Chicken Coops for Sale in Matherville, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Matherville, Illinois
Chicken Coop Rehab Addict
Do you watch Rehab Addict on the DIY channel? It’s a show about a young woman who rehabilitates old homes to their former glory. Except for the fact that she is young, tiny, cute, and rehabs houses, we are like twins! I am old, not tiny nor cute, and I am addicted to rehabbing chicken coops. Other than that, twins.
I have been rebuilding, redesigning, reconfiguring, repurposing, redecorating, and rehabilitating chicken coops since before I got chickens. It seems like I never quite get it right. There is always something that doesn’t work at all or could be improved upon. So I tinker.
The coops we bought when we moved to this property, although well built, were a complete miss-step. We ended up closing in the fronts, insulating them, and adding ventilation out the backs. I thought they were working well until the chickens decided that the nest boxes were much more comfortable for sleeping than the roosts. I won’t even go into the problems that caused. I had to close off the nest boxes in a couple of coops, forcing the hens to lay eggs on the floor, which created a whole new set of problems.
So, it was back to the drawing board. I knew that once I got them back up on the roosts at night, they would most likely stay there. With the exception of silkies, all my chicken breeds have preferred roosting, the higher the better. The nest box squatters are mostly juveniles and some old lazy girls. The problem with yanking them out of the nest boxes and putting them on the roosts at night, is that my roosts ran side to side. There were 2 to 3 roosts in each coop. My roosts are not attached to the coop walls, rather they are supported by these 2×4 hangers. The boards can be lifted out for coop cleaning and egg collection.
Because my coops had open fronts, we were not able to install the roosts front to back so we had to put them side to side.
That means we could not walk inside the coops without taking the roosts down. Michael could squeeze under, but my old body doesn’t bend that way.
Then we decided to insulate the coops and close in the fronts for temperature control and noise abatement. Now I had a solid wood surface to attach my hangers and roosts! I could deal with the problem of non-roosting birds!
I can walk in, yank them out of the nest boxes and put them on a roost!
Here is Judge Judy inspecting my work on Coop#3, our largest coop. She is one nosy girl for sure!
The first night was a bit chaotic. Some of the birds were too afraid go inside, choosing to roost on the plumbing, outside in the cold. They were swiftly scooped up and put inside, on a roost.
Some chose to sleep on the floor. I put them on roosts as well.
Some got yanked out of nest boxes and put on roosts.
Today we finished retrofitting the final two coops. Of the 53 chickens who inhabit five coops, 10 were not on roosts tonight. I got everybody in the right place quite easily. I love finally having the roosts running the direction that makes it more convenient for us! We also gained several additional feet of roosting space. Note to self: This doesn’t mean getting more chickens.
With the roosts moved, I now had to figure out where to put the feeders to keep them from getting pooped on. With the fronts closed the feeders now fit perfectly on a hook on the inside of the doors! When the doors are closed they are the right height for the chickens to reach. They are also easier to fill now. I don’t have to climb in the coops with buckets of feed.
So, the moral of the story is, keep working on your chicken coop until you get it right. Oh, I just noticed how sloppy the inside of that door looks. Maybe we should paint the insides of the coops and hang curtains?
It’s what Nicole would do if she had chickens.
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Chicken Coop Building Plans in Matherville, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Matherville 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 Matherville Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Matherville, Illinois With the huge increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been a similarly huge surge in the variety of poultry stuff for sale. Fowl real estate is a proceedings in factor. It's also a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various would-be chicken housing professionals market a selection of holiday accommodation asserting to be the perfect option to your chicken housing needs. Usually the price looks eye-catching, your house looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Undoubtedly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of inexpensive and also awful coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed container appeared. The result was only a pricey stack of firewood and also a small group of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Building Plans in Matherville, Illinois
Usually these mass produced versions are built of quick grown hardwood - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't shut, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking occupants. The first warm and comfortable day means the lumber dries out and cracks, the felt roof bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decline of their once attractive home yet considering that the hovel is now a place for, and also probably crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would match four large chickens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A few hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are varying your birds in a big space as well as the pop hole doorway allows sufficient for the breed you keep, after that the major demands of housing come down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch must be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally naturally look for the acme 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 soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries could occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in the house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your home needs to have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and also these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your house. Your home must have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every night, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of warm air leaving with a high gap attracting cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on other wall surfaces of the house and also at the exact same level, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still real, however you ought to likewise consider the run dimension. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a cost-free range bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in your home is potentially improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close consider several of the bargain houses - it could well be your house has the best perches, correct ventilation as well as enough nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain what you spend for". You might believe you've grabbed a deal, yet you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and also it will last for a couple of years, if not longer given the right therapy. Ultimately your poultry as well as your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be much the better for it.chick for sale
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