Chicken DIY: 20 Fun-to-Make Projects for Happy and Healthy Chickens
5/5
()
About this ebook
Inside Chicken DIY
How to prepare and build a safe and healthy environment for your backyard flock
20 hands-on projects for chicken coops, roosts, runs, ramps, feeders, waterers, nest boxes, egg incubators, and more
Clear step-by-step color photographs
Overview of the basic tools and skills needed to complete each project
Complete, thorough, and easy-to-follow instructions
"Why DIY?" section explains the positive benefits and satisfaction of building things yourself
Bonus chapter takes a fascinating look at the history of chicken-keeping and DIY chicken projects through history
Samantha Johnson
Samantha Johnson (Phelps, Wisconsin) and her brother, Daniel, have collaborated on a number of rural-living guidebooks, including How to Raise Rabbits and Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping. Both are 4-H alumni and live on the family farm, Fox Hill Farm, in far northern Wisconsin. Samantha is a certified horse show judge and raises purebred Welsh Mountain ponies and Dutch, Holland Lop, and Netherland Dwarf rabbits.Daniel Johnson is a professional photographer who specializes in imagery of farm life. He is the author of the 4-H Guide to Digital Photography and the coauthor of The Field Guide to Horses. He lives on a family-owned horse farm in Phelps, Wisconsin, called Fox Hill Farm (www.foxhillphoto.com).
Read more from Samantha Johnson
Garden DIY: 25 Fun-to-Make Projects for an Attractive and Productive Garden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Are Extraordinary Educator's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Are Extraordinary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFarm DIY: 20 Useful and Fun Projects for Your Farm or Homestead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Field Guide to Horses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBurning Terrors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDestiny's Chosen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Chicken DIY
Related ebooks
50 Do-It-Yourself Projects for Keeping Chickens: Chicken Coops, Brooders, Runs, Swings, Dust Baths, and More! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChicken DIY: 20 Fun-to-Make Projects for Happy and Healthy Chickens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chicken Coop Step By Step Guide for Beginners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Build a Chicken Coop Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuilding Chicken Coops For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Raising Chickens: A Beginner's Guide to Raising, Breeding, and Caring for Chickens: Self-Sufficient Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChicken Coop & Run Chicken Keeping For Beginners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Do-It-Yourself Projects for Keeping Goats: Fencing, Milking Stands, First Aid Kit, Play Structures, and More! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBackyard Chickens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRule Your Roost Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRaising Chickens: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Start a Profitable Worm Business on a Shoestring Budget Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crafting with Wood Pallets: Projects for Rustic Furniture, Decor, Art, Gifts and More Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens...Naturally Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Build A Portable Chicken Coop Plans and Videos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Illustrated Guide to Chickens: How to Choose Them, How to Keep Them Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Backyard Chickens: Join the Fun of Raising Chickens, Coop Building and Eating Fresh Eggs (Hint: Keep Your Girls Happy! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance: Reflections on a Life of Raising Chickens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArt of the Chicken Coop: A Fun and Essential Guide to Housing Your Peeps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Backyard Chickens: The Beginners Guide to Raising Chickens in Town or Country: Sustainable Living & Homestead Survival Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStarter Coops: For Your Chickens' First Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead: A Hands-on, Step-by-Step Sustainable-Living Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Backyard Chickens: A Beginners Guide Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Keeping Chickens and other Poultry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChickens, Ducks and Turkeys: A Frugal and Natural Approach to Raising Poultry in Your Backyard: Backyard Farming & Homesteading Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Home Improvement For You
Order from Chaos: The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magnolia Story (with Bonus Content) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Book of Home Organization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Complete Book of Clean: Tips & Techniques for Your Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5World's Best Life Hacks: 200 Ingenious Ways to Use Everyday Objects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Organization Hacks: Over 350 Simple Solutions to Organize Your Home in No Time! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Declutter Like a Mother: A Guilt-Free, No-Stress Way to Transform Your Home and Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Guide to Living Off the Grid: A back-to-basics manual for independent living Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: Discover the Joy of Spending Less, Sharing More, and Living Generously Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Self-Sufficient Backyard Homestead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Disappear and Live Off the Grid: A CIA Insider's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmall Apartment Hacks: 101 Ingenious DIY Solutions for Living, Organizing and Entertaining Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Homegrown & Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Complete Do-it-Yourself Manual Newly Updated Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ultimate Guide: Wiring, 8th Updated Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/510,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The New Bohemians Handbook: Come Home to Good Vibes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Chicken DIY
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Due out January 16, 2018DescriptionThe popularity of egg-laying chickens is on the rise. Sustainable and fun, raising chickens is one of the most interesting and rewarding backyard hobbies you can find. In Chicken DIY, aspiring chicken farmers will find creative plans and easy-to-follow construction tips for making a safe and healthy environment for their fine-feathered friends. Veteran farmers and poultry enthusiasts Samantha and Daniel Johnson provide complete and easy-to-follow instructions for 20 essential projects, from coops and feeders to runs, ramps, roosts and incubators. Clear step-by-step colour photographs guide the reader through each hands-on project.Available EditionsEDITIONPaperbackISBN 9781620082300PRICE $19.99 (USD)My thanks to NetGalley and Chapel Publishing for the ARC to read and provide my honest review!MY BOOK REVIEW:Okay, if you ever plan on raising chickens, this book is exactly what you need to get started. It is full of great ‘how to’s,’ pictures showing step by step building of everything you need. At the back of the book are recipes too.The hardest part may be cutting some of the wood to begin your projects. The book shows what tools you’ll need and how to put your project together. Everything a chicken needs is included.There’s even a section on candling, raising chicks, designing a dust box so your plants and gardens won’t take a beating… this is such a great book. When we start raising chickens next year, we’re buying this book!I love it and think it’s exactly what is needed!
Book preview
Chicken DIY - Samantha Johnson
Introduction
Happy chickens will make you happy, too!
Welcome! We’re pretty sure that we know why you’ve chosen this particular book: you keep, or you’re planning to keep, a flock of chickens, and you also enjoy the idea of creating and constructing things. You’re definitely not alone—chickens are one of the most popular livestock options for small-scale and hobby farm operations.
And why not? Chickens are generally easy to care for and inexpensive to keep, they can be raised in small backyards as well as on larger properties. The required infrastructure for a flock of chickens—housing, fencing, and feeding/watering equipment—is minimal and well within the reach of a DIYer who would like the satisfaction of building these items for him- or herself.
That’s where this book comes in. Our goal is to provide you with a jumping-off place for a series of projects that can be put to good use in your chicken farming. From a portable chicken tractor and collapsible grazing pen to chicken creature comforts, like a wading pool and dust-bathing area, to a few projects that focus on fun, these projects aim to offer the reader a wide variety of directions to pursue.
Feel free to follow our directions to the letter or modify aspects to your own liking. In many cases, the cost of project materials is quite low, and many of the projects can be made almost entirely from scrap materials that a seasoned DIYer might already have on hand (I knew that 2-foot piece of 2x4 would come in handy!
).
We hope that you find plenty of inspiration and help throughout the pages of this book. And after trying a few of these projects, you’ll end up with something to crow about! Happy building!
In addition to the fun and satisfaction that comes from raising chickens, the potential for fresh eggs is a major attraction for many chicken owners.
Looking for a wonderful project in which the whole family can participate? Why not keep chickens?
Chapter 1
Why DIY?
The duties of a DIY chicken keeper are many, but the rewards are well worth the effort!
Maybe you’re already a DIY enthusiast with a track record of producing some pretty awesome results around the house. Maybe you love the idea of creating helpful, useful items for outside your home, too.
For many people, there are rewards to be found in constructing nest boxes and roosts and grazing boxes—satisfaction in the ability to be self-sufficient and enterprising as well as joy in the task of construction itself. But some people question the purpose of DIY projects. Hey! Why are you using scrap wood to make your chicken gear when you could just go purchase many of these items from a retailer?
The answer will vary from person to person, but here are some common answers to the question Why DIY?
Saving Money
It goes without saying that if you can build something yourself from materials you already have sitting around, you can save a lot of money compared to going out and buying the manufactured version of the same item. Even if you have to purchase some or all of the supplies to build something on your own, it’s likely that you’ll still enjoy significant savings since you won’t be paying for someone else’s time (and price markup).
You’ll find plenty of satisfaction in using your own skills and tools to produce quality equipment for your small-scale chicken operation.
Doing it yourself can be a real money saver, and you’ll also have the ability to customize the projects to your own preferences.
Of course, there’s a trade-off: you’ll need to invest your own time in each project, but if you’re thrifty and make good use of your materials, you might be able to complete several projects for very little financial output.
Recycling
As the saying goes, One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
Along with saving money, DIY projects can also save items from winding up in a landfill. Remember those leftover scraps of wood from building your chicken coop—the ones stacked up in the tool shed? Maybe they’re too short and oddly shaped to be of any use—or maybe they’re perfect for constructing a collapsible chicken run. What about that 5-gallon bucket that leaks and no longer holds water? Maybe it’s time to throw it away—or maybe it’s time to turn it into a nest box.
The ability to take an item that was destined for the trash and turn it into something useful is certainly an appealing aspect of DIY projects. If you’re the type of person who likes to hang on to scraps for future use, DIY chicken projects might be the perfect way for you to put those materials to good use and save some money at the same time.
Customization
By taking the DIY route, you also have the ability to customize projects to suit your personal preference and needs. Let’s say your coop is custom-made or part of a larger building. Imagine the convenience of being able to construct nest boxes, roosts, feeders, and waterers to a very specific size or design—what a great benefit!
Your happy chickens will thank you for your efforts, and you’ll enjoy the process, too.
DIY projects are an excellent way to use up scrap materials left over from other projects. Don’t throw the material away—reuse it!
Satisfaction
While it might be easy to go down to the farm-supply store and buy a chicken feeder, you really can’t underestimate the personal satisfaction that comes from building things yourself. It’s vastly rewarding to visit your chicken coop each day and see your chickens using the items that you’ve built with your own two hands. It’s hard to put a price on satisfaction like that!
Are You Ready to Start?
By following the steps outlined in this book, you will soon be well equipped with an impressive variety of chicken-related products that will transform your coop and its surroundings into a chicken paradise. But as much as anything else, the projects in this book were conceived as inspiration for your own DIY ideas. While we certainly recommend that you follow the steps provided herein, we also encourage you to modify the designs to fit your individual needs, as long as you always keep your chickens’ safety (and your own safety) first and foremost in your mind.
Important!
Metric conversions for measurements in the projects are close approximations, so please double-check the measurements before obtaining materials for each project. Also, some measurements, such as 2x4
are common instead of actual measurements. In these cases, the metric conversions are based on the actual, rather than the common, measurements.
Chapter 2
Basic Tools and Skills
Ready to do some construction? Great! But do you have the equipment and knowledge you need to complete the job? Photos, step-by-step directions, and cut lists are helpful, but unless you have the tools and know-how to put them to use, DIY projects can prove challenging. Here are some basic tools and skills you’ll need to create the projects in this book.
Basic Tools
At the start of each project, we’ll supply you with a list of the tools needed for that particular job. But, as a brief overview, here are some of the tools you’ll want to have on