Chicken Coops for Sale in Malvern, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Malvern, Alabama
How to Choose the Right Chicken Coop
With Spring well underway, many of us are doing a little spring cleaning and preparing for some new chicks! Maybe it’s time for a new coop? Here are some basic tips for choosing the right coop for your flock and how to take care of it so you can be sure your chickens and other fowl are happy and healthy.
A chicken coop can have many purposes. It can be as simple as a place to roost at night if your flock is free range, or, if you prefer to keep your flock in one place, serves as their all-inclusive home with room for roosting, exercise, feeding, and laying eggs. There are many different designs and layouts to choose from when picking out a coop. You can buy one pre-made, or find instructions for building your own. Here are some factors to consider when choosing your flock’s home:
- Key Features There are a few basic features you’ll want for any chicken coop:
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Roosting bars don’t have to be fancy, and they’ll give your hens a safe place to sleep at night. Like most birds, chickens, turkeys, and other types of fowl prefer sleeping in an elevated area in order to stay safe from predators. Roosting bars will provide a place for your hens to perch at night so they can sleep soundly.
- A nesting box is a great way to encourage your hens to lay their eggs in a specific spot. If the coop you own doesn’t have built-in boxes, milk crates are a great substitute!
- Dispensers are useful for keeping food and water clean. There are plenty of styles you can buy, or you can make them yourself. Keep food and water dispensers slightly elevated, a few inches off the ground, in order to prevent dirt from getting in. If you have young chicks in your coop, remember to make sure the food and water are accessible, and that they are not at risk of getting caught in the water dish and drowning.
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- Space
Our ladies are free range during the day, so they don’t need much space in their coop. Having enough space is important for your coop if you want to avoid fighting. The average recommendation is a minimum of 1-2 square feet per bird, and much more if your flock remains in the coop 24/7. If your flock is not given enough space, it won’t be long before you notice the signs. Look for birds pecking at one another and birds with missing feathers. Bullying is a common side effect when there isn’t enough room to go around. If you do notice signs of bullying in your flock, separate the bullied birds until they are better and increase the amount of space in your coop.
- Safety There are a number of things that might affect your flock’s safety, whether it’s predators or the elements. Protect your flock from extreme temperatures by ensuring that your coop is well insulated and also well ventilated to allow proper airflow. There are a number of things you can do each year to prepare your flock for winter, and in the summer months they need access to fresh air and water in order to keep cool. As for predators, a properly enclosed coop will keep out larger animals, and roosting bars will allow your birds to stay at a safe height while they sleep.
- Convenience There are plenty of things to think about for your hens when choosing the right coop, but don’t forget about yourself! A good coop will be easily accessible so that you can gather eggs, change out food and water, and clean the coop without much hassle. Many coops will have larger doors or hatches that allow you better access inside the coop, and can be locked up when you are finished.
Basic Coop Care Once you’ve chosen the right coop, maintaining it is your next step. Be sure to place your coop in an area that will stay dry so you and your flock won’t have to deal with mud and puddles after some wet weather. Give your hens a supply of hay or straw so they can keep warm and build nests, and provide an area with clean dust or sand that will allow your birds to clean themselves and prevent mites. Change out dirty straw regularly, and clean out any droppings before they build up too much. Many coops are designed so that droppings can be removed easily, but in our lean-to coop we use a rake to pull them out. Cleaning up droppings and old food and keeping the coop dry will prevent mold and keep out bugs and other pests.
The right coop will ensure the health and safety of your backyard flock!
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Chicken Coop Amazon in Malvern, Alabama
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Malvern 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 Malvern Alabama chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Malvern, Alabama With the substantial increase in poultry maintaining there has actually been a just as huge increase in the variety of chicken paraphernalia for sale. Chicken housing is a case in point. It's also a traditional example of the good old bandwagon being got on as different potential poultry real estate specialists peddle a range of holiday accommodation claiming to be the optimal remedy to your chicken housing needs. Usually the cost looks desirable, your house looks eye-catching, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of economical as well as nasty coops swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was only an expensive heap of fire wood and a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Free Plans in Malvern, Alabama
Most of the time these standardized versions are created of fast grown up wood - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that will not close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The very first warm and comfortable day implies the hardwood dries out as well as splits, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their once desirable property however considering that the hovel is currently a haven for, and most likely abounding, the poultry caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would match four big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A few joints and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run affixed. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge area and also the pop hole door is big sufficient for the type you keep, after that the primary needs of housing boil down to 3 factors which will define the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box access as chickens will additionally naturally look for the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your house should have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. The house should have ample air flow: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every night, also in the chilliest of climate. Know, ventilation works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on contrary wall surfaces of the house and also at the same level, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still real, however you need to additionally think about the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful stocking thickness for a complimentary range bird is (as well as allow's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens at home is perhaps improved or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at several of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the best perches, correct air flow and enough nest boxes for a practical number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You could think you've grabbed a bargain, but you as well as your group might rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will last for a couple of years, if not longer provided the correct therapy. Ultimately your chicken as well as your poultry maintaining experience will be a lot the far better for it.chicken build
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