Chicken Coop Plans ? What You Need to Know

A chicken coop is a structure you use to house your chickens. It is sometimes called a chicken shack. Fist time chicken growers might think that they can substitute a bird cage for a chicken coop. Unfortunately, this cannot be the case. Chickens have needs different from other birds like parrots or parakeets. You need not shortchange your chickens by using readily available bird cages because chicken shacks are easy to make anyway. You can build coops using available chicken coop plans or you can also make your own.

What are the important things that you should consider in creating chicken shack layouts?

The size of the coop is the first thing that should be considered. The coop should have enough space for each chicken to be able to freely move around without bumping into another. Normally each chicken should have about 2 – 3 square feet of space.

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The next important aspect that you have to consider in making chicken coop plans is the protection it gives against extreme weather conditions. Chickens are easily affected by drafts. The chicken coop should have ample protection against this like having covers on the walls. The cover should be something that can be rolled down whenever there is strong wind or rolled up when the air is hot or humid.

Then you should also consider protection against predators. The walls should be strong enough to ward them off. There shouldn’t be any access for any predator to get in.

Provisions for cleaning the coop should also be considered. There should have enough windows and doors where you can take the chickens out or put them back in. There should be accesses for removing wastes or for replenishing food.

Chicken coop plans should be well thought of. Well planned coops will be good for the health of your chickens and will also make things easier for you.

www.drrossperry.com.au with Dr Ross Perry Bird Vet Specialist in Sydney, Australia introduces www.budgerigarhealth.com and himself to budgie fanciers and vets.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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What you need to know about health and hygiene with regard to your pet and aviary birds

Decent hygiene is the biggest contributor to ensuring a fit and healthy bird or flock, whereas poor hygiene is the most common cause of poor health within your avian community. Of course you may unknowingly acquire a bird that is not in peak form and whose health still deteriorates regardless of what you do; I’m sorry! But in this situation there’s nothing you can do, best to accept your loss and try again, but hopefully and with a little luck you will never encounter this type of situation in your bird keeping pursuits.

The first thing to do if you have a number of birds and want to introduce more to your menagerie is to keep your new bird in quarantine for a few weeks, that is to keep it separated from your other birds so as you can monitor it and deal with any health or other issues before introducing your new cage or aviary mate to the rest of the group. This will prevent any infectious illnesses being passed on to your other birds. This is very important and should never be overlooked even if your new feathered friend appears fine when first acquired!

Get to know your pet bird or birds, keep a close eye on them, interact with them and watch them regularly. This way if any of your birds have a change of character or appear down then you will instinctively know that you may have a problem.

I am not a vet, just an enthusiastic bird keeper and as such I am unable to give you detailed lists of avian illnesses or how to deal with them, always best to consult an avian vet if you are worried. OK, I know that vet bills are often quite extortionate so I would advise to take out some type of pet insurance to help cover the costs, there are plenty of good pet bird insurance deals available, try the local pet shop, the vet, or do an online search for a good deal.

If you are observant enough you will soon spot any bad signs but to help the signs of ill health in most pet birds are the same:

your bird plucks its feathers

it loses its appetite and eats less than normally

bare spots appear in the plumage

discharge flows from the nostrils

the plumage of your bird starts to look dull or ruffled

the eyes appear slit rather than round

changes in the birds’ droppings occurs

sneezing occurs more than just occasionally

the bird screeches more than normally or in a new way

your bird sleeps more than normally

If any of the above changes are noticed in your bird then a potential health problem is likely to occur, if not occurred already.

As mentioned earlier, a good hygiene routine will help enormously to prevent health problems. We’re not talking ‘clinically clean’ here, just basic hygiene:

Daily

check food and if required replace with fresh

change water and replace with fresh, thoroughly clean water dish at every change

remove any uneaten fresh food and dispose of in the correct manner

Weekly

clean out the cage or aviary fully

scrub all perches and furniture in cage or aviary

thoroughly clean all food and water dishes and fill with fresh

wipe clean bars of cages, inner sides and inner top of aviary

thoroughly clean cage base, sweep debris off aviary floor and mop with weak disinfectant solution, rinse and allow to dry before permitting your birds in

Always

make sure all foods given are clean and safe, use same regime as if preparing food for yourself

wash your hands before handling bird food and before handling your bird

again wash hands thoroughly after handling your bird

Try not to use any detergents or disinfectants when cleaning your birds things unless they are safe for animal use, check the packaging or buy specialist animal safe products from the pet shop (but these can prove to be rather expensive). You can alternatively use a very weak solution of disinfectant or detergent when cleaning your bird things but you must then rinse them with fresh clean water and allow them to dry completely before returning them to your bird accommodation.

If it looks dirty then clean it; if it looks clean then clean it anyway just to be sure!

Parakeets love to make messes with seeds and toys. Learn what to expect if you have a pet parakeet in this free pet care video. Expert: Elizabeth Cantu Bio: Elizabeth Cantu has owned and been working with parrots since 1994. She has been active in captive parrot rescue and rehabilitation. Filmmaker: julio costilla
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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I don’t know if my parakeet is sick? help asap.?

im not an expert in birds. i owned a parakeet for like 5-6 years. and ive seen him acting odd. everytime i see him he looks very shaky. and i dont think its because he’s scared because he was never like that. only in the beginning when i first bought him. he has gotten used to me during the years since i play with him, and take care of him well. but now, he puffs up and he sometimes bobs his head. im not sure if its normal. he used to do it before, but now hes doing it more. ive been searching online and ive found out that birds hide their sickness well. and im scared that he might be sick, i dont want to loose him because ive had him for a very long time. im going to try to take him to the vet. i told my parents that the parakeet was sick and they didnt take me seriously. maybe someone knows something i could buy to make him drink or eat that would make him stronger? please and thank you.

My parakeet is sick!! anyone know any specific treatments I can do?

Aw man I feel horrible. Ive only had my baby parakeet for a month, although I think she’s like 3or4 months old, n she’s sick. I’ve been noticin sneezin, she sneezed til her lil nose bled n the vet is stil on closed on holiday schedule. Her feathers are all puffed up n she’s havin a hard time stayin on the perch. Idk wut to do? if anyone else has had a problem with there bird bein sick can u tell me wut to do or wut the treatment is? Please

How do you know if your parakeet is pregnant?

I was on yesterday asking people about my sick parakeet! she seems alot better but she wont stop eating and her feathers are still all puffed up! i’m wondering if she might be pregnant? how do i know for sure? i am going to take her to petsmart, but i want to know if i should rule the whole pregnancey thing out first? Answers please???

how am i gonna deal with egg binding? i bet you know the answers to that; do help ME?

i got two pairs of parakeets at home; i have been spending time with them; the other pair; fortunately layed eggs without having problems infact i got two baby parakeets right now; additional to the family. The other pair which i am really worried; you see she laid eggs but it cracked and as of the moment i could not see any eggs in her nestbox though most of the time she spent there inside; it is really visible that she has an egg on his tommy coz the vent is bulging; there is an egg.. i cant doubt that; the only problem left is how am i gonna help her get it out; you see i really pity her…
there is no vet for the birds here in our place; just a breeder; i only ask info from them but they dont do stuff like that… i mean curing or helping birds to be comfortable.. help please

My parakeet seems really sick she isn’t eating theirs times when she twitches and i don’t know what to do?

I called all the local vets and they cant get her in till net Wednesday and im not sure if she will make it till then so can someone please help me?

I need to know if this is possible…?

I bought two parakeets from petco when I lived with my boyfriend about 6 days ago and I’m visiting my parents for a month (semester break) and one of my parakeets have shown signs of illness. I have the receipts of purchase for both parakeets and was wondering if I took the sick one to a petco near me, would they take my bird to a vet for free (since I have a 14 day warranty for both birds) or would they deny it? At the moment, I can’t call them or I wouldn’t be posting this question. It would be great if someone can help me Thanks

Help I Need To Know How To TAME my 7-8 month old parakeet.”an is he sick?”?

I got him/her at pet-land around christmas i call him a he anyways he doesn’t like to be held he isnt tame at all how do i tame him and teach him to eat fresh fruits ect.
And im just curious if he is sick because he bobs his tail a little bit when he breaths?

My budgie died, i do not know why.. please help :(?

This sunday my parakeet just died out of no where. I know that birds hide their illnesses well but we do not know the cause of his death. I am so devastated
We cannot even do a bird autopsy since we already burried him =’(
But we gave them a quick little shower like we always do.. nothing was different. Maybe he swolled too much water? because after the shower he got quiet and didnt go in the cage or the play island outside the cage, instead he went and stood in the corner by himself, we tried to play with him and he did not really interact. After a few his wings were getting stiff. After an hour he couldnt handle his weight and titled to the front and just sat there.. we thought he was cold so we tried to make him a little warmer but nothing helped.. he kept tilting. We thought he broke his foot because he couldnt handle his own weight but now I do not know? then he was in my lap for 10 mins and then I went to go put him on a pillow and his tail was moving like he was shivering so I went to go get his happy hut and by the time i came back which was about 2 mins.. he died
please someone help
can tumors develop suddenly? he was perfectly ok in the morning
heres a picture of him falling over.. well he was just sitting on the pillow like that.
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Also, ALL the vets were closed as it was on a sunday evening

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