Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (18 page)

The amount of ventilation or draft at chicken level

The temperature of walls, roosts, nests, feeders, and waterers

Shade on the shelter thrown by trees or buildings

Insulation in the ceiling and walls or provided by surrounding shrubs

The number of chickens living in the shelter, their ages, and whether or not they are laying

A chicken’s body operates most efficiently at an effective ambient temperature between 70 and 75°F (21 and 24°C). In colder weather, they eat more to obtain the additional energy they need to stay warm. Hot weather is more problematic. For each degree increase, broilers eat 1 percent less, causing a drop in average weight gain. Egg production may rise slightly, but eggs become smaller and have thinner shells. When the temperature exceeds 95°F (35°C), birds may die.

To keep the shelter from getting too hot,
treat the roof and walls with insulation, such as 1½-inch (4 cm) Styrofoam sheets, particularly on the south
and west sides. Cover the insulation with plywood or other material your chickens can’t pick to pieces. To reflect heat, use aluminum roofing or light-colored composite roofing, and paint the outside of the coop white or some other light color. Try to maintain grass around the coop, keeping it mowed to a height of no more than 4 inches (10 cm). Plant trees to shade the roof, or install awnings or deep overhangs to shade the walls. An awning or overhang serves the additional purpose of providing a shady, breezy place outdoors for birds to rest.

To enhance heat retention in winter,
build the north side of your coop into a hill or stack bales of straw against the north wall. Where cold weather is neither intense nor prolonged, double-walled construction that provides dead-air spaces may be adequate to retain the heat generated by your flock. In really cold weather, you’ll need insulation and, to keep moisture from collecting and dripping, a continuous vapor barrier along the walls. Windows on the south wall supply solar heat on sunny days but must be shaded in hot weather. Using a heater for mature chickens won’t do them any favors. In a properly constructed shelter, chickens can keep sufficiently warm if they aren’t wet or sitting in a draft. In cold weather chickens stay comfortable by fluffing up their feathers to trap a layer of warm air; a draft removes that warm air, allowing the birds to chill. And a draft during bitter weather can cause combs to freeze. Yet, despite the need to avoid drafts in cold weather, good ventilation is still needed to maintain a healthful environment for your chickens.

Not all chicken shelters have electric wiring, but you may wish to include lights to extend the laying season or for your own convenience doing evening chores. During foul weather or gloomy days, indoor bright lights encourage normal activities such as eating and dust bathing. But don’t fill the entire indoors in bright lights. Install low lights or provide for a darkened area near nests to encourage laying and over perches so birds can rest.

A security light outside the shelter helps deter predators and thieves and is handy during nighttime emergencies. If you use automatic door closers, make sure the security light doesn’t go on until after the door is closed. Otherwise the brightly lit yard will encourage chickens to linger outdoors and they’ll get left outside when the door closes.

If electricity isn’t already handy to your shelter, or you’re constructing a portable shelter, 12-volt battery-powered fixtures may be the best option. Use a deep-cycle battery, such as one designed for use in a golf cart, and recharge it as needed. Or use solar power. The same system used to light your chicken shelter can power an electric fence surrounding it.

Since the environment inside a chicken shelter can be corrosive, weatherproof electrical fixtures are more reliable and will last longer than those used in a home. Run all wires through plastic or metal conduit so chickens and rodents can’t chew through them and cause a short or fire. Be sure to glue all conduit joints to prevent sagging and keep out insects.

Properly installed wiring reduces the potential for stray voltage, which results in an unpleasant shock when you touch a metal object, light switch, or junction box within the shelter. Improper grounding, as well as undersized or overloaded circuits, increases the potential for stray voltage. Only a properly trained and qualified person should install wiring.

The main considerations in deciding what type of flooring to use in your chicken shelter are cost, ease of cleaning, and resistance to predators. You have generally one of four basic options for a chicken-house floor:

Dirt
is cheapest and easiest to install, but consider it only if you have sandy soil that ensures adequate drainage. In warm weather dirt helps keep birds cool, but in cold weather it draws heat away. A shelter with a dirt floor is not easy to clean and cannot be made rodentproof.

Wood
offers an economical way to protect birds from rodents but only if the floor is at least 1 foot (0.3 m) off the ground to discourage mice and rats from taking up residence in the space underneath. Wood floors are hard to clean, and the cracks between the boards invariably get packed with filth and bugs.

Droppings boards
of sturdy welded wire or closely spaced wooden slats allow manure to fall through where chickens can’t pick in it. Not only will the chickens remain healthier, but the droppings will be easier to remove because they won’t get trampled and packed down. Even if droppings boards don’t cover the entire floor, putting them under roosts (or using them as perches) improves sanitation and simplifies cleaning away the piles of night-deposit droppings.

To build this style floor, construct the perimeter wooden framework and fasten it to either welded wire or 1 by 2-inch lumber, placed on edge for rigidity, with 1-inch (2.5 cm) gaps between boards. Make the floor in removable sections that are small and light enough for you to move easily. When you clean out the droppings underneath, take the sections outdoors and clean them with high-pressure air or a pressure washer. Then let them dry in direct sunlight. Like wood flooring, droppings boards must be high enough off the ground to discourage rodents.

Concrete,
well finished, is the most expensive option but the most impervious to rodents and predators and the easiest to clean and disinfect. As a low-cost alternative, mix one part dry cement with three parts rock-free or sifted soil, and
spread 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) over plain dirt. Level the mixed soil, and use a dirt tamper to pound it smooth. Mist the floor lightly with water, and let it set for several days before turning the chickens in. You’ll end up with a firm floor that’s easy to maintain.

Bedding, scattered over the floor or under droppings boards, offers numerous advantages: it absorbs moisture and manure, cushions the birds’ feet, and controls temperature by insulating the ground. Good bedding, also called litter, has these properties:

Is inexpensive

Is durable

Is lightweight