One of the main factors of whether your chicken farming venture in the Philippines will succeed or not is going to be the quality of your chicken coop or chicken house.
It is so because a poorly design chicken coop can expose your poultry flock to weather extremes, lead to overstocking which leads to antisocial behavior and greater stress of your birds, and expose your flock to predators.
Chicken coops for native Philippines chicken and hybrids don’t have to be too complicated in design. As such, if you have some DIY skills, have the right plans, and the right materials, you can build it yourself rather than buying an expensive pre-made one.
If you need help with building your chicken coop, make sure to check Bill Keene’s Building a Chicken Coop which will not only give you practical advice on how to build the chicken house you need, but also some concrete chicken coop plans.
Things to Keep in Mind When Building a Chicken House in the Philippines
While Bill’s guide will give you most of the information you need when it comes to building chicken coops, below are some of the most important things to keep in mind when building a chicken house, especially so in the Philippines.
Make Sure the Chicken Coop Is Predator-Proof
The very first thing to keep in mind is to keep your chicken house completely predator-proof. This means that not only the sides and the roof should be completely protected, but also the ground since some predators will try to burrow their way to reach your flock.
If you have a chicken run that has been fenced with barbed wire, ensure that there are no holes beneath the wire mesh fencing. Also, as standard fencing wires generally have large holes that can allow various predators to get it, it is advisable to reinforce them with a chicken wire with smaller holes that will not allow any dangerous animal through them.
Additionally, you can also position the chicken coop or chicken house among tall trees so as to protect the birds from flying predators especially if they are still young.
Protect Your Chicken House from Rodents
While predators are a threat to the chicken directly, rats and rodents burrow their way into chicken houses to access chicken feed and other leftover food. On top of that, they also spread diseases, and as such, it is best to keep them as far from your flock as possible.
Some of the things you can do to make your chicken coop rat-proof, include cementing the flooring or installing a small mesh fence on the ground below the coop.
For more details on how to predator-proof and rodent-proof your chicken house, check out the Building a Chicken Coop ebook.
Chicken Houses in the Philippines Need to be Breezy
The Philippines is generally a hot country, and chickens are birds with plumage designed to protect them from excessive cold. Because of this, your chicken house must be well ventilated and a little breezy.
Have low air pressure coming into your chicken house in the Philippines. However, don’t make it too draughty. Draught is simply too much cold air coming into the chicken coop which makes it uncomfortable for the birds during the cold months.
And, as long as the conditions are not too draughty, the chickens will be able to withstand the cold.
Design the House for Easy Cleaning
It is easy to get carried away and build a fancy chicken house with many nook-and-crannies. However, when designing your coop, keep in mind the fact that you will have to clean it regularly to avoid pestering of bacteria and bugs.
As such, to the maximum extent possible, keep the design simple and easily cleanable.
Separately, also pick equipment that is easy to clean. For example, where possible, have removable droppings trays as they are easier to clean than having to clean the house itself. One of the places you can place them is under the perching poles so as to capture most of the droppings.
Provide Your Chickens with Roosting Poles
No matter what farming system you use, but especially in free range chicken farming and native Philippines chicken farming, it is important to set up roosting poles in your chicken house to allow for proper rest of your birds.
The roosting poles or perching poles should be about 2 inches wide with rounded edges. It is advisable to allow for about 10 inches between each of the poles, and about 5 to 10 inches of sideway-space per bird.
Also, the poles should be positioned in the corners of the chicken coop to allow for easy movement of the birds within the chicken house.
If you are space constrained, you can arrange the perching poles in a ladder-like set-up.
Provide Nest Boxes in the House
In order to encourage egg laying by your hens, it is advisable to provide one nest box for every 4 or 5 chickens. For maximum efficiency, the nest boxes should be dark and out of the way in a quiet area.
The reason to keep the boxes in the least trafficked place of your chicken house is that hens generally have the instinct to lay their eggs in the safest and quietest possible place they can find.
Make Sure the Chicken House Is Roomy Enough
The last thing I will mention here is that you should make sure to build your chicken house roomy enough.
It should be able to accommodate the feeders and drinkers at a safe distance so as to avoid congestion and allow the birds to feed freely without fighting or contaminating the food.
For laying birds, it is generally advisable to have at least a square feet of space per bird.
Build Your Own Chicken House in the Philippines
While you can buy pre-made chicken houses, it is generally more expensive, and definitely not as much fun and engaging as building your own chicken coop.
If you are interested in building the coop by yourself, the above information should give you plenty of thinking material to start with.
And, if you want further information about building one by yourself including complete step-by-step designs for chicken houses of a variety of shapes and sizes, get a copy of Building a Chicken Coop by Bill Keene.