(Homesteading.news) Gone are the days of chicken coops being just a simple shed with tar paper as insulation with rickety doors and windows. These days, designs for chicken coops involve solid, well-built, highly functional coops that look great and last a long time.

I remember the first time I saw a “modern” chicken coop, I was at a friend’s house and he wanted to take me out to see his chickens. I was stunned at how good the coop looked and how well designed it was.

I had raised chickens a long time before and I really didn’t have any good memories about it. The coop I used was there when I bought the house and I guess if I knew how bad the coop was I would have done something about it.

If there wasn’t a skunk or raccoon killing one of my chickens they were dying from the cold. And believe me I tried to fortify the coop, but there were some “secret passages” that I just could find until I gave up on raising chickens and finally tore the building down.

Now the attitude about raising chickens has changed and more emphasis is being placed on the quality of the birds housing. Chickens are fairly self-sustaining if they are given what they need. So to have a successful flock the focus should be, as it is now, on the environment you provide them.

A solid foundation with quality materials like treated lumber help to ensure the coop will keep its integrity and be just as solid as it is now, twenty years from now.

Today chicken coop designs take into account such things as good lighting, ventilation, spacious layouts, and weather tight construction so that you should expect to be able to have a healthy and productive flock.

I’ve been back in the chicken raising fold for over ten years now and with my new modern chicken coop and run and I couldn’t be happier about how things have gone. Because of the great lighting, both natural and artificial, my hens are egg laying machines!

I haven’t had one issue with a predator and I can’t see that I ever will as long as I keep the coop up – which really doesn’t take much with the quality of the construction.

I have the option to add more birds whenever I’m ready for them since my coop is very spacious and can keep up to twenty hens and roosters. Plus I’m able to take advantage of the chicken produced fertilizer and my vegetable garden and my wife’s flowers are reaping the benefits big time!

If you are on the fence about whether or not to raise chickens just let me say that you can’t go wrong if you’ll take your time to find a design that you like and will work for the number of birds you want to keep.

The benefits far outweigh and negatives you may thinking of that would keep you from taking the next step toward fresh eggs, meat and a small level of self-reliance.

By Steve Hales, Article City.

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