Chicken Coops for Sale in Pine Apple, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Pine Apple, Alabama
solar panels for the chicken coop
Haven’t felt like I’ve built anything lately so I hauled off a couple weekends ago and figured that it’d be fun to try and replace the 50ft extension cord that we’ve got running from the house to the coop (up the hill, over the lawn, on top of the coop and then into the coop) which has been hooked up to timer switch (most likely something like ) to then provide light for the hens for a couple hours a night with solar panels, since it sounded fun.
I did a little bit of research, that I came across that talked about how to do it (semi-related: , also learned what a “prepper” is, had no idea those existed!), although in hindsight it looks like their coop is being powered by light all day long… or at least on demand, which turned out to be kind of a big deal. As the post suggested, I hauled off to Harbor Freight, got , which came with a charge controller, a couple light bulbs and all the necessary cabling. It was relatively easy to snap together the plastic frame that came with the panels (although the directions were definitely different than what was in the box, took me a bit to figure that out) and then to push the various wires together to see if it all worked. I also bought a and a since I had an existing light bulb sitting in the coop already.
I’m a rookie at the electrical stuff, figured it’d be good to hook up the inverter to the battery to make sure the battery was good, which I did and then immediately melted battery connector cable because the opposite cable ends were touching after I hooked up the cabling to the battery. Rookie mistake but that then meant that I had to find a new cabling. Slight setback. Googled around a bunch looking for somewhere that I could buy a battery connector cable, not many places sell them… or at least sell them and aren’t somewhere that it would take a week to get one. I ended up talking to a pal at work that’s an electronics nerd (hey Ed!) and he suggested going to , who have a local store here in Beaverton and who ended up actually not having pre-made battery connector cables but had all the tools and supplies to MAKE cables which was even more fun. I bought a couple , some clamps and a cable crimp tool with the help of the guy running the store (whatever your name was, thanks!) and then made my own cables. I also needed a box to put the battery and the power inverter in (since the installation is outside) and found a nice water tight box at Storables (not but something pretty similar).
I thought at that point that I had all I needed but it turns out the power inverter that I bought has a fan and is constantly drawing power to power the fan, even if the lights aren’t turned on. I had figured that I could use the existing timer that was plugged into the house to plug that into the inverter and then only turn on the lights if / when the timer thought it was time but I’m pretty sure that the inverter being on 24/7 would drain the battery and would leave me with no power for the lights at night. I ended up finding that has a built-in microcontroller that figures out dusk / dawn by when the solar panel stops sending a charge and gives you the ability to determine how long you want the lights turned on relative to when dusk and dawn start. Ordered that online and then FINALLY today everything came together. Here’s what the solar panels look like on top of the coop:
and a side view:
I actually have no idea if they’ll draw enough power in the wintertime to power a light bulb for a couple hours a night based on a) the fact that we live in Oregon and don’t see the sun that much / if at all in the winter and b) our yard has lots of shade, which means that even if the sun was out that the panels would only ever see the sun for half the day or so… which might also throw a kink into the charge controller, which may stop receiving charges from the panel earlier than we might expect… ANYWAY, fuzzy picture of the box mounted on the side of the coop:
I drilled a couple holes in the bottom of the plastic box so that I could string the wiring in and also so that the inverter was able to breathe, apparently it needs some circulation. Got the brackets to hold the box at Ace Hardware for $10 and then mounted those to the coop along with some wood I had laying around from another project.
Finally a picture of the Morningstar SunLight charge controller doing it’s business:
You can see the lighting control on the right hand side, it gives you a bunch of options as to how long you want it to be drawing power from the battery and throwing it to an external device, which is perfect, in theory for what I’m trying to do since I don’t want the inverter to be drawing any power at all… until I want the lights on. Luckily, the inverter, which also has an on / off button, stays “on” even when you remove it’s power supply, so the minute that the charge controller decides that power should come on, the inverter then turns on… which then powers the lights and in theory, the chickens should lay more eggs in the winter. I don’t pretend to control that part though.
You can also see the wiring I created in that picture: the black / red wires with the yellow battery connectors are the wires that I made. Those go into the box and then attach to the back of the inverter. Going from right to left then, the next set of red / black cables are the cables that attach up to the battery and the finally, the last set of cables are sending power from the panels to the charge controller.
All in: - panels charge controller (not used) cabling bulbs (not used): $150 - 12 volt / 35 amp battery: $69 - 400w inverter: $40 - 12 volt / 20 amp charge controller with microprocessor: $83 - crimp tool (optional), cabling (optional): $32 - storage box: $20
Really expensive, should have just run cable underground (assuming that’s legal?) to the coop in hindsight but the panels seemed more fun / more interesting. I’ll update once winter hits and the sun actually stops shining again.
Chicken Coop House Plans in Pine Apple, Alabama
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Pine Apple 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 Pine Apple Alabama chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Pine Apple, Alabama With the substantial rise in chicken keeping there has been a just as large increase in the range of chicken paraphernalia on sale. Chicken housing is a situation in factor. It's additionally a classic example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various potential poultry housing specialists peddle a selection of cottage declaring to be the ideal remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the cost looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap and nasty coops swamping the marketplace. I recognize this as I've examined a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was only an expensive heap of fire wood and also a tiny flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Accessories in Pine Apple, Alabama
Generally these mass produced designs are built of fast grown hardwood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking residents. The first warm and comfortable day suggests the lumber dries and splits, the really felt roof covering bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their once eye-catching commercial property yet because the hovel is now a place for, and probably abounding, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 huge hens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you left with? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge space and the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you maintain, then the main needs of housing boil down to 3 points which will define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box access as chickens will also normally seek the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home ought to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds as well as these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your house. The house ought to have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will develop every night, also in the chilliest of climate. Know, ventilation deals with the concept of cozy air leaving via a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of openings on opposite walls of your house and at the very same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, but you need to likewise think about the run size. The EU optimum legal stocking density for a complimentary array bird is (and allow's face it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is perhaps enhanced or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m made even. Take a close consider some of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, proper air flow and also enough nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You may assume you've got a deal, however you and also your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the best house as well as it will last for a few decades, if not longer given the appropriate treatment. In the end your chicken and also your fowl maintaining encounter will certainly be considerably the much better for it.plan for sale
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Cottonton, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mc Intosh, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Goodwater, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Groveoak, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Oxford, Alabama