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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Introduction to chickens

If you are raising chickens for eggs and want to continue to have a good supply throughout the winter, you will need to provide additional lighting during the winter months when daylight hours are shorter. Chickens need approximately 14 hours of light a day, or their egg production begins to fall off. Your best bet is to wire your chicken coop so that you can install a light on a timer. If you set the light to come on early in the morning before dawn, you will increase the "daylight" hours for your chickens, and also provide some additional warmth during the coldest hours of the night. Be sure to set the light to shut off after sunrise, so that you aren't running alight unnecessarily during the day.

Providing for your chickens

You will need to still provide plenty of ventilation for your chickens during the winter. Having proper ventilation is not only important for your chickens' health, but it also helps to lower the humidity inside the coop. If your chicken coop has an adjustable window to provide some fresh air, you should do fine. Be careful to not let the coop get too drafty, however.

Basics to building a chicken coup

Sketch out your design on a sheet of paper before you do anything else. Think of the colors you will paint the roof and chicken coop walls. Always keep in mind that if your chicken coop is clearly visible to your neighbors, (unless you live in a farm it will most likely be visible to your entire neighborhood,) it shouldn't ever serve as a distraction or defacement of its utmost surroundings. So make sure to design an aesthetically looking chicken coop so that your neighbors do not complain of its detracting appearance. Once finished, always remember to remove and dispose of any types of garbage or weeds from around your chicken coop. Try to maintain an appealing landscape around it to enhance its overall appearance.

Proving ligh for your chickens

If you want a good source of light and warmth for your chickens during the cold months of the year and a solid source of ventilation during the hot months, then be sure to install the chicken coop windows facing the southside where they will receive direct sunlight throughout the day.

CONCLUSION

Did you know that the average american spends about $300 to build a chicken coop? Some even invest over 2 months of work trying to assemble the darn structure and in the end aren't even fully contempt with their product. If you are still undecided about what type of chickens you would like to raise, you might want to check into raising heritage or heirloom chickens.