Chicken Coops for Sale in Annapolis, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Annapolis, California
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Baby Chick Incubator in Annapolis, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Annapolis 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 Annapolis California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Annapolis, California With the substantial increase in poultry maintaining there has been an equally huge increase in the range of fowl materiel for sale. Fowl housing is a case in point. It's additionally a timeless example of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous would-be fowl real estate professionals market a selection of cottage asserting to be the ideal remedy to your chicken real estate requirements. Commonly the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many economical and awful coops swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was just an expensive stack of fire wood and also a small group of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Hatching in Annapolis, California
Generally these standardized models are created of fast grown lumber - come the initial decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The initial cozy day indicates the lumber dries out and also fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not due to their frustration at the decrease of their once appealing apartment yet considering that the hovel is currently a place for, as well as most likely crawling with, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 big hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you left with? A few joints and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large room and also the pop hole doorway allows enough for the breed you maintain, after that the major needs of real estate boil down to three points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box access as chickens will also naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries can occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house 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 ahead. Preferably your home needs to have a the very least one nest box for every single 3 birds and also these ought to be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your house. Your home ought to have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every evening, even in the coldest of weather. Realize, ventilation works with the concept of warm air leaving via a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on contrary wall surfaces of your home and at the same level, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still real, but you need to additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a cost-free array bird is (and allow's face it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens at home is perhaps enhanced or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close take a look at some of the deal homes - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, right ventilation and sufficient nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You might think you've got a deal, yet you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and also it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer given the right treatment. In the end your poultry as well as your poultry keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the much better for it.for sale chickens
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