Chicken Coops for Sale in Fowler, Colorado
Chicken Coops for Sale in Fowler, Colorado
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 Run Ideas in Fowler, Colorado
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Fowler Colorado" 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 Fowler Colorado chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Fowler, Colorado With the huge boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been a just as big rise in the variety of fowl paraphernalia for sale. Poultry real estate is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential poultry real estate professionals market a variety of holiday accommodation declaring to be the optimal option to your chicken housing needs. Typically the rate looks desirable, the house looks desirable, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Definitely they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost and also horrible coops swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed bucket showed up. The result was nothing but a costly pile of fire wood and a tiny group of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits Cheap in Fowler, Colorado
Usually these standardized models are created of quick grown up wood - come the first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The initial warm day implies the hardwood dries and also cracks, the really felt roofing bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their when appealing commercial property however because the hovel is currently a haven for, and also possibly abounding, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would match four large chickens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A number of hinges as well as some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a large room as well as the pop opening doorway is big enough for the breed you keep, then the main needs of real estate come down to three points which will specify the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch should be more than the nest box access as chickens will certainly additionally normally try to find the acme to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could happen when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your home they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home must have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of the house. Your home needs to have appropriate air flow: without it then condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of weather. Understand, ventilation deals with the concept of cozy air leaving via a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of openings on opposite wall surfaces of the house and also at the same level, this is what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still true, but you must also consider the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a totally free range bird is (and also let's face it, among the motivations for maintaining some hens in the house is potentially boosted or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the right perches, proper air flow and adequate nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You could think you've got hold of a deal, however you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer provided the proper therapy. In the end your poultry and also your poultry keeping experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.plan chick
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