To regularly receive fresh eggs, it is enough to have a small herd of 5 layers.
For their maintenance, you can build a small chicken coop, in which the birds will feel comfortable. How to create a mini coop, we consider in the article.
Features of the structure of the house for 5 chickens
The coop for 5 layers has a number of features:
- small sizes;
- can be mobile or portable;
- the warmed small house does not need heating;
- the role of the ventilation system will perform a small door for chickens;
- only 1-2 nests, 1 drinker, several feeders and perch for internal equipment are enough.
One of the comforts of mini chicken coops - they can be transferred from one place to another. A mobile chicken coop is easy to move around the site to where there is grass for walking or to a site protected from the wind. Solar plot will give additional heating in the cold season.
Layout, dimensions, drawings
First of all, determine the design of the chicken coop and make a drawing with dimensions. Usually for the construction of the house is calculated in the form of a small house. According to veterinary regulations, 1 square. meter, you can settle 3 laying hens. Accordingly, for 5 chickens enough 2 square. meters The sides of the house can be 100x200 cm or 150x150 cm. Its height is calculated based on the growth of the owners, adding 20 cm to it: in this case, you can easily clean or disinfect.
Did you know? The three leaders in egg production include the Leggorn breed. The record belongs to the Princess Te Cavan layer. She laid 361 eggs in 364 days.
For layers, nests in the form of small boxes with a minimum size of 40x40x40 cm are necessary. They can be placed on a rack or create a small side niche-box for their placement. The height of the perch depends on the breed: for non-flying chickens, it should not be higher than 120 cm and a ladder must be installed for it. The size of the enclosure should be at least 2 square meters. m 
To create ventilation, you can make an additional sliding door to the birds went into the aviary. When performing ventilation of two pipes, take into account that the pipes must be of the same diameter and equipped with valves, so that they can be closed.
We recommend to get acquainted with the types of ventilation and the ways of its manufacture with your own hands.
The window should occupy at least 10% of the total area of the walls. In order to prevent the outflow of warm air through the window in the winter, consider double or triple glazing. 
The photo also shows the approximate dimensions for the hen house
Materials and tools for work
For a chicken coop with 5 layers you will need:
- timber with a minimum section of 40x40 mm for the frame;
- clapboard, OSB-plates, sandwich panels or other board material for plating;
- slate, metal, corrugated - to cover the roof;
- grid to create walking;
- hinges and heck for doors and windows;
- glass for the window.
- wood saw;
- metal saw;
- drill screwdriver.
Important! Wood is one of the best building materials. It is environmentally friendly and can hold heat well. A modern building materials based on wood resistant to rodents and pests, moisture-resistant and have good sound insulation properties.
How to make a mini chicken coop: step by step instructions
Preparation of boards for the frame consists of cutting them to the desired length. If the house will move, then the bearing beams are equipped at the bottom of the wheels. A frame for prefabricated panels is assembled from a bar:
- rectangular - for the sides of the house;
- a rectangle with a crate inside - to install chicken nests;
- on one of the sides a contour is made for the installation of the door, and on the other - for the installation of the window.
Fastening screws is performed from the outside in order to easily access them when necessary. 
Building a house:
- At the site where the house is installed, a layer of soil is removed, and it is covered with rubble.
- The frame of the house going on the site.
- The structure will be on legs, possibly with wheels.
- The harness (frame) of the floor can be raised to a height of 15 to 30 cm above the ground.
- The floor is covered with a board in 2 layers with laying insulation.
- The walls are sheathed with sandwich panels.
- Hinged doors are installed in the doorway (large for the owners to enter and small for the chickens to enter the aviary).
- Installs a window.
- The roof is made of the same sandwich panels and covered with roofing material.
- From the wooden frame and the grid sections are made for the aviary.
- The aviary is fixed next to the house.
- Nests, a vacuum trough and feeders are installed inside the house, the perch is mounted.
We advise you to familiarize yourself with the step-by-step instructions for building a chicken coop for 30 and 50 chickens.
Video: DIY Mini Coop If the house is monolithic, then the foundation is prepared:
- a trench is being dug, formwork is being made and concrete is poured;
- or make a trench and establish a column foundation.
If you create a floor of fine-mesh and set down the pan, it will be easier to clean from litter. The roof must be made single-pitch or dual-slope in order to prevent rainwater or snow from accumulating on its surface.
Important! Sandwich panels are a multilayer material for the construction of quick assembly structures. Developed in 1930. Can be roofing and wall.
Arrangement of the hen house
Roots inside a mini-coop. Inside the coop for 5 hens should be:
- 1-2 nests;
- 2 perches;
- 1 feeder under crushed seashells or chalk;
- 2 grain feeders;
- 1 feeder for wet food;
- 1 drinking bowl;
- 1 ash bath.
Perches
The total length of perches for 5 layers should be at least 5 meters. The height of placement depends on the flying properties of birds. Minimum - not lower than 130 cm from the floor. Perches can be located in 2 rows: one is lower and the other is higher.
Nest
1-2 chicks are enough for 5 chickens. You can arrange them on a rack inside the chicken coop next to the perches or in the form of an extension box to the chicken coop. For dredging eggs in it you can make a lifting cover.
Did you know? Using the example of Wyandotte chickens, US farmers noted that egg production of one-layer hens was 30% higher than that of the owners of the variegated plumage.
Feeders and drinkers
The shape of the feeder should take into account the fact that chickens love to rake the food with their paws. Therefore, the best will be feeders made of polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride pipe. 
Feeders and drinkers for poultry are installed in the aviary. The pipe cut in half can be fixed on the house wall at least 20 cm from the floor or in the form of 4 separate pipes ending in a knee, which serves as the feeder. 
This is a convenient form for bunker grain feeders - there is a sufficient amount of feed in front of the birds, which cannot be scattered across the floor. The same shape can be made drinking.
Litter
Laying on the floor solves several important tasks:
- gives additional isolation to the paws of layers from the cold;
- realizes their instinct to search for food;
- protects the floor from manure.
Familiarize yourself with the use of fermentation litter for chickens.The litter is made of sawdust, straw, peat, hay. The minimum thickness is 20 cm.
What should take care in the winter
In the house will be enough one bulb
The temperature in the house in winter should not fall below + 14 ° C. There are panels with high thermal conductivity in the building materials market. Birds in a small room produce enough heat so that additional heating is not required.
As for the lighting, the sanitary standards for 1 square. m square should account for 3-4 watts of lighting. Therefore, in the house for 5 layers is enough to install 1 light bulb. In winter, artificial lighting will help keep chicken production in eggs. When installing the lighting, it is possible to provide 1 outlet and a place to install the heater in case the outside air temperature stays below -20 ° C.
For the organization of access to fresh air in the room is quite enough a small door through which chickens go into the aviary. If you want to quickly ventilate the chicken coop, you can open a large door, and the air will be updated in minutes.
Learn how to make a winter chicken coop for 20 chickens.
Creating a house for 5 chickens will take no more than 1-3 days and will provide birds with a comfortable room that best suits a small population. Modern building materials will maintain an optimal microclimate inside and will help preserve the health of birds.
