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Chicken Coops for Sale in North Franklin, Connecticut

Chicken Coops for Sale in North Franklin, Connecticut

Our Finished Chicken Coop

These past few days had us outside enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the jobs I crossed off the list was to clean out our new chicken coop.

Because of our over the past year or so, our family was going through several dozen eggs a week. (I can’t help it – I’m hooked on !)

So last summer we quit “planning” to get our own chickens, and actually did it. The whole family pitched in to build a little abode for our egg-laying beauties. And because we were first-time chicken owners and newbies in all chicken-related topics, we joined and gleaned months worth of ideas, do’s and don’ts, and building plans. (I can’t recommend this site highly enough! If you have the slightest inclination of doing chicken anything, go here and read to your heart’s content.)

It was so helpful to see photos and designs when we were in the planning stages, I thought I’d share pictures of our coop and the hows and whys of what we did.

The chicken coop

Instead of starting from scratch, we bought a small granary from my brother-in-law; about 9’x7′ inside measurements. This gave us about 3 sq. ft. per bird. The coop is nothing fancy really. It isn’t visible from the road and we don’t live in town with neighbors to care about the view from their back window, so we used as much scrap material as possible. Plus we didn’t think the chickens would mind.

So far they haven’t rebelled.

We re-tinned the roof (that’s my honey!) and I got to use the saw sawl to make holes for the windows and vents. You can call me Mrs. Handyman. . .

Inside the chicken coop

Framing the windows and vents was the most time consuming part since the building wasn’t square. We used insulation and vapor barrier for the walls for added moisture protection and warmth because the windchill can get -40 below or more in the winter.

We made the roosting boards parallel and the same height because apparently hens will act like old biddies and fight for the top most board. (Some people’s kids. . .)

We rounded the edges of the roosting boards so it’s easier on the hens’ feet. The boards can be removed for ease of cleaning the poop boards underneath.

Poop boards seemed quite popular among chicken peoples and we’ve quickly learned why. First, chickens poop more when roosting, so the roosting boards are placed above the poop board. This makes clean up as simple as buying a wide sheetrock mudding tool and scraping the droppings into a bucket each day. We then add the droppings to our compost pile.

We originally built a rollaway community nesting box directly underneath the poop board, but the chickens ended up laying eggs everywhere but there. Eventually we added a ‘normal’ set of 12″x12″x12″ nesting boxes and they’re happy campers again.

We decided to use the deep litter method. We spread a bag of wood chips on the floor and because the hens leave most of their droppings on the poop boards, there’s minimal waste on the floor. The chickens like to scratch and fluff the wood chips so it gets stirred up and aerated. This means the coop is less smelly, and there’s only a few minutes of daily cleaning of the boards. If needed, you can add more wood chips throughout the year.

We clean the coop out fully in the spring and fall. So far it’s worked wonderfully.

We nailed a board across the doorway to prevent the rising litter from falling out every time we opened the door.

The feeders are gravity fed. They’re made of PVC pipe with a 90 degree corner and a cap at the end. We like that we can leave for several days at a time and don’t have to worry about having someone come out to do chicken chores for us.

This water stand was Travis’s idea. The hens have a platform to stand on so no matter how high the litter gets, they can reach the water comfortably.

The chicken nipples underneath are another idea shared by BYC that I LOVE. The water doesn’t drip, there is no poop or mud to worry about, and our full grown hens figured it out within 24 hrs. The pails are covered with lids to prevent the water from getting dirty and it lasts for at least a week (we add apple cider vinegar).

When we’re home, we clean them out and give them fresh water every few days.

There’s electricity on the wall above the waterers with a timed light switch. We use bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing during the winter. We had to add the slanted plywood because the hens were roosting on the pails. (I told you they fought for highest roosting privileges.)

The pop door is a simple design, and it works great. It slides up and down, held in by L shaped boards.

When in the closed position, the hook and eye on the right prevent racoons (or children!) from trying to lift the door from the outside.

We used 1/2″ x 1/2″ hardware cloth to cover the insides of the windows and vents. . .

. . .and plexiglass for the actual windows.

We made sure to have plenty of vents (thanks to sage advice from Pat’s Ventilation Page) and used eyes and rope to open and close them at different heights.

Finally, we added a small lean-to to the side so the hens could come out in the winter. This helps block snow drifts right in front of the pop door, and they can still come out for fresh air and sunshine when they get cabin fever.

It might not win a beauty contest – but there’s something to be said for function-ability  Hope this gave you some ideas!

What have you done to your chicken coop? We’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!

 

 

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I’m Paula - like many of you I wear a lot of hats. Child of God, wife of 19 years, mother of 5 earthly children (and another on the way), reluctant cook, chocolate-snatcher, and health and fitness coach at . Various family health issues including Lyme disease and candida has turned me into a 'researcher' with a passion for understanding how our God-created bodies thrive or deteriorate based on what we put in it.

Latest posts by Paula ()

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Chicken coops for sale in North Franklin Connecticut can be found in agricultural newspapers and community newspapers. The coops are designed for housing for chickens in a safe and secure environment. They generally consist of a small building or large box that is then sectioned off to smaller boxes where the chickens go to roost (or sleep). Chicken coops are a must for raising chickens. North Franklin Connecticut chicken coops are commonly constructed from wood products. They are not very stable buildings and provide only minimal protection from the elements. Now chicken houses used for large production facilities are a entirely different structure, they are huge and can hold up to 10000 chickens. The coops are typically used for backyard operations, or small family farms. They vary in size depending on the number of residents they house. chicken-coops-in-North Franklin-CTFinding chicken coops for sale in North Franklin Connecticut is probably not one of the easiest of items to find. There are manufacturers of chicken houses and coops that sell them out right and North Franklin Connecticut farm supply stores that they can also be purchased through, but generally speaking it will take some effort to find a chicken coop for sale in North Franklin Connecticut, especially if your location is not a typically rural location. In rural locations that are much more abundant and easily had. Chicken Coops for sale in North Franklin CT

Chicken Coop Plans Pdf in North Franklin, Connecticut

A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in North Franklin Connecticut" 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 North Franklin Connecticut chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in North Franklin, Connecticut With the substantial increase in chicken maintaining there has been a just as huge surge in the variety of fowl paraphernalia for sale. Chicken real estate is an instance in point. It's also a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being got on as different prospective poultry real estate specialists market a range of holiday accommodation claiming to be the excellent solution to your chicken housing requirements. Frequently the price looks desirable, the house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost as well as horrible cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed container appeared. The outcome was only a pricey heap of fire wood and a small flock of bemused and now homeless bantams. Chickens for sale in North Franklin CT

Chicken Coop And Run in North Franklin, Connecticut

Typically these mass produced designs are created of quick grown up timber - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not close, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The initial warm day indicates the timber dries and also splits, the felt roof covering bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their once eye-catching residential property however due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also probably abounding, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 huge chickens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you left with? A number of hinges and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds should 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 huge room as well as the pop hole door allows enough for the type you keep, after that the major requirements of real estate come down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise normally look for the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) leading to stained eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is clearly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home 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 in front. Preferably the house should have a the very least one nest box for each three birds and also these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your house ought to have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, even in the chilliest of weather. Realize, air flow works with the principle of warm air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of holes on other wall surfaces of the house and at the same level, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still true, but you ought to likewise think about the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a cost-free variety bird is (and also allow's encounter it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens at home is potentially enhanced or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the right perches, right air flow and ample nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you get what you spend for". You might assume you've got hold of a deal, yet you and your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house as well as it will last for a few years, otherwise longer given the right treatment. In the end your poultry and your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be a lot the much better for it.
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