Chicken Coops for Sale in Russellville, Alabama
Chicken Coops for Sale in Russellville, Alabama
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
I have been helping our friends build a chicken coop so that they can start raising there own hens and producing their own eggs. The week before I helped them build a compost pile so that they could start composting their yard waist on a larger scale, now we move into coop development. After researching different designs and methods for building a coop I decided to go with one that would fit well in the tropics. Much like San Diego, you don’t have to worry about a freeze or the chickens getting to cold, however you do need to be concerned with other natural elements like predators, tropical rain storms, gusty winds and too much heat. Taking this into consideration I designed a coop that would protect the hens from the elements, yet be opened up enough to allow a breeze and shade for the hens to grow in.
Chicken Coop Design
Chicken Coop Plans
The structure of the coop is 4x8x8. It is 4 ft wide by 8ft long and 8ft high at its highest point. The floor of the hen house is three feet off of the ground. There is a thatched roof covering the length of the coop to keep out the rain and sun. The roofs highest point is at 8ft (in the center) dropping down to 6ft on the front side, and 7ft on the back side. This allows for a consistent air flow throughout the coop
Chicken Coop Plans (Side Views)
I designed the coop on paper, worked out the measurements and then we started putting it together after we picked up the supplies. As expected we made a few adjustments as we began to put the coop together to fit the surroundings a little better. One thing that I didn’t keep in mind was the slope that we would be working on, this eventually elevated the ‘run’ side a little more giving the hens an extra 6 inches to play around in.
Chicken Coop Supplies (So Far)
- 3 4×8′ 1/2″ pieces of plywood
- 20 2x4x8′ studs
- 12 2x2x8′ studs
- 1 6x2x8′ stud
- 2 4×8′ roofing sheets
- 1 4×50′ roll of chicken wire
- 1 box 3.5″ screws
- 1 box 2″ screws
- 6 hinges
- 3 latches
- 4 cinder blocks
Chicken Coop Structure
Putting up the Frame
After we picked a location by the mango tree, the first thing that we did was put together the frame. This would be our skeleton if you will, everything else would be built off of the frame. As mentioned before the frame of the structure is 4ft wide by 8ft long. We put 6ft posts on the front side, 7ft posts on the back side, and two 8ft posts on the ends (for the roof). Notice the cinder blocks used to give us a level playing field, not the prettiest look, this is something that we will fix up as we finish the project.
Chicken Coop Construction
Putting Up the Walls
After we got the frame up we started to work on the hen house itself, this is where then hens will go to lay their many eggs in the future. We closed off the floor and the back wall first because these are permanent, no doors or latches needed. In this picture you can see that we also added a few more frame pieces for the roof, this was because of the type of roofing that we decided to go with. You will be able to see why when we finish.
Hen House Layout
Building the Hen House
Once we put in the permanent walls and floor we began building the doors that would allow us access into the hen house for cleaning and feeding. This front door section will open up giving us plenty of room to work around the hen house.
Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes came next on our plans. We decided to do two rows of boxes 4 boxes deep. This gives us a total of 8 nesting boxes. Each box is 12″x12″12″. We started the bottom row 6 inches off of the floor and the next row 12 inches above that. We left a 3″ over hang to give the hens something to climb up to before entering their boxes. We also put a 4.5 inch lip on the front of the boxes making the entrance to the boxes 7.5″x12″. We did this to give the hens more protection and less room to move around. This should prevent them or the other hens from eating their eggs once they began producing.
Entrance for Eggs
Behind the nesting boxes, on the outside of the hen house we installed two barn style doors to give us easy access to all of the boxes, thus giving us easy access to the eggs down the road. This will also make it easier for cleaning an maintenance when the time comes.
Hen House Entrance
Hen House Entrance
This last image is of the entrance into the hen house, this was the last thing that we finished up to this point. We still have the roof, chicken wire enclosure and last minute adjustments. As you can see the Tropical Chicken Coop is coming along just fine. We are almost there but not quite yet. Once we get some more time to work on it we should be able to wrap up this project and move the hens in. Eggs are on their way!
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Chicken Coop Used in Russellville, Alabama
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Russellville 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 Russellville Alabama chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Russellville, Alabama With the massive rise in poultry maintaining there has actually been an equally large rise in the array of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in point. It's additionally a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various prospective poultry housing experts pitch a range of cottage declaring to be the suitable solution to your chicken housing needs. Frequently the cost looks desirable, your house looks desirable, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap as well as awful coops swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was nothing but a pricey stack of fire wood and a small flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Hut in Russellville, Alabama
Usually these mass produced versions are created of rapid grown up timber - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The very first warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries as well as fractures, the felt roof bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as attractive building however considering that the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and possibly crawling with, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would fit 4 huge hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you left with? A couple of joints and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room and the pop opening doorway is big enough for the type you keep, then the major requirements of real estate boil down to three factors which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise normally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they ought to be greater 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 your home needs to have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and also these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of the house. Your home needs to have sufficient air flow: without it then condensation will build up every night, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, air flow works on the principle of cozy air leaving with a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a set of openings on other wall surfaces of the house as well as at the very same degree, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still real, but you ought to also consider the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping density for a totally free variety bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens in your home is potentially enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m made even. Take a close check out several of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, appropriate air flow as well as ample nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You could think you've grabbed a deal, yet you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will last for a couple of decades, if not longer given the correct treatment. Eventually your chicken and also your chicken maintaining encounter will be a lot the far better for it.chickens build
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