If you look on the right side bar of the blog, you will see a link I added for a great chicken coop design resource with plans and lots of great ideas. It was published in 1919. It is called Poultry Houses and Fixtures. Click on the link to download it. It is a large PDF, and I have it on the site for free right now. Because it is in the public domain I am thinking about re-publishing it on Amazon.com, but you can get it for free now.
Poultry Houses and Fixtures
Here is a link to a great NPR All Things Considered story on Backyard Chicken Coops…”Make Chicks Chic”.
I found this cool video on YouTube showing the construction of backyard chicken coop and the “Journey to the First Egg”
Check it out:
I have been talking with Bill Keene,who has a site selling information about designing and building your own Chicken Coop. The subject of hot weather and Chickens came up because we are headed to summer. I was concerned because it can get very hot and humid here, so he gave me some advice.
He suggested to avoid big feathery chicken if the weather goes above 100 degrees regularily. Bantams do well, except possibly the feathered feet varities. But here are some other chicken varities that do well in your backyard in hot climates.
Example of a Blue Andlusian Hen:
Blue Andalusian Hen
Hope that helps and shoot me an email if you have more questions, freddie@henhouseblog.com. I am no expert, but I can find one to answer most anything.
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I am not sure what I was doing online to run across it. But my interest in keeping chickens in the backyard started when I saw the Eglu Chicken Coop from Omlet USA. It really got me thinking about the possibility of raising hens and getting eggs in a smallish suburban backyard.
BUT the Eglu costs, $495.00, and my wife would shoot me dead (not really), but she would freak out. So I had to incubate the idea of raising chickens so to speak.
But I ran across some great resources online to build your own chicnen coop
P.S. I named the blog, Hen House Blog because most of the Chicken Coop names were taken, and really we want hens, not rosters. In fact, it is illegal to keep rosters in many areas.
Eglu Chicken Coop