The most important factor to take into consideration when raising chicken is to provide a good place for them to stay. The main reason for this is to provide them protection. Chickens are not trained to defend themselves from other animals; that is why a good way to protect them is to build them a pen. Another obvious reason why it is important to build a pen is to provide shelter when the weather is bad. Chickens, like humans, should not be soaked in rain.

When making a pen for chicken, it is best to consider some factors to ensure that you are catering to their needs. Here are some pointers to keep in mind.

1. Avoid easy to flood areas.

The location of the pen is very important and is often disregarded by some. The target place to build the pen must be dry enough. Chickens prefer to live in dry areas.

2. Build the pen in a leveled area.

One way to ensure the safety of chicken and its young is to build the pen somewhat higher than the ground level. Some animals might easily catch the chicks if the pen is built on the ground.

3. Provide additional protection around the pen.

The pen alone is not enough to protect the chickens from other animals. A good idea is to build fences around the pen. Another option is to put protective netting within the area outside the pen. Chickens will not always stay inside the pen; they also need to go out in the open ground. Since they are now outside, they are susceptible to be catch by other animals. Hawks, eagles and other huge birds usually prey on smaller chicken. To avoid this from happening, put protective netting.

4. Make sure that the airflow is sufficient.

When building a pen, take into consideration the airflow around the structure. A humid place is not good for the health of chicken. Try creating a small window or a vent to let the air flow. The opening should be just the right size to provide sufficient airflow and at the same time easy to close during rainy days.

5. Include posts that are not too high.

If you plan to include posts in your pen, make sure that the height is just enough for the chickens. Tall posts can be dangerous for chickens since they are not great fliers like other birds.

6. Build nesting boxes lower than the pen.

Nesting boxes should be placed lower than the pen and should be somewhat inclined to make cleaning easier. Also, include ledges on the nesting box. Chickens are easily off balanced, so ledges will be helpful.

1. Consider the safety of your chicken

When talking about the safety of the chickens, this does not only refer to protecting them from other animals that might eat them. Safety also means keeping them away from harm during bad weather. Make a chicken pen that will help them survive the natural changes. One major factor that affects this is the location of the chicken pen. The location must be dry enough before chickens prefer dry places. It is advisable to choose location that is not easily flooded. Consider placing the pen where there is sufficient sunlight to make sure that the ground area will dry up easily once it rains.

Ventilation of the pen is also important. Make sure to include doors and windows that can be easily closed or opened. During hot season, proper ventilation must be monitored.

Another way to secure safety of chickens is to build a fence around the pen. Use chicken wires to surround the area. This will protect the chicken from outside predators that would want to harm them.

2. Consider the maintenance of the chicken pen

This means that cleaning the pen should not be hard. One technique that would help is to build doors or windows that open inwards and not outwards. Another technique is to design the floor of the pen at an angle. The slope should have lower angle at the door. This will make cleaning easier. For instance, cleaning the pen using water will make the water flow towards the low angled slope and not let it stay in the middle.

3. Consider the lighting and humidity of the chicken pen

One tip to make sure that the pen is kept warm during the cold season is to properly the walls of the pen. This will help keep the heat inside the pen. Also, this will help maintain a dry pen during the rainy season. Another tip is to position the pen making sure that the windows are situated where sunlight can enter. This will help keep your chicken warm during cold months.

Proper lighting should also be considered. Make sure that you install a proper lighting system in your pen.

Now that you know the basic things to take into consideration inn building a chicken pen, you can start making one.

If you are planning to build a portable chicken pen, there are three essential factors to consider. The planning must be well organized. All information must be gathered before starting to build one. Such information includes the materials to be used, the steps on how to make a portable chicken pen, how to place it, and what to keep in mind when building a pen.

An important factor to keep in mind is the ventilation of the pen. Poor ventilation is not good for the chicken. A good pen should let the heat or cold get in and out of the pen. Too much heat inside the pen can make the chickens sick. The same goes when too much cold stays inside. Proper temperature inside the pen should be monitored. Another reason why proper ventilation is needed is to make sure that the chickens won’t smell. Chickens might smell like their wastes if there is poor ventilation. The bad odor is also not healthy for the chickens. They will get sick if they stink. You wouldn’t want your chicken getting sick.

The lighting of the portable pen should also be given importance. There should be enough light into the pen. The lighting actually affects the capability of the chicken to lay eggs. If there is poor lighting, chickens will eventually lay lesser eggs. Therefore, make sure to provide sufficient lighting to increase the egg productivity of chickens.

The last factor and the most basic need of chicken is to provide them with a good feeding system. You must make sure to create a feeding system that is accessible to the chickens. This means that they can eat or drink anytime they want. This will ensure that the chickens are well fed, even with without monitoring them. Also, the feeding system of the portable chicken pen must be reliable in all weather conditions. It must be efficient whether it is cold or hot weather.

Now that you know the factors to consider when building a pen, you can start gathering all the materials you need and start building your portable chicken pen.

Dry food, wet food, dog treats, puppy food, dental bones; the variations on nutritional vehicles for dogs can be overwhelming. Add to that the various claims made by any given brand and the abundance of recalls do to harmful results, and the pet owner is hard pressed to know what is best for their animal.

Fortunately there is a simple answer. Find an all natural dog food. It can be as easy as reading a label. Due to domestication, dogs, as a rule, no longer have scavenge for food. But if they did, they could survive quite nicely on scraps of meat, hunks of bread and the occasional vegetable. They would choose these things because they know instinctively what is good for them. When choosing a food, pet owners need only to look for foods that have ingredients they recognize as being natural. Chicken, lamb, rice, grains and vegetables are typical in all natural dog foods and are even things that could be prepared at home with little effort. A good rule of thumb is that if it is not something that would be good for humans, it’s probably not good for dogs.

Of course dogs can’t eat everything a human would eat. Some foods people take for granted are toxic to dogs; like chocolate. There is also no reason to add seasonings like salt and pepper to homemade dog food. They’ll eat it just fine without those things and it’s not good for them.

Ideally, if the desire is to provide optimum nutrition for dogs, making all natural food for them at home is the best answer. Combining boiled meats and bones for protein with rice or grain for energy should do the trick for man’s best friend.

Due to poor diet, most dogs get categorized as geriatric as young as 5 years old. While there’s no question that they love their animals and want what is best for them, most dog owners are unaware that the dog food found in their local grocery store aisle are nutritionally deficient. This causes dogs to age prematurely and can lead to debilitating illness.

Nutritionists and vets alike try to inform us of the proteins, fats and nutrients that are lacking in commercial dog foods. Unfortunately what these foods lack in nutrition they make up for in ingredients such as toxins, heavy metals, plant and insect poisons, slaughterhouse remnants, artificial additives and other fillers that have no nutritional value whatsoever. It’s no wonder our dogs are hitting their twilight years so early when such detrimental ingredients are flooding their systems every day.

Of course not every brand available in the store is unhealthy but pet owners must be willing to read the labels to preserve the health and lifespan of their dogs. Such a simple thing as checking ingredients can dramatically improve the quality of your dog’s life. If the prospect of determining what is good for your dog seems daunting, rest assured that there is help.

Andrew Lewis’, Dog Food Secrets is very revealing look at the ingredients in dog food and how to determine just what it is your dog is eating. Mr. Lewis goes on to explain what your dog needs to sustain a robust longevity. He also warns pet owners that some common additives in commercial dog food could be reducing the life span of their dogs. A reality no good pet owner should ignore.

A responsible dog owner must take note of the information provided by Mr. Lewis in Dog Food Secrets. Doing so has the potential to allow your dog to live twice as long. The 8000 reported cases of medical issues caused by tainted food can not be ignored. If you could avoid kidney and renal failure in your dog just by being more cautious with his food, wouldn’t you do that? Of course you would. Our dogs give us so much undiluted devotion, the least we can do is give them a quality life in return.

Feeding your dog low quality food is, in essence, killing him slowly. Reading Dog Food Secrets and keeping it handy while shopping gives you an effective tool on the path to creating the healthiest environment for your dog to thrive. With such a thorough resource at your fingertips, providing your dog with optimum nutrition is easy.

Healthy dog foods are few, but they do exist. There is no reason to unknowingly poison your dog. Now that you are aware of the dangers, read the labels. Give your dog a fighting chance at a long and healthy life.

Do your dog a favor and read Dog Food Secrets. Doesn’t you best friend deserve it?