Chicken Coops for Sale in Mendocino, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mendocino, California
How To Set Up Your Chicken Coop
Often when people buy chickens from us they’ve never owned poultry before therefore I usually find myself explaining the basics of operating a healthy and effective coop. As I grew up on a farm much of it is second nature but many city folk are unsure of just whats involved. The easiest and quickest way to get the message across is to take them on a tour of our back section to see how everything in our coop has be arranged.
The important aspects I talk about are:
Feed …
Because chickens grow so fast I use larger feeders as soon as possible. If you are raising them from day one there are feeders available that have been designed to cover the first couple of weeks. After that one on an adjustable rope works well as its just a matter of raising the height from time to time as the chickens grow. To get the best results it needs to be kept high enough to be accessible but not too low as to allow litter and droppings to be scratched into it. As can be seen in the photo above an off cut of PVC down pipe with holes drilled through it works well as a cheap grit feeder. Commercial feeds normally have grit added however I wonder if its sufficient as our hens regularly go through a 2 kilo bag of crushed oyster shell.
Feeding guide …
Day old to 6 -8 weeks … chick starter crumbles. 8 – 14 weeks … pullet grower or similar. 14 weeks onward … regular chook feed. 18 – 20 weeks or just prior to the commencement of laying … oyster shell grit.
Don’t over do the kitchen scraps as the nutritional value from these is fairly low. If they are fed as a substitute for a properly balance diet egg production will suffer.
Water …
Its important to have a plentiful supply of good clean water at all times. Hens don’t drink much at anyone time but they do drink often and even more so during spring and summer when air temperatures increase. I always leave the coop door open when our hens free range as they can get cool water whenever they need it. Hens drinking dirty contaminated water from containers and puddles is a recipe for disease.
If its not clean enough for you to drink you shouldn’t give it to your hens.
As shown above I prefer to used a fixed water container as the hanging versions leak and spill water when knocked. Its easily removed for cleaning and is installed in such a way to prevent debris getting into it.
Perches …
Chickens have a natural instinct to perch therefore it important to provide good sturdy perches. The ones in our coup are about 5cm square and have the sharp edges taken off to make them more chicken friendly. Tree branches of a similar diameter also work well if they are reasonably straight. The perches shown above are approximately 50cm and 80cm above the floor however I set them at lower levels when I first introduce 3 to 4 week old chicks. They should be fixed securely to the coop walls whilst being easily removable for cleaning.
Even when I have day old chicks under lights I provide perches as its a habit that I want them to learn as soon as possible because it makes my job so much easier. There’s no space on my daily to do list for cleaning dirty nesting boxes and eggs. Perch space per bird should be about 20cm.
Without suitable perches hens will perch on what ever is handy namely nesting boxes, feeders and the like or they will crowd into a corner of a coop. The end result will be a hard mound of droppings which will ultimately end up in feathers on claws then into nesting boxes and subsequently onto eggs. Correctly positioned perches eliminates crowding, flighty hens, dirty eggs and ensures your hens will be more relaxed and manageable.
Like all females of the species they need to be pampered. My other half constantly reminds me that I pay more attention to our Flora’s that I do to her. Its not true of course !!
Nesting boxes …
For me keeping hens is all about egg production therefore when we I invested extra time and effort into creating workable nesting boxes.
- One nesting box for every 4 hens, wonder why sometimes as they all seem to lay in the same box.
- Easily accessible for me from the outside.
- Easily accessible for the hens from the inside.
- Removable for easy cleaning.
- Spacious … 40cm height x 40cm width x 40cm depth or thereabouts.
- Weather proof.
- 10cm lip at the front to keep shavings and eggs in.
When introducing young chickens I keep the boxes closed off until near the time when they will start laying. This is to ensure that they use the perches rather than sleeping in and fouling the boxes. As mentioned previously this means only one thing, dirty eggs.
Deep litter …
We use a deep litter system as it makes for easy maintenance and reduces the need to be continually cleaning chicken manure out of the coop. Simply put the floor is covered with a 10cm layer of untreated wood shavings which is raked over every few days. A more detailed explanation of this concept can be .
Access – easy and straight forward …
- Human sized entry, applicable if you need a large coop.
- Removing old litter is almost effortless, especially when I have to work the camera !
- Predator proof entry- exit.
A user friendly coop ensures that keeping hens doesn’t become just another unwanted chore so build or buy wisely.
Chicken Coop Setup in Mendocino, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Mendocino 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 Mendocino California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Mendocino, California With the significant boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly huge rise in the array of chicken stuff for sale. Fowl real estate is a proceedings in factor. It's likewise a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as various would-be chicken housing experts market a variety of accommodation asserting to be the ideal option to your chicken housing needs. Frequently the price looks appealing, your house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap as well as nasty cages swamping the marketplace. I recognize this as I've examined a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container appeared. The outcome was only a costly stack of firewood and a little flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Materials List in Mendocino, California
Generally these standardized designs are built of quick grown lumber - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The initial cozy day implies the hardwood dries out as well as splits, the felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as attractive commercial property however due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, as well as most likely crawling with, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would match four big chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A couple of joints as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room as well as the pop opening doorway is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the primary needs of real estate boil down to three factors which will certainly define the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries might happen when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is undoubtedly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every three birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home should have adequate air flow: without it then condensation will develop every evening, even in the coldest of weather. Realize, air flow works on the concept of warm air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on opposite walls of your home and at the exact same level, this is exactly what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still real, but you need to likewise think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a totally free variety bird is (and also allow's face it, among the motivations for maintaining some hens in the house is possibly boosted or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m made even. Take a close check out some of the deal homes - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, correct air flow as well as enough nest boxes for a practical number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get what you spend for". You might believe you've got a bargain, yet you and your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the proper therapy. Eventually your poultry and your fowl maintaining experience will be considerably the better for it.coops chickens
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