Chicken Coops for Sale in Mount Wilson, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mount Wilson, 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!
shared with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Related Posts
Latest posts by Paula ()
- - March 22, 2016
- - January 28, 2016
- - January 22, 2016
Chicken Coop Run in Mount Wilson, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Mount Wilson 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 Mount Wilson California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Mount Wilson, California With the huge boost in chicken keeping there has been an equally big surge in the range of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Fowl real estate is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various prospective fowl real estate specialists peddle a selection of lodging declaring to be the perfect remedy to your chicken housing needs. Usually the price looks eye-catching, your house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they recognize a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are many affordable and awful cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a variety of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was just a costly pile of fire wood and a tiny group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Plans Pdf in Mount Wilson, California
Most of the time these standardized designs are constructed of rapid grown timber - come the initial decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't close, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm day suggests the wood dries out as well as splits, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their as soon as attractive property however due to the fact that the hovel is now a place for, and also possibly abounding, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add that it said on the blurb that it would suit four large chickens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you left with? A couple of joints as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a big space and the pop hole door is big enough for the type you maintain, then the main requirements of real estate boil down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box access as chickens will also naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce one of the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is undoubtedly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your house they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house needs to have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds and these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your home must have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every evening, also in the chilliest of climate. Know, ventilation deals with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of your home and at the very same degree, this is what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still true, but you need to additionally think about the run size. The EU maximum lawful stocking thickness for a cost-free array bird is (and allow's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens in the house is potentially boosted or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close consider some of the deal houses - it could well be the house has the right perches, correct ventilation and sufficient nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You might assume you've got hold of a deal, yet you and also your group could rue the day you did. Purchase the right house as well as it will last for a few years, otherwise longer given the correct treatment. Ultimately your chicken and also your fowl keeping encounter will be a lot the far better for it.coop coops
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Kentfield, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Downey, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Azusa, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mendocino, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Guerneville, California