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Chicken Coops for Sale in Graceville, Florida

Chicken Coops for Sale in Graceville, Florida

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 ()

  • - March 22, 2016
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Chicken coops for sale in Graceville Florida 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. Graceville Florida 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-Graceville-FLFinding chicken coops for sale in Graceville Florida 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 Graceville Florida 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 Graceville Florida, 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 Graceville FL

Chicken Coop Blueprints in Graceville, Florida

A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Graceville Florida" 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 Graceville Florida chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Graceville, Florida With the substantial boost in poultry keeping there has been a similarly large increase in the range of chicken stuff on sale. Fowl housing is a situation in factor. It's additionally a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as various potential poultry real estate specialists market a variety of holiday accommodation claiming to be the excellent remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Commonly the cost looks attractive, your house looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of low-cost and also nasty coops swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was nothing but a costly stack of firewood as well as a small flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams. Chickens for sale in Graceville FL

Chicken Coop Build in Graceville, Florida

Generally these mass produced designs are built of fast grown up wood - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that will not close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The very first warm day means the timber dries out and also fractures, the really felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their when attractive commercial property but due to the fact that the hovel is now a haven for, and possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would suit 4 huge chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A number of joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large space and also the pop hole door allows sufficient for the type you keep, after that the main needs of housing come down to three factors which will certainly specify the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly also normally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) causing soiled eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries might happen when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your house they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that keen on 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 house should have appropriate ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Understand, air flow works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high gap attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of holes on opposite wall surfaces of your house and at the same level, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, however you need to also think about the run size. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free range bird is (as well as allow's face it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is perhaps boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the best perches, proper ventilation as well as adequate nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get what you spend for". You may assume you've grabbed a bargain, however you and also your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and it will last for a couple of years, if not longer provided the right treatment. In the end your chicken and also your chicken maintaining experience will be considerably the better for it.
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