Chicken Coops for Sale in Minturn, Colorado
Chicken Coops for Sale in Minturn, Colorado
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
I have been helping our friends build a chicken coop so that they can start raising there own hens and producing their own eggs. The week before I helped them build a compost pile so that they could start composting their yard waist on a larger scale, now we move into coop development. After researching different designs and methods for building a coop I decided to go with one that would fit well in the tropics. Much like San Diego, you don’t have to worry about a freeze or the chickens getting to cold, however you do need to be concerned with other natural elements like predators, tropical rain storms, gusty winds and too much heat. Taking this into consideration I designed a coop that would protect the hens from the elements, yet be opened up enough to allow a breeze and shade for the hens to grow in.
Chicken Coop Design
Chicken Coop Plans
The structure of the coop is 4x8x8. It is 4 ft wide by 8ft long and 8ft high at its highest point. The floor of the hen house is three feet off of the ground. There is a thatched roof covering the length of the coop to keep out the rain and sun. The roofs highest point is at 8ft (in the center) dropping down to 6ft on the front side, and 7ft on the back side. This allows for a consistent air flow throughout the coop
Chicken Coop Plans (Side Views)
I designed the coop on paper, worked out the measurements and then we started putting it together after we picked up the supplies. As expected we made a few adjustments as we began to put the coop together to fit the surroundings a little better. One thing that I didn’t keep in mind was the slope that we would be working on, this eventually elevated the ‘run’ side a little more giving the hens an extra 6 inches to play around in.
Chicken Coop Supplies (So Far)
- 3 4×8′ 1/2″ pieces of plywood
- 20 2x4x8′ studs
- 12 2x2x8′ studs
- 1 6x2x8′ stud
- 2 4×8′ roofing sheets
- 1 4×50′ roll of chicken wire
- 1 box 3.5″ screws
- 1 box 2″ screws
- 6 hinges
- 3 latches
- 4 cinder blocks
Chicken Coop Structure
Putting up the Frame
After we picked a location by the mango tree, the first thing that we did was put together the frame. This would be our skeleton if you will, everything else would be built off of the frame. As mentioned before the frame of the structure is 4ft wide by 8ft long. We put 6ft posts on the front side, 7ft posts on the back side, and two 8ft posts on the ends (for the roof). Notice the cinder blocks used to give us a level playing field, not the prettiest look, this is something that we will fix up as we finish the project.
Chicken Coop Construction
Putting Up the Walls
After we got the frame up we started to work on the hen house itself, this is where then hens will go to lay their many eggs in the future. We closed off the floor and the back wall first because these are permanent, no doors or latches needed. In this picture you can see that we also added a few more frame pieces for the roof, this was because of the type of roofing that we decided to go with. You will be able to see why when we finish.
Hen House Layout
Building the Hen House
Once we put in the permanent walls and floor we began building the doors that would allow us access into the hen house for cleaning and feeding. This front door section will open up giving us plenty of room to work around the hen house.
Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes came next on our plans. We decided to do two rows of boxes 4 boxes deep. This gives us a total of 8 nesting boxes. Each box is 12″x12″12″. We started the bottom row 6 inches off of the floor and the next row 12 inches above that. We left a 3″ over hang to give the hens something to climb up to before entering their boxes. We also put a 4.5 inch lip on the front of the boxes making the entrance to the boxes 7.5″x12″. We did this to give the hens more protection and less room to move around. This should prevent them or the other hens from eating their eggs once they began producing.
Entrance for Eggs
Behind the nesting boxes, on the outside of the hen house we installed two barn style doors to give us easy access to all of the boxes, thus giving us easy access to the eggs down the road. This will also make it easier for cleaning an maintenance when the time comes.
Hen House Entrance
Hen House Entrance
This last image is of the entrance into the hen house, this was the last thing that we finished up to this point. We still have the roof, chicken wire enclosure and last minute adjustments. As you can see the Tropical Chicken Coop is coming along just fine. We are almost there but not quite yet. Once we get some more time to work on it we should be able to wrap up this project and move the hens in. Eggs are on their way!
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Chicken Coop Materials List in Minturn, Colorado
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Minturn 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 Minturn Colorado chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Minturn, Colorado With the substantial boost in poultry keeping there has been an equally huge surge in the range of poultry stuff on sale. Poultry real estate is a proceedings in point. It's also a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as various would-be poultry real estate experts peddle a range of accommodation asserting to be the suitable remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Typically the cost looks attractive, the house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Definitely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap and also unpleasant coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive stack of fire wood and also a small group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chicks Hatching in Minturn, Colorado
Usually these mass produced versions are constructed of fast grown wood - come the initial decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a door that won't shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The first warm day indicates the lumber dries and cracks, the felt roof bubbles and 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 when desirable building however considering that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and probably abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit four huge hens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A couple of joints and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a large area and the pop hole door allows sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the main requirements of real estate come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entry as chickens will also normally search for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your home must have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and these ought to be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. The house ought to have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will build up every evening, even in the coldest of weather. Realize, ventilation deals with the principle of cozy air leaving via a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on other wall surfaces of the house as well as at the exact same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still real, however you should also think about the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free range bird is (as well as allow's face it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is possibly improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at a few of the deal houses - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, correct air flow and ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You might think you've grabbed a bargain, however you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer offered the right treatment. Eventually your poultry as well as your chicken maintaining encounter will certainly be considerably the far better for it.plan diy
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