Chicken Coops for Sale in Bon Secour, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Bon Secour, Alabama
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Chicken Coop Near Me in Bon Secour, Alabama
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Bon Secour Alabama" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Bon Secour Alabama chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Bon Secour, Alabama With the massive rise in poultry keeping there has actually been a just as large increase in the range of chicken paraphernalia on sale. Chicken housing is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a timeless example of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be poultry housing experts market a range of holiday accommodation asserting to be the excellent solution to your chicken real estate needs. Frequently the rate looks attractive, the house looks desirable, heck even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap and unpleasant cages swamping the market. I understand this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The result was only an expensive heap of firewood and also a small group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Adelaide in Bon Secour, Alabama
Generally these standardized versions are created of rapid grown up timber - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that won't close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The initial warm day indicates the timber dries and fractures, the really felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once desirable commercial property however because the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and most likely abounding, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would fit 4 huge chickens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A number of joints as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge space and also the pop hole doorway is big enough for the type you keep, then the major requirements of real estate boil down to three points which will define the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will also normally look for the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is undoubtedly less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably the house should have a least one nest box for every single three birds and also these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your house must have sufficient air flow: without it then condensation will build up every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, air flow deals with the concept of cozy air leaving with a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of holes on contrary walls of your house as well as at the same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still real, however you must also take into consideration the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a totally free array bird is (as well as let's face it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens in the house is potentially enhanced or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at a few of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation as well as enough nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You could think you've got a deal, however you and also your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will last for a few years, if not longer given the correct treatment. In the end your fowl as well as your chicken maintaining encounter will be a lot the better for it.chick coop
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