Chicken Coops for Sale in Columbia, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Columbia, Illinois
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
I have been helping our friends build a chicken coop so that they can start raising there own hens and producing their own eggs. The week before I helped them build a compost pile so that they could start composting their yard waist on a larger scale, now we move into coop development. After researching different designs and methods for building a coop I decided to go with one that would fit well in the tropics. Much like San Diego, you don’t have to worry about a freeze or the chickens getting to cold, however you do need to be concerned with other natural elements like predators, tropical rain storms, gusty winds and too much heat. Taking this into consideration I designed a coop that would protect the hens from the elements, yet be opened up enough to allow a breeze and shade for the hens to grow in.
Chicken Coop Design
Chicken Coop Plans
The structure of the coop is 4x8x8. It is 4 ft wide by 8ft long and 8ft high at its highest point. The floor of the hen house is three feet off of the ground. There is a thatched roof covering the length of the coop to keep out the rain and sun. The roofs highest point is at 8ft (in the center) dropping down to 6ft on the front side, and 7ft on the back side. This allows for a consistent air flow throughout the coop
Chicken Coop Plans (Side Views)
I designed the coop on paper, worked out the measurements and then we started putting it together after we picked up the supplies. As expected we made a few adjustments as we began to put the coop together to fit the surroundings a little better. One thing that I didn’t keep in mind was the slope that we would be working on, this eventually elevated the ‘run’ side a little more giving the hens an extra 6 inches to play around in.
Chicken Coop Supplies (So Far)
- 3 4×8′ 1/2″ pieces of plywood
- 20 2x4x8′ studs
- 12 2x2x8′ studs
- 1 6x2x8′ stud
- 2 4×8′ roofing sheets
- 1 4×50′ roll of chicken wire
- 1 box 3.5″ screws
- 1 box 2″ screws
- 6 hinges
- 3 latches
- 4 cinder blocks
Chicken Coop Structure
Putting up the Frame
After we picked a location by the mango tree, the first thing that we did was put together the frame. This would be our skeleton if you will, everything else would be built off of the frame. As mentioned before the frame of the structure is 4ft wide by 8ft long. We put 6ft posts on the front side, 7ft posts on the back side, and two 8ft posts on the ends (for the roof). Notice the cinder blocks used to give us a level playing field, not the prettiest look, this is something that we will fix up as we finish the project.
Chicken Coop Construction
Putting Up the Walls
After we got the frame up we started to work on the hen house itself, this is where then hens will go to lay their many eggs in the future. We closed off the floor and the back wall first because these are permanent, no doors or latches needed. In this picture you can see that we also added a few more frame pieces for the roof, this was because of the type of roofing that we decided to go with. You will be able to see why when we finish.
Hen House Layout
Building the Hen House
Once we put in the permanent walls and floor we began building the doors that would allow us access into the hen house for cleaning and feeding. This front door section will open up giving us plenty of room to work around the hen house.
Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes came next on our plans. We decided to do two rows of boxes 4 boxes deep. This gives us a total of 8 nesting boxes. Each box is 12″x12″12″. We started the bottom row 6 inches off of the floor and the next row 12 inches above that. We left a 3″ over hang to give the hens something to climb up to before entering their boxes. We also put a 4.5 inch lip on the front of the boxes making the entrance to the boxes 7.5″x12″. We did this to give the hens more protection and less room to move around. This should prevent them or the other hens from eating their eggs once they began producing.
Entrance for Eggs
Behind the nesting boxes, on the outside of the hen house we installed two barn style doors to give us easy access to all of the boxes, thus giving us easy access to the eggs down the road. This will also make it easier for cleaning an maintenance when the time comes.
Hen House Entrance
Hen House Entrance
This last image is of the entrance into the hen house, this was the last thing that we finished up to this point. We still have the roof, chicken wire enclosure and last minute adjustments. As you can see the Tropical Chicken Coop is coming along just fine. We are almost there but not quite yet. Once we get some more time to work on it we should be able to wrap up this project and move the hens in. Eggs are on their way!
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Chicken Coop Sale in Columbia, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Columbia 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 Columbia Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Columbia, Illinois With the huge rise in chicken keeping there has actually been a just as large surge in the variety of fowl materiel for sale. Fowl real estate is a case in point. It's also a classic instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various potential fowl real estate specialists peddle a range of accommodation claiming to be the perfect remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Often the price looks desirable, the house looks appealing, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they recognize a professional chicken house when they see one? There are many low-cost and nasty cages flooding the market. I know this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The result was just a costly heap of firewood and a little flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Pallets in Columbia, Illinois
Generally these mass produced models are built of fast grown wood - come the very first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking citizens. The first warm day implies the hardwood dries and also splits, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their when appealing property yet due to the fact that the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, as well as possibly abounding, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it claimed 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 just what are you entrusted? A few joints and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are varying your birds in a large area as well as the pop opening door is big enough for the type you maintain, after that the primary needs of real estate come down to 3 factors which will certainly define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. Most breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally naturally seek the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they create the most poo) bring about stained eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries might take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they should be more 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 your house must have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your house should have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation works with the principle of cozy air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of the house as well as at the same degree, this is exactly what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, but you should additionally consider the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a cost-free range bird is (and also let's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in the house is potentially improved or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at some of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the best perches, proper air flow and ample nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You may assume you've grabbed a bargain, but you as well as your group could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer provided the correct therapy. In the end your chicken and your poultry maintaining encounter will certainly be much the far better for it.chicken plans
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