Chicken Coops for Sale in Orient, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Orient, Illinois
Our Finished Chicken Coop
These past few days had us outside enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the jobs I crossed off the list was to clean out our new chicken coop.
Because of our over the past year or so, our family was going through several dozen eggs a week. (I can’t help it – I’m hooked on !)
So last summer we quit “planning” to get our own chickens, and actually did it. The whole family pitched in to build a little abode for our egg-laying beauties. And because we were first-time chicken owners and newbies in all chicken-related topics, we joined and gleaned months worth of ideas, do’s and don’ts, and building plans. (I can’t recommend this site highly enough! If you have the slightest inclination of doing chicken anything, go here and read to your heart’s content.)
It was so helpful to see photos and designs when we were in the planning stages, I thought I’d share pictures of our coop and the hows and whys of what we did.
The chicken coop
Instead of starting from scratch, we bought a small granary from my brother-in-law; about 9’x7′ inside measurements. This gave us about 3 sq. ft. per bird. The coop is nothing fancy really. It isn’t visible from the road and we don’t live in town with neighbors to care about the view from their back window, so we used as much scrap material as possible. Plus we didn’t think the chickens would mind.
So far they haven’t rebelled.
We re-tinned the roof (that’s my honey!) and I got to use the saw sawl to make holes for the windows and vents. You can call me Mrs. Handyman. . .
Inside the chicken coop
Framing the windows and vents was the most time consuming part since the building wasn’t square. We used insulation and vapor barrier for the walls for added moisture protection and warmth because the windchill can get -40 below or more in the winter.
We made the roosting boards parallel and the same height because apparently hens will act like old biddies and fight for the top most board. (Some people’s kids. . .)
We rounded the edges of the roosting boards so it’s easier on the hens’ feet. The boards can be removed for ease of cleaning the poop boards underneath.
Poop boards seemed quite popular among chicken peoples and we’ve quickly learned why. First, chickens poop more when roosting, so the roosting boards are placed above the poop board. This makes clean up as simple as buying a wide sheetrock mudding tool and scraping the droppings into a bucket each day. We then add the droppings to our compost pile.
We originally built a rollaway community nesting box directly underneath the poop board, but the chickens ended up laying eggs everywhere but there. Eventually we added a ‘normal’ set of 12″x12″x12″ nesting boxes and they’re happy campers again.
We decided to use the deep litter method. We spread a bag of wood chips on the floor and because the hens leave most of their droppings on the poop boards, there’s minimal waste on the floor. The chickens like to scratch and fluff the wood chips so it gets stirred up and aerated. This means the coop is less smelly, and there’s only a few minutes of daily cleaning of the boards. If needed, you can add more wood chips throughout the year.
We clean the coop out fully in the spring and fall. So far it’s worked wonderfully.
We nailed a board across the doorway to prevent the rising litter from falling out every time we opened the door.
The feeders are gravity fed. They’re made of PVC pipe with a 90 degree corner and a cap at the end. We like that we can leave for several days at a time and don’t have to worry about having someone come out to do chicken chores for us.
This water stand was Travis’s idea. The hens have a platform to stand on so no matter how high the litter gets, they can reach the water comfortably.
The chicken nipples underneath are another idea shared by BYC that I LOVE. The water doesn’t drip, there is no poop or mud to worry about, and our full grown hens figured it out within 24 hrs. The pails are covered with lids to prevent the water from getting dirty and it lasts for at least a week (we add apple cider vinegar).
When we’re home, we clean them out and give them fresh water every few days.
There’s electricity on the wall above the waterers with a timed light switch. We use bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing during the winter. We had to add the slanted plywood because the hens were roosting on the pails. (I told you they fought for highest roosting privileges.)
The pop door is a simple design, and it works great. It slides up and down, held in by L shaped boards.
When in the closed position, the hook and eye on the right prevent racoons (or children!) from trying to lift the door from the outside.
We used 1/2″ x 1/2″ hardware cloth to cover the insides of the windows and vents. . .
. . .and plexiglass for the actual windows.
We made sure to have plenty of vents (thanks to sage advice from Pat’s Ventilation Page) and used eyes and rope to open and close them at different heights.
Finally, we added a small lean-to to the side so the hens could come out in the winter. This helps block snow drifts right in front of the pop door, and they can still come out for fresh air and sunshine when they get cabin fever.
It might not win a beauty contest – but there’s something to be said for function-ability Hope this gave you some ideas!
What have you done to your chicken coop? We’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
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Chicken Coop House Plans in Orient, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Orient 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 Orient Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Orient, Illinois With the huge rise in chicken keeping there has actually been a just as large surge in the array of poultry stuff on sale. Fowl housing is a case in factor. It's additionally a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as various potential chicken housing professionals peddle a range of holiday accommodation declaring to be the optimal solution to your chicken real estate demands. Commonly the cost looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of inexpensive and nasty cages flooding the market. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was only a pricey stack of fire wood as well as a small flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop House in Orient, Illinois
Generally these standardized models are created of quick grown up lumber - come the first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking inhabitants. The first warm and comfortable day suggests the wood dries and also cracks, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not due to their frustration at the decrease of their as soon as appealing home yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and most likely crawling with, the poultry caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would suit four big chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you entrusted? A couple of joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a large space and the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the breed you keep, after that the major requirements of housing boil down to 3 factors which will specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly additionally naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they create the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries might occur when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your home they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house should have a least one nest box for each three birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your home needs to have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of climate. Be aware, air flow works with the concept of cozy air leaving with a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your home as well as at the same degree, this is what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, however you must likewise consider the run dimension. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a free variety bird is (and also let's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens at home is perhaps boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at several of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the right perches, right air flow as well as ample nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You could think you've got hold of a deal, but you and also your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer offered the right therapy. Eventually your poultry as well as your fowl keeping experience will certainly be a lot the much better for it.chickens coops
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