Chicken Coops for Sale in Clinton, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Clinton, Illinois
The Small Property Chicken Coop
Raising chickens has been one of the most rewarding activities that we’ve done on our homestead. While we don’t raise them for meat due to the city’s limitations, we reap an abundance of benefits from the eggs and the friendship we get from our girls.
In this next installment of , I’ll be sharing how my husband Todd designed and built Lucy and Ethel’s chicken coop using his ingenuity and minimal square footage on our .18 of an acre.
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, I was so excited to finally be able to raise a couple of my own “girls” to gather eggs from and get to know. I’m an animal lover, and seem to be able to make friends with any animal that will allow me, so I knew that these two sweet little chicks and I would be the best of friends. , and since there were only two of them, there was plenty of space for them to grow.
After moving some things around to set up our ‘barn’ area, Todd got to work on the chicken coop. Being a handy guy, he decided that he could design and build one that would be cheaper than a prefab one, as well as be able to fit where we needed it to on our small property homestead.
He chose to use the back of one of our sheds as the back wall, and another of our sheds as the side wall, which would save us some money on hardware cloth. He framed the rest of the coop and door with 2x4s. He also extended the side of the shed so that it would serve as the left wall of the coop.
This is the shed that is being used as the back wall of the coop. You can see on the right side of the shed where the new section was added for the left wall of the coop.
Todd designed the girls’ coop to be multi-level, rather than sprawling. He used plywood and 2x4s for the levels, and built an access ladder to both. The girls had a hard time not slipping on the sleek wood between the “steps” on the ladder, so I added a few strips of to those sections, which worked beautifully.
Here is a current photo of the two levels (please excuse the “lived in” look, I apparently hadn’t taken photos of the two levels when it was new). This is the top level, where we keep the girls’ nesting boxes. The ladder with the comes up the right side of this level, and it’s easy for the girls to hop up to the top of their nesting boxes, where they like to sleep at night. Todd also built a roost for them, which is actually a few inches offset from the edge of the level so when they poop, most of it falls to the ground.
Here is the second level, where the girls usually eat their evening treats, and where I keep their oyster shell and water (water not pictured). You can see how the ladder passes the second level up to the top level, which makes it easy for the girls to hop to the second level at snack time.
We left the bottom level as dirt, and I have been using the , which has worked out well for the most part. We haven’t had any issues with large rodents, and any mice that dare step foot into the coop are met with two hungry beaks.
Todd lined the front of the coop with 1″ hardware cloth and it has worked very well for us; however, I have heard that if you have issues with raccoons, it’s best to go with 1/2″ hardware cloth.
Another Space Saving Coop Idea
A friend of mine, Nora from , and is based on Todd’s multilevel chicken coop design. Their family has around 8-10 girls, so this brooder was a very good fit for them. It can definitely be built outdoors and used as a space-saving chicken coop for 1-3 chickens, or built indoors to use as a brooder for a larger flock.
As you can see, building a chicken coop to fit your small property needs can be a much better prospect than purchasing a prefab chicken coop. While prefab coops are beautiful and promise ease, tailoring your chicken coop to fit in just the right place on your small property can be more affordable, and in the long run, more convenient for your homestead setup. As long as your chicken coop meets , you can build a chicken coop that meets your homestead’s needed requirements as well, which will make everyone happy!
For more great information on raising chickens, please visit Fresh Eggs Daily’s Ultimate Chicken Care Guide.
What size is your property? Do you use space-saving techniques?
Chicken Coop Yard Ideas in Clinton, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Clinton 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 Clinton Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Clinton, Illinois With the massive increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been an equally large surge in the variety of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is a case in point. It's additionally a traditional example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential poultry housing professionals market a range of cottage claiming to be the ideal option to your chicken real estate needs. Often the cost looks desirable, the house looks appealing, heck also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they recognize a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost and unpleasant cages swamping the market. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was nothing but a pricey heap of fire wood as well as a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits For Sale in Clinton, Illinois
Usually these mass produced designs are constructed of fast grown up hardwood - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't close, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking citizens. The initial warm day suggests the lumber dries as well as cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their when desirable commercial property however considering that the hovel is currently a place for, and also probably abounding, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would fit four big hens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A few joints and some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge space and the pop hole door is big sufficient for the breed you keep, then the major demands of housing come down to 3 points which will certainly define the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also naturally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries can occur when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your home must have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds as well as these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. Your house must have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every night, also in the coldest of weather condition. Be aware, ventilation deals with the principle of cozy air leaving via a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of holes on contrary wall surfaces of the house as well as at the very same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still true, yet you ought to also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping density for a free array bird is (as well as let's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens at home is potentially improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the deal houses - it could well be your home has the best perches, right ventilation and ample nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You could believe you've got a deal, however you and also your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a few decades, otherwise longer offered the right treatment. Ultimately your fowl and your poultry maintaining encounter will certainly be much the better for it.coops build
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