Chicken Coops for Sale in Carlyle, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Carlyle, Illinois
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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Chicken Coop Kit For 6 Chickens in Carlyle, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Carlyle 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 Carlyle Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Carlyle, Illinois With the big boost in poultry keeping there has actually been a similarly large rise in the array of chicken paraphernalia for sale. Chicken housing is a case in factor. It's additionally a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various would-be chicken housing specialists market a range of accommodation claiming to be the optimal remedy to your chicken housing demands. Typically the price looks eye-catching, your house looks appealing, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they know a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous inexpensive as well as horrible coops flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed container appeared. The outcome was only a costly stack of firewood and also a little flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop For 4 Chickens in Carlyle, Illinois
Typically these standardized models are built of fast grown lumber - come the very first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't shut, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The initial warm and comfortable day suggests the lumber dries out as well as cracks, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their as soon as attractive home but since the hovel is now a haven for, and also most likely crawling with, the poultry caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add that it said on the blurb that it would certainly suit four big hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you entrusted? A few hinges and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a big area as well as the pop hole doorway allows sufficient for the type you maintain, then the main demands of real estate come down to 3 factors which will specify the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch must be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will additionally naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce one of the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries can happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home ought to have a least one nest box for each three birds and also these must be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your house. Your home ought to have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every night, even in the chilliest of weather. Understand, ventilation works on the principle of cozy air leaving via a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your house and also at the very same degree, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run attached after that the factors above are still real, however you need to also think about the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking density for a free array bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens in the house is potentially improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at some of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, right air flow and ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you get what you spend for". You could assume you've grabbed a deal, but you and your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house as well as it will last for a few years, if not longer provided the correct therapy. Eventually your poultry and also your fowl keeping experience will certainly be considerably the much better for it.chick plan
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