meter from where the first post stands. That will determine elaborate spacing. To serve as a gate, let 2 posts stand about 1½ - 2 meters apart.

The moment you have firmly put all the posts in place, it’s time to put the wire around it. For this to be made possible, carry the wire on one corner then using your regular hammer, pound the fence staples at the end of the wire to the post. Once the end is tightly secured, unroll the wire going to the next post then staple the wire that touches the post. Do the unrolling and stapling process till you have completed wrapping around the entire posts. If you ran out of wire, get more then start where you ended.

Making a gate is also easy. All you need to gather are hinges, latch and a particle board. Start by cutting the board to fit the two ends of the posts. Now attach it together with the hinges and the latch.

There you have it. Raising chickens is easy for as long as you know the basics.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

Raising Chickens: Getting Started The Pecking Order

Keeping chickens is a practice that dates as far back as when people started domesticating animals. They are fun to have around, are a good food source, and are low maintenance. If you have an ample backyard the idea of keeping chickens may have occurred to you but needed a little more information before getting started.

Of Hens and Roosters

You do not need a rooster. Keeping a rooster is a matter of choice but not actually a necessity. While having these handsome, brassy, noisy, aggressive characters to have around your hens is an attractive choice, the hens are quite content not having a rooster that keeps mounting them as they can lay eggs without the help of the rooster. Chickens are sociable birds. They want to hang around each other most times and cuddle around each other on cold days. You may need only one chicken for a pet however, chicken are happier when in the company of chickens. If you want to keep a few have at least two or three.

The Hen House

Where there are hens, there are predators. Chickens will be happy to be strutting around free range-like but sooner, without a place to roost, you'll end up losing some. In the country, they attract a lot, in the city they attract rats let alone cats. The hen house then is a good area to shelter and raise them. There are fanciful chicken pen designs that are available everywhere if you do not want to go through the trouble of building them. Fancy chicken pens are good and attractive accessory to your backyard. There are however the basic elements to have for a good chicken house. First chicken love having dust baths during the day. They do it all the time so they must have access to dirt where they can scratch and dig and have fun.

The Bigger the Better

While chicken are not territorial, they need also their spaces. Crowding them would result to pecking at each other, sometimes even to death. They do this to protect those that catch their fancy. For example, they'll start pecking at another chicken if it goes too near a string of water droplets running through a hanging string that caught their interest. To prevent overcrowding, allow at least three square feet of space for every chicken. During colder days when they will be huddling hang grass and vegetables that they eat to keep them occupied.

Settling Down

Other people prefer buying pullets and raising them, others want to start with hens. No matter, they will be brought inside their pens to familiarize them to the chicken house. Once there, do not let them out for a while. The chicken has to know very well where the home is otherwise, they will be roosting on branches, roofs, awnings, anywhere they feel safe.

Getting started with chicken is also knowing that they enjoy people leftovers and would fight over it. Their normal fare though is chicken pellets and clean water.

Answers To Raising Chickens - A Complete Guide To Keeping Chickens