Chicken Coops for Sale in Yellow Jacket, Colorado
Chicken Coops for Sale in Yellow Jacket, Colorado
Cleaning the Chicken Coop; Fall Chores
Pallets leaned against Coop act as a wind break in Winter.
One of the chores I like to save for beautiful Fall weather is cleaning out the coop. I know that before I got chickens, I really wanted to see other people’s coops and how exactly they did things. So here is a look at my coop and the regular maintenance I have to do to keep my girls happy.
My coop is basically a chicken tractor made permanent. See how I built my chicken coop . It is only good to protect my egg laying divas during the night. I have to get up in the morning to let them out. Trust me they let me know if I am late. Late is after 8 am, so it is not like they start wailing at 5 o’clock in the morning or anything. They have a kind of wail that they only make when they want out. It is the strangest sound, kind of like a long drawn out moooooom , where are youuuuuuu? You have to hear it to understand.
Shoveling out the “raised bed” that my coop rests on.
To clean out my coop I have get someone to help me lift the coop off of the raised bed it is resting on. I have handles on either end, but it is too heavy for me to lift by myself. Thankfully my strong boys help me. Shoveling out all the old bedding and putting in new wood shavings is not too hard of a task, considering you only have to do it about 3 times per year. I empty out the nest boxes and add new hay to freshen things up. I heard for the first time the other day that it is a good idea to add crushed dried herbs to the nest boxes to make them more appealing to your hens. I tried crushed basil this time. Yes, hens are a constant source of amusement. They always want to lay eggs where everyone else is laying. I just have 2 nest boxes for my 10 hens. I call them nest boxes but they are a little unconventional. One is an old basket, the other is an old drawer. This time of year as we transition into winter the light wanes as the days grow shorter. You will notice your egg production reducing quite a bit. This is why commercial growers put a light on their chickens 24 hours a day; to keep their egg production up. Here at the homestead we try to work with nature instead of against it. That means more kale, less eggs. This is also the time that the rabbits really start producing well. While one thing lessens another takes it’s place. This probably wouldn’t work up north but I lean pallets against the coop to provide a wind break. A lot of people ask me if I need to provide a heat source for my girls when temps fall below freezing. The answer is no. It is important to make sure their water is unfrozen. Other than that chickens really do better in the Winter here than the heat of the Summer.
My hens checking out the new fresh nest box.
After the coop is all cleaned out it is time to add new wood chips. I get what is called a “Country Boy” which is farmer speak for a big packed bag of wood shavings. I get mine from my local feed store in Garland. When I first started chickens I used Fall leaves gathered from the curb. I like the shavings better because the compost turns out better, but oak leaves work out well as chicken bedding too. It is hard to see in the picture but the bottom of the coop against the ground is wire screen(yard cloth) to keep digging critters out.
My hens get very curious about all the changes taking place and come to check it all out. I put the old bedding into a bin and drag it to my compost. Thankfully I don’t have to go too far. I keep my compost in my chicken yard so that my hens can stir my compost and so that they can get the minerals they need to keep their egg shells hard. I put the cracked egg shells in the compost where my hens can gobble them up therefore getting the calcium they need to keep their egg shells firm. I also put other left over kitchen scraps in the compost for them to enjoy. Speaking of compost, a lot of people ask me about mine. Let me just say that trying to heat up a compost pile without manure of some sort is NOT easy. To heat up a compost pile without manure add fresh grass clippings. However right about the time fall leaves are readily abundant, grass clippings are NOT readily available. If you have read my posts at all you are probably sensing a theme; get an animal or a source of manure for your garden. Chickens or rabbits, even worms; your garden will thank you with beautiful veggies.
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Chicken Coop And Run Plans in Yellow Jacket, Colorado
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Yellow Jacket 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 Yellow Jacket Colorado chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Yellow Jacket, Colorado With the massive increase in poultry maintaining there has been a just as big surge in the range of chicken paraphernalia on sale. Fowl real estate is a situation in factor. It's also a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be chicken real estate professionals peddle a range of accommodation declaring to be the excellent remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Typically the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Definitely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are many affordable and also horrible coops flooding the market. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container appeared. The result was nothing but a pricey heap of firewood as well as a small flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Sale in Yellow Jacket, Colorado
Typically these mass produced designs are built of fast grown up wood - come the very first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking occupants. The very first warm day implies the hardwood dries as well as cracks, the really felt roof bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decline of their when eye-catching apartment yet considering that the hovel is currently a haven for, as well as possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 huge chickens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a big area and also the pop opening door is big sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the major demands of real estate come down to 3 factors which will certainly define the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. 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 easily on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will also naturally look for 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 generate one of the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they should be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your house ought to have a least one nest box for every single three birds and these must be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your house. Your home needs to have ample air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly accumulate every night, even in the coldest of climate. Realize, ventilation works with the concept of cozy air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on opposite walls of the house and also at the exact same level, this is just what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still true, yet you need to additionally consider the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a cost-free range bird is (and allow's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in your home is possibly enhanced or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out a few of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the right perches, correct ventilation and also enough nest boxes for a practical number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You could assume you've got hold of a bargain, but you and also your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and also it will last for a few decades, if not longer given the right therapy. In the long run your poultry and your poultry maintaining encounter will certainly be considerably the much better for it.chicken coop
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