Chicken Coops for Sale in Palos Hills, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Palos Hills, Illinois
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Chicken Coop Construction in Palos Hills, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Palos Hills 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 Palos Hills Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Palos Hills, Illinois With the big boost in poultry maintaining there has actually been an equally big rise in the range of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Fowl housing is a situation in factor. It's additionally a classic instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as different prospective fowl real estate experts market an array of accommodation asserting to be the suitable remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Often the rate looks attractive, your house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous economical as well as horrible cages swamping the market. I know this as I've examined a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed container appeared. The result was nothing but a costly pile of firewood as well as a little flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coops For Sale in Palos Hills, Illinois
More often than not these mass produced designs are constructed of rapid grown up timber - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The initial warm day suggests the hardwood dries and cracks, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decline of their as soon as attractive property but considering that the hovel is now a place for, as well as most likely abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would suit four big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you left with? A number of joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds should cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are varying your birds in a huge space and also the pop hole door allows enough for the breed you keep, then the main requirements of housing boil down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will also normally search for the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create one of the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they ought to be greater 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 in front. Preferably your home must have a least one nest box for each 3 birds and also these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of the house. Your house ought to have ample air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every evening, also in the coldest of climate. Be aware, ventilation deals with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of holes on other wall surfaces of your house and at the very same level, this is what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still true, but you must additionally consider the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a totally free range bird is (and also allow's encounter it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is potentially boosted or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m made even. Take a close consider some of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, appropriate air flow and enough nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You may believe you've grabbed a deal, yet you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer provided the right therapy. In the long run your poultry as well as your poultry keeping experience will certainly be a lot the much better for it.build coops
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