Factors that Decide the Suitability of a Chicken Enclosure

When people consider keeping or breeding chickens, they are always confused about what kind of a habitat the small birds would need. While it is extremely easy to keep baby chickens in a small container, you will definitely need a suitable chicken enclosure for grown-up chickens. That is when every person keeping chicks in the backyard realises that it is time to start looking for a chicken enclosure. But, when an enclosure is needed urgently, it so happens that people sometimes miss out on considering the minor details and features that are necessary to make the chicken coop comfortable and a suitable habitat for the chickens staying within it. So, it is highly advisable that you start your search for a chicken coop at the earliest and buy suitable enclosure only after due inspection of the suitability of habitat.

Chicken Enclosure

Like all living beings, chickens as well stay healthy and lay healthy eggs under pleasant and favorable living conditions. But, I understand that most people would not know how to offer their chickens an ideal environment. So, here is an easy to follow guide for buying suitable chicken enclosures.Here, I have listed all the basic requirements for an enclosure to be ideal for habitation.

• Ventilation:
The key factor is obviously ventilation. You need to ensure that the enclosure is ventilated enough. The coops should be big enough to ensure free movement of chickens at all growth stages. It is understandable that one would want to save storage space and thus look for an enclosure that is small in size. But in this process, you may be compromising the health of those small birds. If there is a lack of fresh air and ventilation, there are chances that chickens may develop respiratory diseases. It would be a good idea to have an enclosure with insulated walls to protect the tiny birds from extreme cold.

• Cleanliness:
It has been a common complaint from most of the chicken enclosure owners that cleaning them is an extremely tedious task and is really time-consuming. But I beg to differ. I have seen several enclosures to know that if you choose right, maintaining it is not difficult. Never buy a coop which does not have removable floor trays. Also, the perches are designed in a way that they become very easy to clean. So, while choosing a coop, look for easy cleaning accessibility. Most importantly, space, where the feeder and the waterer are constructed, must be so positioned that they can be easily cleaned daily without evacuating the coop.

Chicken Enclosure

• Protection:
When I say protect, there are 2 categories of danger that the chickens need to be protected from - predators and diseases. Cats, dogs, foxes, hawks, and all such animals pose a threat to the lives of these tiny birds. You need to ensure that the enclosure that you choose is strong enough to keep all these predators at bay. In case of wire mesh enclosures, the spaces between the mesh wires should not exceed more than 100 square mm. Also, there is another threat posed by small insects and animals like rodents and rats that live beneath the earth. If these animals somehow enter into the coop, they may contaminate the place.

• Size:
Apart from the ventilation problems, a small-sized enclosure can hamper the all-around physical as well as the biological development of the chicken. Ideally, each chicken needs a minimum of 4 square feet area as personal space. So, before buying a chicken enclosure, you need to estimate the maximum number of chicken you would want to keep. Try to offer the birds a space to run around if possible.

The above points are too crucial to miss while looking for suitable chicken enclosures. So, choose wisely after a detailed search and a keen observation.