Chicken Coops for Sale in Alpaugh, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Alpaugh, California
Our Finished Chicken Coop
These past few days had us outside enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the jobs I crossed off the list was to clean out our new chicken coop.
Because of our over the past year or so, our family was going through several dozen eggs a week. (I can’t help it – I’m hooked on !)
So last summer we quit “planning” to get our own chickens, and actually did it. The whole family pitched in to build a little abode for our egg-laying beauties. And because we were first-time chicken owners and newbies in all chicken-related topics, we joined and gleaned months worth of ideas, do’s and don’ts, and building plans. (I can’t recommend this site highly enough! If you have the slightest inclination of doing chicken anything, go here and read to your heart’s content.)
It was so helpful to see photos and designs when we were in the planning stages, I thought I’d share pictures of our coop and the hows and whys of what we did.
The chicken coop
Instead of starting from scratch, we bought a small granary from my brother-in-law; about 9’x7′ inside measurements. This gave us about 3 sq. ft. per bird. The coop is nothing fancy really. It isn’t visible from the road and we don’t live in town with neighbors to care about the view from their back window, so we used as much scrap material as possible. Plus we didn’t think the chickens would mind.
So far they haven’t rebelled.
We re-tinned the roof (that’s my honey!) and I got to use the saw sawl to make holes for the windows and vents. You can call me Mrs. Handyman. . .
Inside the chicken coop
Framing the windows and vents was the most time consuming part since the building wasn’t square. We used insulation and vapor barrier for the walls for added moisture protection and warmth because the windchill can get -40 below or more in the winter.
We made the roosting boards parallel and the same height because apparently hens will act like old biddies and fight for the top most board. (Some people’s kids. . .)
We rounded the edges of the roosting boards so it’s easier on the hens’ feet. The boards can be removed for ease of cleaning the poop boards underneath.
Poop boards seemed quite popular among chicken peoples and we’ve quickly learned why. First, chickens poop more when roosting, so the roosting boards are placed above the poop board. This makes clean up as simple as buying a wide sheetrock mudding tool and scraping the droppings into a bucket each day. We then add the droppings to our compost pile.
We originally built a rollaway community nesting box directly underneath the poop board, but the chickens ended up laying eggs everywhere but there. Eventually we added a ‘normal’ set of 12″x12″x12″ nesting boxes and they’re happy campers again.
We decided to use the deep litter method. We spread a bag of wood chips on the floor and because the hens leave most of their droppings on the poop boards, there’s minimal waste on the floor. The chickens like to scratch and fluff the wood chips so it gets stirred up and aerated. This means the coop is less smelly, and there’s only a few minutes of daily cleaning of the boards. If needed, you can add more wood chips throughout the year.
We clean the coop out fully in the spring and fall. So far it’s worked wonderfully.
We nailed a board across the doorway to prevent the rising litter from falling out every time we opened the door.
The feeders are gravity fed. They’re made of PVC pipe with a 90 degree corner and a cap at the end. We like that we can leave for several days at a time and don’t have to worry about having someone come out to do chicken chores for us.
This water stand was Travis’s idea. The hens have a platform to stand on so no matter how high the litter gets, they can reach the water comfortably.
The chicken nipples underneath are another idea shared by BYC that I LOVE. The water doesn’t drip, there is no poop or mud to worry about, and our full grown hens figured it out within 24 hrs. The pails are covered with lids to prevent the water from getting dirty and it lasts for at least a week (we add apple cider vinegar).
When we’re home, we clean them out and give them fresh water every few days.
There’s electricity on the wall above the waterers with a timed light switch. We use bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing during the winter. We had to add the slanted plywood because the hens were roosting on the pails. (I told you they fought for highest roosting privileges.)
The pop door is a simple design, and it works great. It slides up and down, held in by L shaped boards.
When in the closed position, the hook and eye on the right prevent racoons (or children!) from trying to lift the door from the outside.
We used 1/2″ x 1/2″ hardware cloth to cover the insides of the windows and vents. . .
. . .and plexiglass for the actual windows.
We made sure to have plenty of vents (thanks to sage advice from Pat’s Ventilation Page) and used eyes and rope to open and close them at different heights.
Finally, we added a small lean-to to the side so the hens could come out in the winter. This helps block snow drifts right in front of the pop door, and they can still come out for fresh air and sunshine when they get cabin fever.
It might not win a beauty contest – but there’s something to be said for function-ability Hope this gave you some ideas!
What have you done to your chicken coop? We’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
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Baby Chick Care in Alpaugh, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Alpaugh California" 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 Alpaugh California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Alpaugh, California With the massive boost in poultry keeping there has been a just as large surge in the array of poultry stuff on sale. Fowl real estate is a case in point. It's additionally a timeless example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential poultry housing professionals peddle a selection of lodging asserting to be the perfect option to your chicken housing requirements. Often the price looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several cheap and nasty cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was just an expensive heap of fire wood and also a small flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop On Wheels in Alpaugh, California
Most of the time these standardized designs are constructed of fast grown up wood - come the initial drop of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that won't shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The first cozy day indicates the hardwood dries and also cracks, the really felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their when eye-catching apartment however considering that the hovel is now a place for, as well as most likely abounding, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would suit four big chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a large space as well as the pop opening doorway allows enough for the type you keep, after that the major demands of real estate boil down to 3 points which will certainly define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally naturally search for the highest point to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the following day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in little types this is certainly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors however are not that crazy about 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 each three birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your home needs to have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every evening, even in the coldest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation works on the concept of cozy air leaving with a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of openings on opposite walls of your home as well as at the exact same degree, this is what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still real, but you should additionally take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a free array bird is (and let's face it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens in the house is perhaps boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the deal houses - it could well be your home has the best perches, proper ventilation and also ample nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You could think you've got a deal, but you and your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and it will certainly last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the right therapy. In the long run your chicken and your poultry keeping experience will certainly be considerably the far better for it.plan build
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