Chicken Coops for Sale in Escondido, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Escondido, California
Metal Siding on Chicken Coops
My chicken coops have always had metal roofs, and now I’m trying out metal siding, on the grounds that I want anything I build to last 20 years without maintenance, and the exterior plywood I’ve been using doesn’t deliver that.
[Update: Seven years after writing this blog post, the corrugated metal walls are holding up well. Seven years is long enough for plywood walls to start falling to pieces, but the metal walls are holding up well, with only a bit of rust here and there.]
One of my old pasture houses, with a 15-year-old metal roof and 7-year-old metal siding.
Does Metal Promote Condensation and Wetness?
People will tell you that metal siding sweats, because of condensation. This is true if the inside of the house is warmer than the outside, since moisture from the warm house will condense on the cold walls and ceiling. But it’s not about metal vs. wood, since condensation forms on any kind of roof or wall, no matter what it’s made of. In marginal cases, it’s more visible on metal because it’s 100% non-absorbent.
A Fresh-Air House is a Dry House
But you can dodge the problem with a fresh-air poultry house. If you add enough ventilation, the inside of the house is just as cold as the outside, and you get no condensation. My metal roofs don’t have condensation unless there’s snow on the roof and temperatures are above freezing. The rest of the time, my highly ventilated houses have dry ceilings and walls.
Fresh-Air Poultry Houses, by Prince T. Woods. Reprinted by me!
This is one of the main points of , the chicken-coop book I’ve republished (check out the if you haven’t already). It focuses on the advantage of well-ventilated houses, a concept that still needs to be repeated constantly today. You won’t read anything about metal walls or roofs in this book, since it predates their use, but it’s a treasure trove in other ways.
You can also prevent condensation with insulation, but I don’t do that.
Can you really prevent damp chicken houses through ventilation alone? Well, it works for me, and I live in Oregon, which has a famously wet climate!
Installing Corrugated Sheet Metal Walls
Back to the construction project. In keeping with my other rule of construction (never use a saw when you can buy stuff that’s already the right size), I ignored my existing stock of 10-foot metal roofing and obtained some cheap 8-foot corrugated roofing from Home Depot. My chicken houses are 8×8 feet.
Karen and I banged these sheets onto a couple of sides of a chicken house where the old OSB siding was falling to pieces. We used roofing screws. These are hex drive screws with neoprene washers. We used to use roofing nails, but they pull loose too easily and we hate having roofing panels flapping loose in the breeze! And using power tools instead of a hammer keeps my shoulders and back from seizing up. I bang the screw in a short way with a hammer, then drive it home with a cordless drill.
I’m told that roofing screws have three times the holding power of nails.
These panels went on very quickly, and if they ever rust through (which they will, at the bottom edges anyway, if I allow chicken manure to pile up against them), I can take the screws out and replace them just as easily.
So far, so good. The shiny metal really brightens up the interior of the chicken house, and because it’s non-porous, it provides no place for roost mites to accumulate.
Cheap Roofing is Good Enough
Plain old “ripple metal” (corrugated steel) is less rigid than V-channel roofing, but it’s proven to be stiff enough, even for a house that gets dragged around behind a tractor, which can put all sorts of stresses on it, especially if it gets hung up on holes and bumps along the way. So far, so good. That means that, so far, the cheapest possible corrugated metal has been perfectly adequate.
Watch out for translucent corrugated fiberglass. In my experience, it’s not very strong and becomes increasingly brittle over time. I’m sure it has its uses, but don’t think of it as being structural in the way that plywood and corrugated steel are.
You Don’t Have to Settle for Ugly
Of course, you can build a much prettier house with metal roofing with baked-enamel finishes in designer colors, and you should probably do this if you don’t want a silver house, since it’s hard to get paint to stick to galvanized steel. While I’m always looking for the cheapest, longest-lasting, easiest-to-build designs, there are plenty of other ways of approaching the problem of chicken-coop design.
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Chicken Coop Blueprints in Escondido, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Escondido 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 Escondido California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Escondido, California With the huge boost in poultry keeping there has been an equally huge rise in the array of chicken stuff on sale. Chicken real estate is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential poultry housing specialists pitch an array of accommodation asserting to be the ideal remedy to your chicken housing needs. Commonly the price looks appealing, the house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Surely they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous economical and also horrible coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail appeared. The result was nothing but a pricey heap of fire wood and a tiny flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Run Plans in Escondido, California
Typically these mass produced models are built of quick grown lumber - come the initial decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The very first warm and comfortable day implies the wood dries out and fractures, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as appealing building but considering that the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, as well as probably crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 huge chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge space and also the pop hole door allows sufficient for the breed you keep, then the major demands of real estate come down to 3 factors which will specify the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise normally seek the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce one of the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries might take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your home they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house must have a least one nest box for each three birds and also these need to be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your house. Your house must have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every evening, even in the chilliest of weather. Know, ventilation works on the principle of cozy air leaving through a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a set of holes on other wall surfaces of the house and also at the exact same level, this is just what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still real, but you should likewise think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a cost-free variety bird is (and let's face it, among the motivations for maintaining some hens in the house is potentially improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close take a look at a few of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the best perches, correct ventilation and also sufficient nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get just what you spend for". You could believe you've grabbed a deal, however you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the right therapy. In the end your chicken and also your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the much better for it.plan build
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