Chicken cages keep poultry safe and healthy.
Keeping chickens can be an enjoyable and healthy undertaking. Ensuring an abundant supply of farm-fresh eggs requires that chickens be kept secure from predators. Although poultry houses can vary in shape, size and materials used, allowing birds to forage in fresh pasture is not possible with a stationary chicken house. Portable chicken coops can be relocated every few days. This ensures a safe environment for the chickens and nutritious eggs. Construction costs for a movable 3-by-10-foot chicken coop are under $100.
Instructions
Wire Pen
1. Fold 1-by-2-inch mesh fencing to form the sides of a 3-by-10-foot rectangle. This creates the sides of the chicken coop.
2. Cut an 11-foot section of 2-by-4-inch mesh wire. Provide extra stiffness by folding 6 inches under on each end. Attach this piece to the wire sides, using hog pins placed at 4-to-6-inch intervals. This forms the roof of the cage. Repeat this process to form the bottom of the coop.
3. Make an opening at each end of wire pen, allowing access to the hen house. Cut openings wide enough to permit the hen house to slide out easily. Fold back all sharp wire.
4. Make doors using two 3-by-1 1/2-foot flaps of the 1-by-2-inch mesh fencing. Connect one flap to the top and one flap to the bottom, securing the hog rings as hinges. The top and bottom flap should overlap 6 inches in the middle. Secure the flaps with bungee cords or other similar fasteners.
Hen House
5. Adapt the barn-style doghouse to make a hen house. File off the tabs that secure the doghouse roof to the sides, allowing the roof to be lifted off.
6. Place a 1-by-2-inch board at the top edge of the doghouse. This creates a roost for the chickens.
7. Place a second crosspiece toward the back of the coop. Cut an opening in a thin piece of plywood. Secure the plywood to the crosspiece. This forms a dark and cozy space for hens to lay eggs.
8. Place the top of the doghouse backward on the bottom piece, pointing the large opening toward the front and the higher opening toward the back. This will make egg collection easy.
9. Cut plywood doors to fit on the front and back of hen house openings. Hinge doors to openings, allowing the front door to hinge toward the ground. Attach a string with a small snap fastener on the end to the top edge, allowing quick release and closure of the door.
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