Chicken Coops for Sale in Clearlake Oaks, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Clearlake Oaks, California
Chicken Tractors vs Chicken Coops
A lot of people do not seem to know this but are also chicken houses. The only real difference between the two is that chicken tractors can be moved from place to place and a chicken house is fixed in one place. You can have both if you have the means and the space in your yard, but either will do to house your chicken flock, provided they all fit with plenty of room to move. If you are not too familiar with raising chickens and keeping hens, it wouldn’t be any wonder if you didn’t immediately realise this difference.
A fixed chicken house or chicken coop
Planning ahead
But now knowing that there is a difference between the two, it will be easier for you to plan how you’re going to keep your chickens housed. Especially if you are planning to raise your very own chickens soon, but don’t actually have them yet, you have the chance to look around and see if you can pick up something pre-loved (second hand!) or even modify something to suit your yard space and the number and types of chickens that you’re planning to keep. A purpose built chicken house or chicken tractor will probably suit best, but other types of small to medium animal enclosures could work equally well. It’s all an individual choice, really.
Chicken tractor plans
If you have been searching for different types of chicken tractor plans online, you will have seen a great variety of chicken tractor designs. While most may look similar to each other, there will also be some that have been made with a great deal of creativity. Some of those designs are so pretty that people cannot help but buy them or have them made. Sometimes, people attempt to make chicken tractors themselves too. This may or may not be successful depending on how gifted the individual is in carpentry and handiwork…but, hey, if it keeps the chickens in and safe and dry and warm, and the predators out, does it really matter?
What Are Chicken Tractors For?
All round protection
Depending on how big the tractor is, the chickens are free to roam around the enclosed space with plenty of room to move. This really is beneficial especially if there are some things around your yard area that you would like to protect from your chickens. For instance, if you have some plants that will be destroyed if pecked by chickens, if you have garden mulch in your garden beds (the chickens will rearrange that for you…) or if you have neighbors who keep a vegetable patch and don’t take kindly to your chickens helping themselves.
Largely, though, the chicken tractor is to protect the chickens from the environment as well – they can get through holes in fences and potentially fall foul of dogs, and it’s not unusual for a neighborhood dog to run loose and have a bit of sport with an unsuspecting chicken. Chickens and traffic don’t mix and if you live in a fairly rural area, foxes love a bit of chicken for dinner. If any of these situations sound like you, you can always house your flock in a decent sized chicken tractor so that they can roam happily, but not to the point when they can reach treasured plants or be in danger.
A sustainable approach
One benefit of the chicken tractor as compared to the chicken coop is that it is movable and that you do not need to build a floor for underneath your chickens. This also means that you do not have to exert more effort in maintaining the floors of the chicken house – like cleaning and mending or maintaining. The ground will be the floor and all their droppings will serve as fertilizer. This does not mean though that you can let their tractor stay rooted in just one place. While the area may provide enough entertainment for your chickens for a short while, there will come a time when you would need to move them to another area with fresh ground to peck and to let the original spot recover. The chicken scratchings will also uproot and kill off any grass they live on in a fairly short time, so moving the tractor regularly is the best approach.
Potential health benefits
According to research, chickens that are living in tractors may be able to thrive better than those who are in cages because they have enough access to the outside world and they are not being deprived of their daily needs. While those in cages may also have food and water, there are times when they will not be able to receive enough sunlight. There are also instances when they cannot move properly, if their cage isn’t large enough, which means that they will not be getting enough exercise. A chicken tractor is a great improvement on this.
More Benefits of Chicken Tractors
Other than the obvious benefits already described above, it has been said that chicken tractors will potentially allow hens to make their own nests or areas where they will choose to lay their eggs. But there are certainly advantages to have “manmade” nesting boxes available where hens can lay their eggs. This means that the layout can be designed so that you will be able to gather eggs more easily instead of trying to find the eggs in the various different places where your chickens might have hidden them. (Two guesses where the idea of the Egg Hunt fiasco we go through at Easter Time came from!)
Is it okay if your chickens are pets?
This is not at all unusual to find; there are people who are not just keeping chickens for their eggs, fertilizer or other reasons we won’t mention in their earshot. Plenty of people like to keep backyard chickens because they are simply just great pets – they are not that fussy, not hard to look after and aren’t too messy if your yard isn’t too perfectly manicured.
Once a chicken has come to the end of its egg-laying career, it seems only fair to let it live its life out in peace and health and happiness in it’s own home sweet home! Although some people that have never known the joys being a chicken owner will find it a bit weird, a sweet creature that demands little, appreciates all, takes up little space and gives what it can is a great thing to have around (wouldn’t you agree?).
Your backyard chickens will adapt happily to a chicken tractor or a chicken house equally well. It’s really only a question of what will best suit your needs to be able to live with them in your yard with minimum fuss and maximum practicality.
More from my site
Chicken Coop Used in Clearlake Oaks, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Clearlake Oaks 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 Clearlake Oaks California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Clearlake Oaks, California With the huge rise in chicken keeping there has been a similarly large increase in the variety of poultry stuff on sale. Poultry real estate is an instance in point. It's likewise a classic example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential chicken housing professionals market a variety of cottage claiming to be the perfect option to your chicken housing demands. Typically the cost looks appealing, the house looks appealing, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are many low-cost as well as unpleasant coops swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was only an expensive heap of firewood as well as a small flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Used in Clearlake Oaks, California
More often than not these mass produced models are created of fast grown lumber - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking occupants. The first cozy day suggests the lumber dries out and splits, the really felt roofing bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as attractive apartment yet because the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, as well as most likely abounding, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly fit four huge hens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you left with? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge room and the pop hole door allows enough for the breed you keep, after that the main needs of housing boil down to three points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Most types of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise naturally search for the acme to perch. A perch below 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) leading to soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably the house must have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and these need to be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your house. Your house must have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will accumulate every night, also in the chilliest of weather. Know, air flow works with the principle of warm air leaving via a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your home as well as at the same level, this is what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, however you need to additionally consider the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a complimentary variety bird is (and let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens at home is possibly improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out a few of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, appropriate ventilation and enough nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get just what you pay for". You might assume you've got hold of a bargain, but you as well as your group could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer given the right therapy. In the end your fowl and your poultry maintaining encounter will certainly be a lot the far better for it.chickens plan
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Chino, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Callahan, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Blue Jay, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Annapolis, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Adin, California