Properly organized walking for chickens is as important as a warm chicken coop or a well-made diet. Without walking, chickens become less active, do not receive the right amount of vitamins, including vitamin D, necessary for the formation of calcium.
Chickens in the absence of walking are more prone to obesity, require more feed, because they lack the ability to find insects. In this article we will tell you how to properly organize walking for chickens. You will also learn what the difference between free-range and open-air cages and tanning beds for young animals are and what it takes to build them yourself.
Fenced simple walking
If there is enough space on your site, then it is very easy to organize free-range chickens - it is enough to fence a certain space using a chain-link net. Such a fence will not only prevent chickens from spreading throughout the territory, but also protect them from dogs and other predators..
Well, if one side will be made of boards or chipboard. This will protect the birds from the wind. In case of rain, you can provide a small shelter. Choose a place for walking out of sight, as chickens will have it consumed and it will lose its aesthetic appearance.
An important point is that the grass on the site of walking should grow there for at least the second year, and the area of the territory should be at the rate of about two square meters per individual.
In the photo you can see the version of the free-range from the chain-link mesh, which is mobile:
Mobile grid enclosure
Before telling about the aviary for chickens, I would like to clarify one thing - what actually differs from the free range covered by the above.
First, it is its size - it is usually larger.
Secondly, it is not stationary, it can be moved to any other placebecause it is rarely attached to capital structures.
Stationary aviary for chickens
Before embarking on the construction of an aviary, you need to determine its size. As mentioned above, it is optimal if there are about two square meters of territory per hen.
remember, that such walking is usually attached to a chicken coop, from which birds can immediately go out.
Well, if there are trees near your chicken coop, they will provide sun protection for the birds. Also important is its location - away from people and pets.
- Once you have decided on the location, you can proceed to construction. It is better if your stationary aviary is on the foundation. You can fill it in any way convenient for you.
- Next, set the pillars - metal or wood. The supports are placed in holes dug in advance to a depth of 50 cm, and their height should eventually reach two meters.
- Near the ground, corners are welded to the supports or screwed on, to which the walls and ceiling of the paddock are further attached.
- Begin to tighten the grid from the top, then move to the side walls. We overlap the walls so that they do not diverge over time and fasten with steel wire.
- The ceiling or the back can be made of corrugated or polycarbonate. You should not make the entire pen out of this material so as not to close the birds tightly from the outside world.
When building a paddock and a chicken coop, the owner must take into account a lot of nuances.
In the photo below you can see a spacious aviary for chickens attached directly to the winter coop:
Stationary aviary for chickens
In the video you can see how to do walking for chickens with a canopy:
Portable solarium for chickens
Small portable structures with the second name - tanning beds for chickens are generally used in rearing. They are most often designed for one layer with chickens or a small number of adolescent birds. Such a pen is small, it is light and you can easily build it yourself.
To do this, it is enough to build a frame of the bars and wrap it with plastic or metal mesh. If the ground is still not warm enough, you can organize the floor - the flooring of the boards, for example.
As for the size, its length is about one and a half meters, height is 80 cm and width is one meter. For very small chicks it is not necessary to make a ceiling near the structure.
In the photo you can see the option of portable summer walking for chickens and young stock:
Solarium for young animals and chickens
Growing chickens is a responsible business, though not too complicated. Knowing the main points can be an excellent result. And this will help you our articles.
Why is freestyle walking better?
Why some owners of private plots keep their chickens on an absolutely free range. They do not organize special solariums, and also do not build open-air cages?
Their chickens freely leave the house when they themselves want it. They can walk around the site in front of the house, as well as in the garden and in the garden.
It is as for pluses. The disadvantages are also obvious - some individuals may try to pick berries and vegetables, which harms the crop. With such walking, birds become very vulnerable and may suffer from birds and terrestrial predators..
Proper diet - the guarantee of health of your poultry.
Moreover, they may go too far from the farm, where they will be safely lost. To avoid this, chickens must be kept in a fenced yard. There you can also place convenient feeders and drinkers so that chickens may not return to the house for food.
In the video you can see how to make a simple summer walking for birds:
