Chicken Coops for Sale in Haines City, Florida
Chicken Coops for Sale in Haines City, Florida
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Baby Yellow Chick For Sale in Haines City, Florida
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Haines City 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 Haines City Florida chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Haines City, Florida With the significant boost in chicken maintaining there has been a similarly large increase in the variety of fowl stuff on sale. Fowl housing is an instance in point. It's additionally a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as various prospective poultry housing professionals peddle a selection of cottage claiming to be the perfect solution to your chicken housing demands. Frequently the rate looks desirable, the house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many affordable and also unpleasant coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've examined a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was nothing but an expensive pile of firewood and a small group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Hut in Haines City, Florida
Usually these mass produced versions are constructed of fast grown up lumber - come the initial decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that won't shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The initial cozy day implies the hardwood dries and cracks, the really felt roof bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their as soon as desirable commercial property yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a haven for, and most likely crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly fit four large hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A couple of joints and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a huge room and the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the main requirements of real estate come down to three points which will certainly specify the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly likewise naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce one of the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries can occur when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they ought to be greater 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 in front. Ideally the house must have a least one nest box for each three birds and also these need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of the house. The house must have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, ventilation works with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your house as well as 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, however you need to additionally consider the run size. The EU optimum lawful stocking density for a totally free array bird is (and let's encounter it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is potentially improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per 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 ideal perches, right ventilation as well as enough nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You may believe you've got a bargain, yet you as well as your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer offered the appropriate therapy. In the end your chicken as well as your chicken maintaining encounter will be a lot the much better for it.chickens coops
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