Chicken Coops for Sale in Louisville, Colorado
Chicken Coops for Sale in Louisville, Colorado
The Chicken Coop Is Done…Enough.
The builder of our chicken coop turned it over to us with just a few final details left to handle: painting, notably, and any sort of facade-bling we wanted to add.
We painted Coop 2.0 gray because that was the only color exterior paint we had on hand (you may recall me saying that exact same thing about Coop 1.0.; it’s the same bucket of paint). We had this idea to build a cute little mock picket fence on the outside. Maybe one day…for now, the coop is done enough.
We based our coop on the design. We customized our coop to make it larger, and changed many of the finish differences, but otherwise took quite a bit from the plans we downloaded.
Want the tour? Okay, here ya go.
The footprint of the coop and run is 8 feet deep and 12 feet wide. It was designed to make maximum use of standard dimension lumber with a minimum of cutting (we figured the size when the plan was still to built it ourselves, and we’re not experts at the precision cutting). The enclosed coop is 8 feet deep and 4 feet wide. This size should fit all the chickens we will ever think of keeping on our suburban lot – 6 hens being our goal.
The height of the coop and run (not including sloped roof) is a little under 7 feet. The top of the coop and run is fully enclosed with hardware cloth (freaking expensive 1/2-inch metal mesh that keeps out rats and raccoons). Above the hardware cloth is a sloped roof made from angle cut 2x12s and translucent corrugated roofing panels.
The coop itself sports a few roosting bar options, and we are collecting nicely sized natural branches, rake handles, and anything else that seems like something the chickens might like, to add additional roosting places in the coop and run area. So far they aren’t complaining.
The girls have a three-compartment nesting box with a highly pitched roof to discourage nesting, and hence pooping, above the eggs. Each compartment is around 12″ x 14″. When we moved them from the brooder to the coop, they all (yes, all six of them) swarmed into a single nesting box. They still seem to enjoy sleeping pig-pile style.
The interior panel of the coop swings completely open and is held up by gas struts our builder pulled off of a Cadillac from the junk yard. Seriously, Caddy hood struts. And yes, we did tip our builder.
The floor of the coop is lined with a piece of vinyl flooring remnant to prevent poop juices from soaking into the OSB floor of the coop. I’ve forgotten which of the Northwest Edible Life Facebook fans recommended this to me, but we thought it was genius. (If you are the brilliant suggester behind this tip, please stand up and take credit!)
The interior door has a window cut-out so we can watch Chicken TV while the girls are in the coop. This was a truly last minute addition to the design but we’re so glad we have it.
The girls have a moderately sloped ramp which they navigate easily.
Because our coop is fully covered and enclosed with hardware cloth, we feel fairly confident about leaving our feed supplies in the coop itself. We store the feed in big food-safe plastic buckets on metal shelving. This has made the daily feeding of the chicks really simple and easy.
So that’s the coop! This chickens seem plenty happy. What do you think?
Chicken Coop Ideas in Louisville, Colorado
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Louisville 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 Louisville Colorado chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Louisville, Colorado With the substantial rise in chicken maintaining there has been an equally big increase in the variety of fowl stuff on sale. Chicken housing is a case in factor. It's likewise a traditional example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous prospective fowl housing specialists market a selection of holiday accommodation declaring to be the perfect remedy to your chicken housing needs. Frequently the price looks appealing, your house looks desirable, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Surely they know a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are many economical as well as unpleasant coops swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only a costly heap of fire wood and also a tiny group of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Run Ideas in Louisville, Colorado
More often than not these mass produced designs are built of quick grown up hardwood - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that won't shut, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The very first warm and comfortable day implies the timber dries out and cracks, the felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their frustration at the decrease of their once appealing residential property but since the hovel is currently a haven for, and probably crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would match four huge chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large space and also the pop opening door is big sufficient for the type you keep, then the primary demands of housing boil down to three factors which will specify the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch should be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also normally search for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce one of the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house should have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and these must be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. Your home needs to have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly develop every night, also in the chilliest of climate. Be aware, ventilation works with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of openings on other walls of your home and at the exact same level, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still true, however you need to also consider the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free range bird is (and let's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is potentially enhanced or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out a few of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, correct air flow and enough nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You may assume you've got hold of a bargain, but you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will last for a few decades, otherwise longer offered the right therapy. In the long run your chicken and your chicken keeping experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.plans plan
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