Chicken Coops for Sale in Arlington, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Arlington, Illinois
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 Reviews in Arlington, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Arlington Illinois" 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 Arlington Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Arlington, Illinois With the huge boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been a just as large surge in the variety of poultry stuff on sale. Fowl housing is a situation in point. It's additionally a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as various would-be fowl housing professionals peddle a variety of lodging declaring to be the optimal remedy to your chicken real estate demands. Commonly the price looks eye-catching, your house looks appealing, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap as well as awful cages swamping the market. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed container appeared. The result was just a costly pile of firewood as well as a tiny flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken House in Arlington, Illinois
Typically these mass produced models are constructed of quick grown up hardwood - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The initial warm day indicates the hardwood dries and cracks, the really felt roof bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to enter. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when attractive building yet due to the fact that the hovel is currently a place for, and probably crawling with, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 huge chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large area and also the pop hole doorway allows enough for the type you keep, after that the main demands of real estate come down to three factors which will define the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. The majority of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce one of the most poo) causing soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries can take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is certainly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably the house ought to have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and these need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of the house. Your house should have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of cozy air leaving with a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on opposite walls of your house and also at the exact same degree, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still true, but you should also consider the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free variety bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is potentially improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m settled. Take a close look at several of the bargain residences - it could well be your home has the right perches, proper ventilation and enough 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 spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You may think you've got hold of a deal, yet you as well as your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer offered the right treatment. In the end your fowl and also your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the better for it.build chicken
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