Backyard Chicken Coops Come To The City

Posted on November 5, 2009
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Having lived in big cities for most of my life, raising chickens is not something I had ever considered, until recently. Surprisingly a lot of large cities, including New York and Chicago allow chickens to be raised within city limits.

So, if you have always wanted to have backyard chicken coops, now may be the time to do so. Before you do though you will want to check with local officials to make sure chickens are allowed and that you are not breaking and city laws or ordinances. Even when they are allowed, it is often just the hen, and not the noisy roosters. Fortunately roosters are not required in order for the hens to lay eggs.

The reasons for keeping chickens varies from wanting fresh eggs to wanting a different kind of pet to desiring a bit of the country in the city. Not only can there be a savings on the grocery bill by producing eggs for family use, but many neighbors are joining together to create chicken projects. They’re splitting costs of the materials to build the backyard chicken coops as well as the cost of the feed and incidentals.

If you figure that you want to have a coop for hens of your own, they’re not at all difficult to build, plus you can design your own plans to make the coop look like a little house or barn rather than the traditional coop you may remember. All it takes is a little planning before you get started.

You’ll need to make sure you plan enough space for each chicken as over crowded conditions can lead to sickness among the chickens. The general rule of thumb for space is to have approximately four square feet of space for each chicken though it never hurts to have more. As you’re building the chicken coop take into consideration the area where you live.

If you live in a northern state where snow and ice are a regular part of the weather, you’re going to need a coop that’s adequately insulated to keep the chickens warm. You don’t want to have to bring them indoors for them to survive. If you happen to live in an area where the winters are not as harsh, but the summers are scorchers, you’ll have to make sure the coop is built to provide maximum cooling.

When building the home for your chickens, you don’t have to spend a lot of money buying brand new materials. You can build it from recycled materials, such as wood left over from a home project – even hinges salvaged from old kitchen or bathroom makeovers can be put to use as hinges for a chicken coop door.

Whatever materials you use to build your backyard chicken coops, make sure you’ve provided good ventilation in the snug home for your chickens otherwise you can get an ammonia build up that’s not good for you or the chickens.