Hen houses – Hotel for chickens

Hen houses, as the name implies, houses hens. It is a small building in which hens lay eggs. Hens stay there for most of the time. Perches can be seen on hen houses – this is where the chickens sleep. Nest boxes are built for the hens, for them to lay eggs onto. There are two types of hen houses, fresh air houses and closed houses. Fresh air houses provide the chickens good ventilation and lighting. Whereas closed houses usually have doors and windows, and this can shut off ventilation and lighting, which can be quite unhealthy for the chickens.

There are different materials that can be used for the walls. Hay bales, wood, wire, and concrete can be used, just as long as you are still giving proper ventilation. Windows should be made, and you can put screens on it. For hen houses with solid walls, a way of giving proper ventilation is by raising the roof for several inches, just enough for the air to come inside.

Others can build hen houses in their very own backyards. It is usually built with chicken wire, which prevents chickens from going out, but at the same time giving the chickens freedom to run and roam around, even if it is just within the fenced area.

An ideal size of space allotted for each chicken is from 2 square feet to 4 square feet, it depends much on a chicken’s breed and size.

In the urban areas, the number of chicken coops has been increasing. Because of the usually cramped area, hen houses can be quite impractical. However, they developed hen houses that are small, but still allow chickens to go outside of it. It is suitable for people in the urban areas who still wish to grow chickens.

These small hen houses have no floors, and it can be transferred or dragged easily, these are called “chicken tractors”. Small flock of chickens fit on these kinds of hen houses. This makes it rmoe organized and gives an overall tidier look of the place. However, there are some states that have certain laws about raising livestock. There are states that ban the raising of roosters, but allow it as long as it is at least 20 feet away from dwellings, schools and churches.