If you want to start building a chicken cage but haven’t settled on which one will give you what you need, consider the following. You can get plans to build anything and download it right from the internet or buy them at a variety of building centers or farm supply centers. Chicken hutches, chicken coops, barns, sheds you name it there is a building plan out there for it.

First you need to know what number of birds you plan on keeping and what you plan to keep them for, such as eggs, meat, for show or maybe just a pet. Chickens are a fun and enjoyable bird no matter the reason you’re raising them.

There are some who raise chickens to get large yields of eggs so they can sell them for a small profit and others who are into being more self-sufficient and providing eggs to friends and relatives. Still others raise them for meat and eggs because they want organic foods.

If you aren’t into raising large number of birds for meat and eggs and fit more into a category of people who have very limited space and just want a few birds as pets or maybe a rooster for the county fair, then a chicken hutch will work very well for you.

They are compact with a lot of the same features as the larger coops but scaled down for fewer birds. They are pretty easy to build and set up and because you are using much less material to build it than a bigger cage, it is also much less expensive.

If you really want to try raising chickens just to see if it’s for you, the small size and easy upkeep is ideal for you to get your feet wet.

Tip #1 – Making It Easy for Chickens to Access

To make it easy for your birds to get in and out of their hutch it is important to get the door sized properly. This is actually important no matter what type of coop you’re building, but because hutches are smaller people tend to make the doorway proportionate to the size of the hutch, which doesn’t work to good.

The door way would be the same size on a large coop as it is on a hutch unless you got some Bantam Chickens, then you might want it to be a little smaller.

The reason the doorway is so important is because chickens need a sense of security and if your birds have trouble moving in and out of their hutch they’ll get stressed out. That can cause them to molt or lower their egg output and can lead to some other stressed related conditions.

Adding a door to cover the doorway or a flap will add to their security and will help protect them from the elements and predators, which is always a good thing to do.

Tip #2 – Making It Easy For You To Access

A hutch is too small for you to walk into and clean, collect eggs or any other number of chicken care related activities. To access a hutch for many of the same activities you will put a hinged access door on the top that doubles as the roof.

To give yourself easy access to the inside you’ll want to raise it to a height that is convenient and comfortable for you to reach inside and clean, collect eggs etc, without straining your back.

You will most likely need to build a ramp of some sort so your hens and roosters can get to the doorway easily. To make sure you’re not aiding any predators in gaining access to your hutch you’ll want to make sure the ramp is removable.

Tip #3 - Additional Security

Chicken is one of the most popular dishes in the world and most predators would totally agree with that statement. Since you’re not trying to build a snack bar for raccoons or coyotes it’s a good idea to put a latch on the top hatch and if you have a door on the doorway it’s not a bad idea to put a latch there as well.

Securing both latches with a small pad lock is recommended since animals like the raccoon are fairly adept at opening things and serving themselves.