DIY Chicken Shed - Get Quality Chicken Housing at Only a Fraction of The Cost of a Readymade Hen Shed
Author: Clive Anderson
There has never been a more exciting time to keep chickens and to build a DIY chicken shed to house your poultry is a perfect solution to be able to provide more than adequate housing for them. There are so many easily accessible hints and tips available for you to make use of all available at the touch of a button which will help no end in building a DIY chicken shed very simply and economically.
By simple, I mean that the process is really not complicated and by economically, I mean very inexpensively, especially when compared to buying a readymade coop.
If you are serious in wanting to keep chickens, then how you go about housing them is important. They have a few specific needs when it comes to living quarters which are very easily met with the right information and approach. This is the beauty of building your chickens housing yourself; you really can be so flexible and have the versatility to customise to suit.
No two people are likely to have the same size or shape of backyard so to be able to manage the backyard space that you have available and utilise it to your best advantage is invaluable. I also think it is more than possible that you might be surprised to find out how little space you actually need to keep chickens too.
You can purchase a readymade coop but I have found that they are very expensive to buy and I am not sure that you get the same amount of flexibility or versatility as you do when building chicken accommodation yourself. The amount of materials used in their construction does not seem to equal the over inflated price.
Maybe you are paying for the measuring and cutting having already been done but, I am not sure that this is good value for your money, especially when you consider that most of them seem to come flat packed so you are going to have to assemble it anyway.
Being able to have such an input into housing your hens should not be under estimated. You really can be sure that from the initial planning stages through to your finished shed that you do not have to compromise on your own or your chickens needs at any point.
You can incorporate any number of walkways, ramps and perches very easily and cheaply which, all helps in keeping your hens stimulated. Ventilation and lighting is easily provided with the minimum of fuss, helping to keep the housing light and aired which all benefits your poultrys health and well being.
The quality that you gain in building your DIY chicken shed will surpass anything that a readymade coop has to offer after all, you know that you will be providing durable, attractive accommodation for your poultry which you have made with your own two hands and your poultry will be safe and secure from predators which gives you complete peace of mind. Believe me building a DIY chicken shed will be the ultimate labour of love and very well worth it.
Building a chicken shed is simple and a great deal of fun when you are given the correct information. They are practical, easy to assemble and can save you a fortune.
There are dozens of poultry related websites that claim to offer visitors' great chicken shed plans, but few sadly seem to offer little more than a single basic design. However one of the bestchicken shed design websites online that has been endorsed by hundreds of chicken breeders and owners worldwide so far contains a wealth of chicken housing data and related information that is well worth reviewing can be found right here: (http://www.chickenhousekit.com)
About the Author
Clive Anderson started using the Internet in 2005 as a means of sharing knowledge on a few subjects from personal experience and research with the intention of offering readers a better understanding in these areas so that it might enable them to benefit, achieve, create, eliminate or overcome certain challenges or obstacles that may otherwise be holding them back or clouding their vision.
Writing has become a bit of a two pronged sword to coin a phrase. At one end is the reward that comes from being able to offer beneficial assistance, information, expertise, discoveries, and experiences through the expression of writing.
Added to that the overall enjoyment, fulfilment and sense of achievement that can be found in writing the articles.
Have You Ever Thought What You Would Attempt if You Knew That No Matter What You Attempted You Could Not Fail? Why not give it a try? You might be pleasently surprised.
how much do you think it will cost to build a chicken house with an add on run for 6 chickens?
i want to get an idea of about how much it will cost to build a chicken house with add on run like the Rothwell design with the coop above the ground and an area for them to roam around on the ground below and in front of the coop? i already briefly added it up and got that it will cost around $200 to $300 to build it from brand new material from Lowe’s ( plywood sheets and 2×4′s) and i know that the wire will cost about $25, so if you think that you have an idea for 6 chickens then please answer and tell me how much you think it will cost. thanks for reading and answering
$200 bucks would get it done a few great sites for ideas are:
but from personal experience its sooo much easier to find someone selling one on craigslist. good luck with the chickens their fun!
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html
http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html
I am going to buy 2 chickens and want to build a 6′ x 6′ run to go with the house – help?
I have already purchased a nice house and whilst the chooks will mostly be free range in the garden, i wanted a sort of penning area. Whats the best solution for this? There seem to be quite a few solutions and all at different costs
If you have a look on ebay for rabbit runs these will be ideal just bigger, you could follow the design from there.
How much does it cost to purchase in Morocco (for a small farm in USD)?
Enough to build a house on, cows, sheep, chickens, corn, wheat, orange trees, bannanas, potatos, onions, tomatos, peppers, horses).
I recently bought a house in Larache, Morocco as an investment for 41,000 GBP which is around 68,000 USD. 3 floors, garage, 5 bedrooms and several livings rooms.
I looked into land first. I wanted land as well as a house, but if I were to buy land I wouldn’t have been given planning permission.
One acre of land is worth around 120,000 – 150,000 USD, when buying land in Morocco you have to check for planning permission first, because some lands are sold merely for the purpose of farming and/or growing crop.
what are the channels of distribution of perdue farms inc.?
1.Perdue Farms, Inc., has been a privately held family owned company since 1920. Over the years Perdue has become vertically integrated in order to be more competitive and maintain financial stability. Perdue’s objective is to be the leader in broiler and related poultry products in the industry. They strive to maintain quality and constantly improve efficiency and service, both today and in the future.
Perdue Farms Inc. has a mission to provide the highest quality poultry and poultry related products to retail and food service customers. They want to be the recognized industry leader in quality and service, providing more than expected from their customers, associates, and owners. They will accomplish this by maintaining a tradition of pride in their products, growth through innovation, integrity in the management of their business, and commitment to Team Management and the Quality improvement process.
Perdue’s overall mission is strong but a strategy for long term growth and market development needs to be reviewed and evaluated.
2.Perdue Farms Inc. has numerous external opportunities and threats. The external opportunities that effect Perdue are as follows;
•To broadly diversify and have greater market share, domestically and internationally
•To increase marketing of healthy image products that envelops a strong niche market.
•To ship via plane, to maintain fresh not frozen broilers and increase market share and penetration.
•Develop new markets in the Upper Mid-west to increase market share.
•Increase sales of food service chicken and turkey from 20% of overall sales to 30% due to a strong 12% growth rate.
•To expand the international grain and oilseed market
•With an increase push on health in 1994, chicken sales are up over red meat sales.
•Average annual consumption of chicken is up to 80lbs/person/year, an all time high.
The external threats are as follows:
•Most of the competition sells frozen products for less money.
•Perdue’s cost to raise chickens is above the national average.
•Growth rate in chicken sales is only 5% due to lack of frozen line.
•Over capacity of chickens has reduced wholesale prices, which reduces profit margins.
•Competition is strong in broiler industry with 53 competitors.
•Untapped markets in the Upper Mid- west need to be explored.
1.The Perdue Farms, Co. has internal strengths and weaknesses that need to be addressed and evaluated; The strengths are as follows;
•Perdue is vertically integrated which means that they produce the chickens, they breed, hatch the eggs, they select the growers, build Perdue chicken houses, formulate and manufacture their feed, oversee care and feeding, operate their own processing plants, distribute via truck and marketing. They now also sell what used to be waste, such as the chicken feet that is sold to the Orient as a delicacy.
•Privately held firm
•Technologically advanced, ex.,20% more breast meat than the competition
•Birds are fed organically and not feed additives.
•Sell both raw and pre-cooked chickens and turkeys.
•Good compensation package to the workers.
•Non-union company.
•MIS efficient and essential to operating the business.
•Good variety from fresh oven stuffer roasters, cooked prepared foods, cutlets, tenders, Fit n easy and much more.
•Good TQM with mission and vision
•Excellent R&D for better meat to bone ratios.
•Keep overhead low, quality up
•Great diverse product line that has changed with consumer changes.
•Horizontal diversification when they bought Showell Farms, which made them the third largest producer in the broiler industry.
•Great social responsibility, code of ethics
•Environmentally concerned about waste and prevention
•Strong effective marketing
The weaknesses in the Perdue Farm, Inc. case are as follows;
•They only sell fresh not frozen chickens
•Deliveries are only made by truck so the radius to overnight chickens is limited.
•Lack of long-term planning for future changes
4) I would suggest a strategy that Perdue would focus on maintaining their quality and efficiency along with plans for extensive market development. I would like to see them expand into the Upper mid-west before other markets gain strong holds and market share. If Perdue plans on maintaining their place in the market they need to expand and continue to diversify their products to attract niche markets and stay ahead of the competition.
According to Porter’s generic strategies, he points out that in order to gain the competitive advantage companies need to draw from three bases: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.
In my study of Perdue, I feel that they are a differentiation and focus orientated company. First, I see Perdue as a leader in quality and efficiency but not a cost leader. Cost leadership implies that you strive to be the low-cost producer in your particular industry. This is to the contrary for Perdue; they have marketed in a way to make the consumer pay a little more for a better product. In fact, this did not happen by accident. Perdue did not want to be known as the cheapest but to be the best quality for the consumer, at a fair price. What Perdue does take from cost leadership is that they are highly efficient, low overhead, their intolerance to waste, broad span of control, rewards linked to efficiency and cost cutting measures and open lines of communication between workers and upper management. Perdue’s successful strategy of horizontal integration to gain competitive advantage was to purchase Showell Farms which made Perdue the third largest broiler company in the United States.
I see Perdue as being highly successful with differentiation, which implies that they produce products, and services that are considered unique, industry wide and directed at consumers who are relatively price-in-sensitive. Perdue has ongoing product development, which states that they seek to increase sales by improving, or modifying present products or services. Perdue has been an industry leader with constant attention paid to consumer wants and needs. They watch trends such as fitness and weight consciousness, by introducing the Fit n Easy line that markets skinless and boneless chicken parts with nutritional information and recipes. Perdue also followed the trend of the working family and began to market prepared foods, which has done extremely well. Prepared foods such as pre-cooked chickens, turkeys, parts, nuggets, and the like sell easily to working families.
Finally, I see Perdue’s strongest strategy according to Porter is focus. Perdue has wonderful R&D that constantly follows market trends and changes that will be beneficial to their growth. Perdue has never forgotten where they came from and this is what makes them strong. Focus allows them to change with the times and not become over diversified where they overlook their cash cows and forget to nurture their stars. Perdue knows that quality and efficiency are at the heart of their operation and do not stray from that. Their innovation and integrity to be the leader has brought them customer loyalty and appreciation for quality where price is not the number one factor.
Perdue’s ability to focus on strong team management has allowed them to penetrate and develop new markets with ease. Perdue has a high penetration of advertising on TV and print along with opening up new territories to further expand their market share. Their vision has been a good guide and has led them to a very successful value chain. Perdue’s attention to detail in every aspect of the business has been proven successful and the financial status of the company reflects it.
Today, Perdue, is further expanding with new acquisitions and product lines. Their innovative thinking and drive to be the leader shows in all they do. In 1997 they started marketing their Café Perdue line and have seen slow, with steady success. Perdue’s prepared foods are selling incredibly well with the American family on the run. As of September 1998, Perdue made a new acquisition, toward horizontal integration, with GOL-PAK, a competitor in the foodservice and prepared foods business. The new relationship will further enhance Perdue’s prepared food and foodservice business. GOL-PAK specialized in the development and production of products primarily for the foodservice industry with a list including the top 100 chain restaurants. Perdue sees this as a significant purchase to enhance their reputation and make them strong contenders in the prepared food and foodservice industry.
CEO, Jim Perdue, feels that they are well positioned in the market place and continued growth along with R&D will help them to maintain quality and efficiency, along with strong market penetration and market share.
Did you really think anyone here would take the time to read all that to answer what’s obviously a homework problem?
how many acres would i need, and how much would it cost?
if i were planning on building a sanctuary of sorts… to house unwanted animals such as sheep, chickens, pigs and dogs, how many acres of land would it take to build a reasonable sized house to house around four people, some sort of outhouse for the animals, and land for the animals to move around in? and how much would i be looking at spending for the lot? (preferable located in south of england, and the amount of animals kept would be a maximum of around 20) any help would be appreciated.
Buy the food and you will only need an acre.