Chicken Coops for Sale in Occidental, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Occidental, California
The Small Property Chicken Coop
Raising chickens has been one of the most rewarding activities that we’ve done on our homestead. While we don’t raise them for meat due to the city’s limitations, we reap an abundance of benefits from the eggs and the friendship we get from our girls.
In this next installment of , I’ll be sharing how my husband Todd designed and built Lucy and Ethel’s chicken coop using his ingenuity and minimal square footage on our .18 of an acre.
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, I was so excited to finally be able to raise a couple of my own “girls” to gather eggs from and get to know. I’m an animal lover, and seem to be able to make friends with any animal that will allow me, so I knew that these two sweet little chicks and I would be the best of friends. , and since there were only two of them, there was plenty of space for them to grow.
After moving some things around to set up our ‘barn’ area, Todd got to work on the chicken coop. Being a handy guy, he decided that he could design and build one that would be cheaper than a prefab one, as well as be able to fit where we needed it to on our small property homestead.
He chose to use the back of one of our sheds as the back wall, and another of our sheds as the side wall, which would save us some money on hardware cloth. He framed the rest of the coop and door with 2x4s. He also extended the side of the shed so that it would serve as the left wall of the coop.
This is the shed that is being used as the back wall of the coop. You can see on the right side of the shed where the new section was added for the left wall of the coop.
Todd designed the girls’ coop to be multi-level, rather than sprawling. He used plywood and 2x4s for the levels, and built an access ladder to both. The girls had a hard time not slipping on the sleek wood between the “steps” on the ladder, so I added a few strips of to those sections, which worked beautifully.
Here is a current photo of the two levels (please excuse the “lived in” look, I apparently hadn’t taken photos of the two levels when it was new). This is the top level, where we keep the girls’ nesting boxes. The ladder with the comes up the right side of this level, and it’s easy for the girls to hop up to the top of their nesting boxes, where they like to sleep at night. Todd also built a roost for them, which is actually a few inches offset from the edge of the level so when they poop, most of it falls to the ground.
Here is the second level, where the girls usually eat their evening treats, and where I keep their oyster shell and water (water not pictured). You can see how the ladder passes the second level up to the top level, which makes it easy for the girls to hop to the second level at snack time.
We left the bottom level as dirt, and I have been using the , which has worked out well for the most part. We haven’t had any issues with large rodents, and any mice that dare step foot into the coop are met with two hungry beaks.
Todd lined the front of the coop with 1″ hardware cloth and it has worked very well for us; however, I have heard that if you have issues with raccoons, it’s best to go with 1/2″ hardware cloth.
Another Space Saving Coop Idea
A friend of mine, Nora from , and is based on Todd’s multilevel chicken coop design. Their family has around 8-10 girls, so this brooder was a very good fit for them. It can definitely be built outdoors and used as a space-saving chicken coop for 1-3 chickens, or built indoors to use as a brooder for a larger flock.
As you can see, building a chicken coop to fit your small property needs can be a much better prospect than purchasing a prefab chicken coop. While prefab coops are beautiful and promise ease, tailoring your chicken coop to fit in just the right place on your small property can be more affordable, and in the long run, more convenient for your homestead setup. As long as your chicken coop meets , you can build a chicken coop that meets your homestead’s needed requirements as well, which will make everyone happy!
For more great information on raising chickens, please visit Fresh Eggs Daily’s Ultimate Chicken Care Guide.
What size is your property? Do you use space-saving techniques?
Chicken Coop Tips in Occidental, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Occidental 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 Occidental California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Occidental, California With the massive rise in chicken keeping there has been an equally big rise in the range of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Fowl real estate is a situation in factor. It's also a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as different would-be poultry housing specialists market a selection of accommodation declaring to be the excellent solution to your chicken housing demands. Commonly the cost looks desirable, your house looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they recognize a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several inexpensive as well as nasty coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive stack of fire wood as well as a tiny flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop On Wheels Designs in Occidental, California
Generally these mass produced designs are constructed of fast grown up wood - come the initial drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't close, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking residents. The first warm day implies the timber dries out as well as splits, the really felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as eye-catching building yet since the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and also possibly abounding, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly match four large hens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A number of hinges and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a big area and also the pop hole door is big enough for the breed you maintain, after that the main demands of real estate boil down to three points which will certainly specify the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. Most breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally normally search for the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) causing stained eggs the following day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they ought 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 your house needs to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your house. Your house needs to have ample air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, even in the coldest of weather. Know, ventilation works on the concept of warm air leaving through a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of holes on opposite walls of your house as well as at the same degree, this is exactly what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still real, yet you need to also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a totally free variety bird is (and allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in the house is potentially improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the bargain houses - it could well be your home has the best perches, correct ventilation and ample nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You may think you've got a deal, but you as well as your group could rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the appropriate therapy. Ultimately your fowl and also your chicken keeping experience will be much the better for it.plan coops
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