Chicken Coops for Sale in Fenton, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Fenton, 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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A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Fenton 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 Fenton Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Fenton, Illinois With the significant boost in poultry keeping there has been an equally big surge in the variety of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Poultry real estate is a situation in point. It's likewise a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as different prospective chicken real estate experts pitch an array of cottage asserting to be the suitable remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the cost looks desirable, your house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous affordable and unpleasant coops flooding the market. I know this as I've tested a variety of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive heap of firewood and also a tiny flock of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits For Sale in Fenton, Illinois
Usually these standardized models are constructed of rapid grown lumber - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't shut, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm and comfortable day suggests the lumber dries out as well as cracks, the felt roof covering bubbles as well as 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 since the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and most likely abounding, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would fit four large chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you left with? A number of hinges and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are varying your birds in a large space and also the pop opening doorway allows enough for the breed you maintain, after that the primary requirements of real estate come down to three factors which will specify the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch should be above the nest box entry as chickens will likewise normally seek the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is undoubtedly less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they should be more 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. Ideally your home ought to have a least one nest box for every 3 birds as well as these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your home. Your house must have appropriate ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every night, also in the coldest of climate. Be aware, ventilation works with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of holes on contrary walls of your house and also at the very same degree, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still real, yet you must additionally take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a cost-free variety bird is (and let's encounter it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens in your home is perhaps boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close take a look at some of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the right perches, correct ventilation and enough nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You may believe you've grabbed a bargain, but you and also your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer offered the right therapy. Ultimately your chicken as well as your fowl maintaining experience will be a lot the better for it.build coop
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