Chicken Coops for Sale in Mathews, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mathews, Alabama
How To Set Up Your Chicken Coop
Often when people buy chickens from us they’ve never owned poultry before therefore I usually find myself explaining the basics of operating a healthy and effective coop. As I grew up on a farm much of it is second nature but many city folk are unsure of just whats involved. The easiest and quickest way to get the message across is to take them on a tour of our back section to see how everything in our coop has be arranged.
The important aspects I talk about are:
Feed …
Because chickens grow so fast I use larger feeders as soon as possible. If you are raising them from day one there are feeders available that have been designed to cover the first couple of weeks. After that one on an adjustable rope works well as its just a matter of raising the height from time to time as the chickens grow. To get the best results it needs to be kept high enough to be accessible but not too low as to allow litter and droppings to be scratched into it. As can be seen in the photo above an off cut of PVC down pipe with holes drilled through it works well as a cheap grit feeder. Commercial feeds normally have grit added however I wonder if its sufficient as our hens regularly go through a 2 kilo bag of crushed oyster shell.
Feeding guide …
Day old to 6 -8 weeks … chick starter crumbles. 8 – 14 weeks … pullet grower or similar. 14 weeks onward … regular chook feed. 18 – 20 weeks or just prior to the commencement of laying … oyster shell grit.
Don’t over do the kitchen scraps as the nutritional value from these is fairly low. If they are fed as a substitute for a properly balance diet egg production will suffer.
Water …
Its important to have a plentiful supply of good clean water at all times. Hens don’t drink much at anyone time but they do drink often and even more so during spring and summer when air temperatures increase. I always leave the coop door open when our hens free range as they can get cool water whenever they need it. Hens drinking dirty contaminated water from containers and puddles is a recipe for disease.
If its not clean enough for you to drink you shouldn’t give it to your hens.
As shown above I prefer to used a fixed water container as the hanging versions leak and spill water when knocked. Its easily removed for cleaning and is installed in such a way to prevent debris getting into it.
Perches …
Chickens have a natural instinct to perch therefore it important to provide good sturdy perches. The ones in our coup are about 5cm square and have the sharp edges taken off to make them more chicken friendly. Tree branches of a similar diameter also work well if they are reasonably straight. The perches shown above are approximately 50cm and 80cm above the floor however I set them at lower levels when I first introduce 3 to 4 week old chicks. They should be fixed securely to the coop walls whilst being easily removable for cleaning.
Even when I have day old chicks under lights I provide perches as its a habit that I want them to learn as soon as possible because it makes my job so much easier. There’s no space on my daily to do list for cleaning dirty nesting boxes and eggs. Perch space per bird should be about 20cm.
Without suitable perches hens will perch on what ever is handy namely nesting boxes, feeders and the like or they will crowd into a corner of a coop. The end result will be a hard mound of droppings which will ultimately end up in feathers on claws then into nesting boxes and subsequently onto eggs. Correctly positioned perches eliminates crowding, flighty hens, dirty eggs and ensures your hens will be more relaxed and manageable.
Like all females of the species they need to be pampered. My other half constantly reminds me that I pay more attention to our Flora’s that I do to her. Its not true of course !!
Nesting boxes …
For me keeping hens is all about egg production therefore when we I invested extra time and effort into creating workable nesting boxes.
- One nesting box for every 4 hens, wonder why sometimes as they all seem to lay in the same box.
- Easily accessible for me from the outside.
- Easily accessible for the hens from the inside.
- Removable for easy cleaning.
- Spacious … 40cm height x 40cm width x 40cm depth or thereabouts.
- Weather proof.
- 10cm lip at the front to keep shavings and eggs in.
When introducing young chickens I keep the boxes closed off until near the time when they will start laying. This is to ensure that they use the perches rather than sleeping in and fouling the boxes. As mentioned previously this means only one thing, dirty eggs.
Deep litter …
We use a deep litter system as it makes for easy maintenance and reduces the need to be continually cleaning chicken manure out of the coop. Simply put the floor is covered with a 10cm layer of untreated wood shavings which is raked over every few days. A more detailed explanation of this concept can be .
Access – easy and straight forward …
- Human sized entry, applicable if you need a large coop.
- Removing old litter is almost effortless, especially when I have to work the camera !
- Predator proof entry- exit.
A user friendly coop ensures that keeping hens doesn’t become just another unwanted chore so build or buy wisely.
Chicken Coop Used in Mathews, Alabama
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Mathews 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 Mathews Alabama chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Mathews, Alabama With the significant boost in poultry keeping there has been an equally big rise in the variety of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Chicken real estate is a case in point. It's additionally a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be poultry housing professionals market a range of accommodation declaring to be the ideal solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Commonly the cost looks attractive, your house looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they recognize a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of affordable as well as unpleasant cages flooding the market. 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 showed up. The result was just an expensive stack of firewood as well as a little flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chick House in Mathews, Alabama
More often than not these standardized versions are constructed of quick grown timber - come the initial drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The first warm and comfortable day implies the hardwood dries and also fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once eye-catching apartment yet due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 huge chickens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you entrusted? A couple of joints and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are varying your birds in a big room as well as the pop hole door is big sufficient for the type you keep, after that the primary needs of real estate come down to 3 points which will specify the number of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house should have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and also these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home should have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will accumulate every night, also in the coldest of weather condition. Be aware, ventilation works with the principle of warm air leaving through a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on opposite walls of the house and also at the exact same degree, this is just what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still true, however you ought to also think about the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a free array bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens in your home is possibly improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close check out a few of the deal houses - it could well be the house has the right perches, appropriate air flow and enough nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You might assume you've got a deal, yet you and your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer given the appropriate therapy. In the end your poultry and also your fowl keeping encounter will be a lot the much better for it.chicken diy
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