Chicken Coops for Sale in Grand Tower, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Grand Tower, Illinois
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
Why Raise Chickens?
Really, the question you should ask is “Why not raise chickens?” Raising chickens can be a really rewarding experience. These amazing animals eat a small amount of feed a day, and yet produce one egg about every day of the year. (Out of 365 days a year, they lay about 335 eggs.) They take a couple days off here and there, but for the most part they are great layers. Having complete control over the food you feed your family is also really rewarding. Knowing our chickens eat non-GMO, Organic feed, and are allowed to free-range on our acre yard somehow just makes the eggs taste better. There are many benefits to free-ranging your chickens. First of all, they don’t develop diseases because they are out in the fresh air and not living in their poop. Second, they eat a LOT more bugs and let me tell you, you WANT your chickens to eat bugs. Not only does it help keep your bug(& scorpion) population down, it also increases the amount of Omega-3’s per egg. There are just some things that nature does better! The added bonus of letting your chickens eat bugs is that they will eat less of your store-bought feed which helps bring down your overall cost.
FYI, chickens that are locked up in small spaces are SUPER mean to each other. Like cannibal mean. By cannibal, I mean they will literally eat each other. Seriously. They will gang up on the weakest and peck at it incessantly until it dies and then eat it. It’s all Mean Girls up in there, I’m telling you. So, definitely free-range, okay?
How Much does it Cost to keep Chickens
If you buy “regular” chicken feed, it will only cost you about $11.00 for a 50 lb. bag. Pretty good deal, huh? Well, not really. “Regular” feed is chock full of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) which are KNOWN for making chickens sick. Genetically modified organisms are also called Roundup Ready. GMO’s require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides & fungicides. Yum. “Regular” feed is also usually pre-packaged with antibiotics. Wasn’t that nice of the feed company? Gosh, they are so nice to give our chickens anti-biotics after making them sick with GMOs. So thoughtful. When all’s said and done and your chickens stop going diarrhea, it will only cost you 82 cents a dozen. Organic, Non-GMO feed is about $24.00 for a 50 lb. bag but the benefits are amazing. Our feed is full of clean grains, as they should be, with no pesticides in them or on them. We also supplement their diet with dinner table scraps. It costs us about $1.75 a dozen. At the store, you can expect to pay $5.99 a dozen for ORGANIC, FREE-RANGE eggs. A Plan is Hatched (I’m freakin’ hilarious) The chicken coop I’m about to show you is one for FREE-RANGE chickens. This means your chickens should only be in the coop to eat feed, lay eggs, and roost/sleep at night. For the rest of the day they should be allowed in a yard so they can stay nice and healthy. I can’t take full credit for this idea. Okay, I can’t take ANY credit for this idea. Kevin and I were talking about how to get rid of our old crib. We couldn’t really give it away to Goodwill because it has that old school drop side that has totally been recalled now for safety issues. Then Kevin mentioned on how that sliding door would come in handy for a chicken coop. YES! Totally! I’ve been wanting to build a new chicken coop, and this thing was pretty much built for me! Well, I took Kevin’s idea and ran with it. I first drew a picture of how I wanted it to look. Yes, I’m a very visual person. (Lydia said it was the best drawing of a crib she’s EVER seen, so that means it’s pretty dang good.) The crib. Ah, crib you’ve served us well. You’ve kept our sweet little babes safe and sound as they have sweetly slumbered. Well, except for that one time when the drop side malfunctioned and Ethan tumbled out when he was 8 mo. old. But let’s forget about that one issue. You have been a great crib and we’re thankful for all your service. Aaannd now you will be a pooping ground for our chickens, mmkay? Ta-da! Here’s the coop all finished! It was SUPER easy. We lined two sides with chicken wire, two sides with wains coating, slapped a roof on that mutha’ and called it a day. Okay, okay. It took a little longer than that. I had to paint it, which actually takes way more spray paint than you’d think. I was actually embarrassed at how many times I kept underestimating the amount of spray paint I needed. It was becoming a problem, how bad I was at estimating my spray paint needs. I kept going back to the store and I totally felt like the checkout lady was thinking, “Really? MORE spray paint?” And I, feeling stupid for being the worst spray paint estimator ever, imagined yelling, “Yes, it’s for my chickens, OKAY?!!” The drop side comes down just enough to gather eggs and fill the feeder. I totally cut these pieces myself. I also cut the table I was using but we won’t dwell on that. Sorry Kevin! You’re still “not mad”, right??? A chicken coops not a chicken coop ’till you put an actual picture of a chicken on it, right? I thought so. It has a simple roof made of wains coating and trim. Underneath is a simple frame of 1x2s. Did I mention it was simple? Super cute, right? And cheap, which makes the Mr. Husband happy.
P.S. My friend Claire from wrote an excellent guide on (and raising chickens in the winter in general). I highly recommend it!
Do you own chickens? Have you ever thought of raising chickens? You should! And you should totally use your old crib because, well, it’s super cheap and super cool.
Chicken Coop Kits For 6-8 Chickens in Grand Tower, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Grand Tower 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 Grand Tower Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Grand Tower, Illinois With the big increase in chicken keeping there has actually been an equally huge surge in the array of poultry materiel for sale. Fowl housing is an instance in point. It's also a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential poultry real estate professionals market a selection of accommodation declaring to be the optimal remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the rate looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of economical and also nasty coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed pail appeared. The result was only a costly pile of firewood as well as a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Plans Free in Grand Tower, Illinois
Typically these mass produced models are constructed of quick grown up hardwood - come the very first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that will not shut, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking occupants. The very first warm day implies the hardwood dries out and also cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as desirable apartment however because the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and also possibly abounding, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would fit four large hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A number of joints and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a large area and also the pop opening doorway is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the main requirements of housing come down to three points which will certainly define the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will additionally naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the floor 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 types this is obviously much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your house ought to have ample ventilation: without it then condensation will accumulate every night, also in the coldest of climate. Realize, air flow deals with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of openings on contrary walls of your house as well as at the same degree, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still true, however you ought to additionally take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a totally free range bird is (as well as let's face it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens in the house is possibly boosted or far better well-being) 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 right perches, right ventilation and also ample 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 spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get what you spend for". You may assume you've grabbed a deal, yet you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and it will last for a few years, if not longer given the appropriate treatment. In the long run your chicken and also your poultry keeping encounter will certainly be a lot the much better for it.build coop
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