Chicken Cages
Chicken Cages Or Chicken Coops?
Chicken cages generally have a specific purpose, while a chicken coop is usually intended as a means for safely housing and sheltering a large number of chickens. There can be a somewhat grey area as to when a chicken cage becomes a chicken coop. A chicken cage is most often a place to keep a single chicken for egg laying, brooder chickens, or a place to house a number of baby chicks. A chicken cage can also house several adult chickens, when it is desired to keep them temporarily in one location. A-frame style chicken cages, measuring around 5' by 5' by 3' high are very popular, being easy to construct and quite portable.
The Chicken Coop - A chicken coop on the other hand, is more like a chicken motel, having indoor furnishings consisting of roosts, nesting boxes, heat, lighting, and provisions for adequate ventilation. A chicken coop should be easy to keep clean, and kept clean enough so the owner of the chickens doesn't feel uncomfortable upon entering. A chicken coop is not only designed to give chickens shelter from inclement weather, and protection from predators, but also provides a handy place for egg collecting when furnished with nesting boxes. Hobbyists and small-time chicken farmers will often build a small shed which serves as a chicken coop, the shed being surrounded by a wire fence or enclosure to protect the chickens when they are not inside.
Commercial Cages – Heavy Duty - Chicken cages are most likely found on commercial chicken farms, especially egg-producing chicken farms. An egg-laying hen may spend most of her time in a cage, from which eggs can easily be gathered. If the farm is in the business of raising chickens for meat, a chicken may spend most of its brief life in a cage, being fattened for eventual slaughter. Commercial caging systems often consist of row upon row of racks of cages. A typical rack of chicken cages for laying hens may consist of 4 tiers of cages, with 4 cages in each tier, each cage being 2' by 2' and perhaps 18" high. The rack is sometimes placed on locking wheels, so that it can be moved for ease in cleaning. Most commercial racks are built with stainless steel frames and PVC coated wire.
Hobby Cages - Chicken cages constructed by the hobbyist are more likely to be constructed of wood frames and standard chicken wire. Chickens grown for home use or enjoyment are seldom kept in commercial chicken cages, and are either allowed to roam free-range, or in runs large enough to given them fresh air and exercise. Just how sturdy these home-built cages need to be depends somewhat on whether or not there are predators in the area. A cage does not have to be particularly strong to keep chickens in, but needs to be strong enough to keep predators out. The A-frame cage, as mentioned earlier, is both simple to build, and intrinsically sturdy, and if large enough, can accommodate a box with a covered roof, roosts, and a nesting box or two. With the latter items the cage has become a coop, if one wants to split hairs.
Let Your Mind Run Free – There's no limit to the designs one can come up with for building one's own chicken cages, but most probably opt for a traditional box shaped structure. The chickens could probably care less, but designing a cage should be more fun that simply being a chore. After having build several different cages, one can't help but want to progress to the next level, the chicken coop, complete with lighting, ventilation, roosts, boxes, cages, and you name it. If there is a guiding principle, it is simply this. Take into account your own needs, but make certain that any design places the well-being of the chickens first.