The dream of any poultry farmer is that chickens fly all year round. A warm winter coop can stimulate birds to lay eggs year-round. Consider how to build a good utility room with your own hands.
How to build a warm chicken coop for the winter
Warm chicken coop options
There are several budget options for the design of insulated winter chicken coops.
Some are quite possible to create with limited resources, time and money.
The simplest version is considered to be a semi-dugout with an outer part of 50-100 cm.
The above-ground part is built of glass on the south side (birds also need natural light), and on the remaining three sides you can install walls of any building material that can withstand an embankment from the earth.
Permitted construction on the basis of a wooden frame, which is sheathed with plywood or chipboard.
There should be insulation inside (thickness according to climatic conditions). From above it needs to be covered with a second layer of plywood or chipboard.
But the poultry house from a thick wooden bar does not need additional insulation. But it is more profitable to choose not immediately the specific shape of the chicken coop, but to correctly determine which materials will be useful during construction.
Material selection
The minimum price for a self-built farm facility for winter keeping birds is 20,000 rubles.
When using expensive resources, it can increase up to 40,000-200,000 rubles.
For the foundation
There are 3 options.
- Tape. It is poured inside the henhouse perimeter lined with beams. This type is quite expensive because it takes a lot of material.
- Columnar is considered the most budgetary and lightest. Implies columns of brick or reinforced concrete dug into the ground. It is on the posts that the supporting structures should fit.
- The pile belongs to the middle price category. The bottom line is that metal pins are screwed into the ground at a distance of one meter from each other using special equipment. The frame of the chicken coop is already attached to them.
For walls
A small chicken coop for the winter can be built from blocks, bricks, shell rock and wood.
- Blocks (from 1890 rubles per cubic meter) do not harm the health of birds and do not limit the space. In addition, it will be possible to mount quickly;
- Shell rock (from 200 rubles per square meter) is a hard limestone with poor thermal conductivity (it is this quality that makes it a suitable material for a winter home). It is convenient to build small poultry houses from it for 25-30 heads;
- Brick (from 4374 rubles per cubic meter) has low thermal conductivity, so it is convenient to use it. And its durability makes it one of the most demanded materials in auxiliary construction. Combines well with styrofoam.
The material for the roof is not critical. It is really possible to build it from construction corrugated board, metal tile or slate (the choice should depend on the price and how it fits into the general appearance of the site).
The main thing in the roof is its moisture resistance. Therefore, an ordinary roll insulation is considered a good alternative. It is allowed to lay out the walls with expanded clay slabs.
Drawings can be made by hand: there are no generally accepted requirements for either the slope or the shape.
For insulation
Insulation is necessary to fill the gaps between the external and internal walls (usually this distance does not exceed 15 cm).
Mineral wool, foam rubber, polystyrene foam, as well as pressed straw are suitable for this.
At the moment, foam is considered the most successful material for increasing the density of walls.
Cotton wool should be used in a wooden chicken coop (this will reduce the risk of fire). It is proposed to shield it with foil for greater heat preservation.
Preparatory work
Do-it-yourself chicken coop
First of all, you need to remember the rule: the width of the foundation should slightly exceed the thickness of the wall. And this is not due to the construction rules.
The wall should be installed in the center of the foundation, because it will provide additional protection from the invasion of rodents and from the negative effects of moisture.
It is possible to almost completely eliminate the risks of pests by increasing the height to 30 cm, there is also an option to raise the chicken coop on concrete pillars of 25 cm, or to dig metal sheets around the perimeter.
Remember other rules when building.
- To provide natural light in winter, it is necessary to place windows under the roof on the south side.
- It is important to check the quality of the frames: no draft is allowed.
- To protect themselves from the already cold air, the chickens cuddle together as tightly as possible. Therefore, the area must be calculated taking into account the following: for 1 square meter there will be from 4 to 7 birds, for meat breed - up to 3 individuals, and for layers, 2.5 m will be enough for 10 heads.
- It is also worth considering how and where to make a small vestibule. It is needed in the winter road between the front door and the main bird space to provide chickens with additional protection from drafts and snow.
It is important to calculate what items will be needed to create a house. It is customary to include a construction project with precise drawings and calculations, building materials for creating formwork and pouring a foundation, locksmith tools, as well as building materials listed in the previous paragraphs.
How to do it yourself
First, mark the foundation (sticking wooden pegs in the corners and then connecting them together with a rope can help).
Along with this, it is necessary to outline the perimeter of the bird walking area. It is important even in winter.
Base
Dig a small trench up to 45 cm deep under the base of the chicken coop for the winter. Crushed stone and a layer of sand are poured into its bottom, which will create an opportunity for the building to settle.
The total thickness of the two layers should not exceed 10 cm.
Next, the formwork for pouring is mounted (the upper edge is necessary to level the concrete that has not yet hardened). The height of the wooden structure must correspond to the future foundation.
Reinforcement must be laid inside the formwork, then everything is poured with concrete. After leveling and the formation of the so-called cement milk, you need to cover everything with a film.
Water for seven days to avoid cracking. After 20 days, the base will become relatively strong, and after 28 days the mixture will finally solidify. When this happens, a waterproofing layer is laid on top and the creation of the floor and frame begins.
Floor
It is advisable to clear the space that you want to cover with floor cladding from the top layer of soil.
In its place, river sand and expanded clay should be tamped (it will take on the role of insulation). On top of it, you need to lay a mesh, make a screed from cement mortar 2 centimeters thick.
For the next few days, while the screed hardens, do not forget to water it with water (here, as with the base, this procedure prevents the formation of cracks in the concrete).
Experienced farmers suggest making the screed at an angle: this will facilitate cleaning in the chicken coop.
Frame
Before starting to design the frame of the winter chicken coop, you need to determine the shape of the roof slope.
The architectural value is not so important, therefore it is most rational to make a lean-to. From this it follows that one wall should be slightly higher than the others, and the top of the side walls has the same angle of inclination as the future roof.
Construction will begin with laying the timber on the foundation and then securing it with anchor bolts. The bars are traditionally connected to each other by metal plates.
At the corners of the frame, vertical beams are installed, calculated depending on the length of the roof slope. They are attached to the lower ones.
The upper horizontal belt of the chicken coop is attached to the vertical bars in the same way.
Outside, it is worth covering the frame with small bars. This will noticeably increase the density of the structure and its stability, as well as facilitate the application of the insulating material. With a bar it is necessary to form window openings and small entrance doors for birds. Do not forget to put sturdy roof rafters on top.
Roof
You need to insulate the entire chicken coop
A crate made of plywood sheets or small boards is nailed to the laid rafters.
On top of the resulting layer, a film for vapor barrier or polyethylene is laid to improve heating of the poultry house. It needs to be overlapped, and the resulting seams are glued with adhesive tape.
Next, the thermal insulation material and the waterproofing layer are laid out. Through all additional layers, transverse strips are nailed to the crate.
It is important to correctly determine their dimensions and the distance between them. This is influenced by the appearance of the final roof covering.
- If a soft material is used (for example, roofing felt), then it is better to lay another layer of plywood or chipboard.
- If conventional slate is used, additional timber roof cladding is not required.
As soon as the roof sealing work is completed, it is necessary to do the insulation of the walls and floor, it is also easy to do it yourself.
Insulation of walls and floors
The frame of the chicken coop is twice treated with an antiseptic, from the outside are attached bars 20 * 20 cm in length and width. Wooden sheets of OSB type are attached to them using self-tapping screws 50 mm long (the step between them should be 20 cm).
In the space formed between the sheets, an insulating material is placed (i.e. a vapor barrier membrane fixed with a stapler). After that comes mineral wool in slab or roll format. The material should fit snugly against the wood base.
The process of insulating the floor or roof of the house is similar. Everything is laid under the floorboards or rafters, respectively. Two seals can be placed on the floor (winter floor temperature directly affects the physical condition of males and layers). But remember that there should be small gaps in the material during the roof sheathing process. This will improve ventilation of the chicken coop. Holes will also form when bypassing door and window openings, but it is important to fill them with polyurethane foam.
Lighting
The poultry house structure must include windows. They are usually placed under the ceiling to reduce heat loss during the frost season.
It is better to install a triple glass unit - it will reduce the flow of cold air to a minimum. For the safety of the livestock, it is also worth attaching a protective net.
But there are few windows to maintain the required level of lighting. From December to February there should be at least 14 light hours.
In addition, artificial lighting devices, located low, will play the role of heaters.
Ventilation
The house has an excellent humidity level of 65%, deviating from this negatively affects bird performance and health.
To achieve the desired performance, you can put a large container of cold water.
An important step in arranging a chicken coop is considered to be ventilation. And to increase it, it is proposed to hang a powerful infrared lamp in the center. It has an excellent drying effect and does not harm either hens or young growth.
If you don't want to use traditional methods, install a real electric fan (but it can be difficult to conduct enough powerful electricity into the chicken coop).
Or make the device yourself. To do this, the plastic pipe is mounted in the ceiling and carried one meter up from the roof. This will allow natural air currents to form.
It should be installed at an angle to avoid snow getting inside the house.
Some craftsmen make dampers to interrupt ventilation in case of frost.
Making roosts
Perches are traditionally created from a wooden bar with a cross section of 4 * 4 cm or 6 * 4 cm. It is important to grind off all sharp corners and give the pieces of wood a cylindrical shape so that the birds can comfortably hold onto them.
If you are not ready to try so hard, find relatively even branches with the same dimensions in the forest or park, they are not inferior in quality to homemade ones.
The distance between adjacent perches in width should exceed 30 cm, and in height - 20. Be sure to attach a ladder to the lower one.
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How to care for a chicken coop after winter
After winter, it is necessary to carry out a general cleaning of the room. All bird perches, nests, nets, doors and windows should be cleaned of accumulated dirt with a stiff brush.
A 2% solution of caustic soda will help to clean the surfaces and carry out disinfection (the liquid is quite caustic, therefore, protective equipment must be used in its manufacture).
Next - rinse everything with soda ash diluted in hot water. The room should be ventilated and dry for 300-360 minutes.
With such care, a warm chicken coop will last for many years.