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Chicken Coops for Sale in Tolono, Illinois

Chicken Coops for Sale in Tolono, Illinois

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What goes into designing a chicken coop?  It depends on your needs.  When I built our first chicken coop it had to be a design that would be big enough to house all of our chickens but small enough to not overwhelm our back yard. What do I mean by overwhelm? Well, when you walk out into someone's back yard for the first time you notice certain things.  Perhaps it is their lucious green garden.  Maybe a well pruned and maintained fruit tree or a child's play set.  It is the thing that immediately catches your eye.  You are drawn to it for better or worse.  If its for better, then it adds to the decor in a positive manner.  If it is for worse, like an unsightly, run down, misshapen chicken coop, then it becomes overwhelming. I wanted to be able to walk into my back yard and like what I saw.  Something that didn't make me say, "oh wow hey, that is one ugly something." I put a lot of time, energy and effort into building the first chicken coop. So it is with a heavy heart that I must tear it down.  However, I am encouraged by the thought that when we get to where we are going, I will build something greater in it's place! For now I must meet an immediate need and it must fit all our criteria: 1.  Must be small and accommodate 2 to 4 chickens. 2.  Easy set up and take down. 3.  Must double as a transport carrier. 4.  Must have a large access so it can be cleaned easily.  (If it is going in the back of our car at some point as a carrier, then it will need to be cleaned often.) I combined elements of several different designs and added a few ideas of my own and this is what I came up with.

Materials:

8 - 1x3 Furring Strips (Furing strip boards are much cheaper than regular 1x3's.  In my area they run about $1.50 for an 8' board.) 8 - 1x4 Furring Strips 2 to 4 sets of 2 to 4 of your choice You may be wondering why so many sets of hinges and locking mechanisms.  I left 2 doors off the final build.  The front door and one of the smaller side doors.  Both are optional depending on the end users needs. I incorporated two smaller doors on one side of the coop.  The front one is for ventilation.  It can be opened during the day to allow for more air flow.  It can then be closed at night to make it more predator proof.   Also, one large door on the other side of the coop that would be used for cleaning. A hinged door could be added to the front of the coop and the whole thing could be buttoned up at night for protection of your backyard flock.  I would recommend an additional ventilation hole at the top just under the overhang to aid in air circulation if you went that route.  If all the doors were incorporated into the final build you would need 4 sets of hinges and 4 locking mechanisms.

Cut List:

 

Back Panel

6 – 1x3’s @ 22-1/2”

Front Door Frame

1 – 1x3's @ 12-1/2”
4 – 1x3’s @ 15”

Large Door Side Frame

2 – 1x3’s @ 30”
2 – 1x3’ @ 10”

Side frame with two small doors

2 – 1x3’s @ 30”
3 – 1x3’s @ 10”

Corner Pieces

4 – 1-1/2” x 1-1/2” x 15” (2x4’s ripped in half)    

 Floor

 1 – 25 x 32-1/2” 
I'm giving the total floor dimensions on this one.  What I did was edge glued 7 - 1x4's @ 32-1/2".  That gives you a 24-1/2" wide piece which is a half inch short of your required width.  I then added a 1x3 @ 32-1/2" and that extends the width to 27".  I then attached the floor to the carcass of the coop leaving all the overhang on one side.  Then I took a flush trim bit in my router and trimmed the excess off the overhang.  I now had a perfectly fitted floor with no discrepancy. Often times this is the procedure I follow when I want something to fit perfectly without having to be perfect.  If you choose to just cut a piece of plywood to the end measurements and screw it in place; no one would think less of you.

 

Roof

11 – 1x4's @ 27”

 

Roof Truss

2 – 1x4 @ 32-1/2”
I measured to the center of a piece of 1x4 cut to length.  Then measured 1-1/4" to each side of that mark.  From those two marks I measured 3/4" down from the top of the board.  Finally, from those two marks I drew a line to the bottom corners.

Vent Door

2 – 1x3’s @ 9-3/4”
2 – 1x3’s @ 5-1/4”
This is the optional vent door that is not depicted in the video.  I choose to leave this door off my final build.  I placed chicken wire on the inside of the coop.  If you built this door you would still want to place chicken wire on the inside of the coop and not on the door.   I would not recommend enclosing this door completely unless you had an alternate means of ventilation.  I thought about leaving a small window in the back panel but felt it was easier to integrate into one of the sides.  Of course you could always do both.

Nest Box Door

2 – 1x3’s @ 11-3/4”
2 – 2-3/8” x 11-3/4”

Large Side Door

2 – 2-3/8” x 24-3/4”
2 – 1x3’s @ 24-3/4”

 

Nest Box

1 – 3” x 12”
1 – 2” x 12”
2 – 12” x 12” 
This nest box is placed just inside the nest box door on the inside.  I find it is fine to just lay it in place.  Chickens like a little privacy to lay their eggs.  So the side panels are a must in my opinion.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

Most of the following information can probably be filed under the "no brainer" category for most.  Of course if you don't know it then it isn't a "no brainer" so here goes:
1.  As is the case with many small and mobile chicken coop designs, sacrifices have to be made.  Usually in the form of security.  This one is no different. 
2.  This chicken coop is designed with an urban setting in mind.  
3.  Predators such as a fox, coyote or even dogs can dig underneath the run area.  You could try to combat this by extending the wire completely underneath the base and run area.  Usually the wire is dug into the ground 6 to 12 inches but then the coop ceases to be mobile.
4.  Generally speaking chickens are only inside the coop at night and when laying eggs.  With that in mind I estimate the size of this coop can accommodate up to 4 chickens.  However, the run area depicted in the video is WAY to small for four chickens.  We let our chickens run the entire backyard during the day and are only enclosed in the run area when we are away.  If you intended to keep 4 chickens enclosed in a run I would recommend doubling if not tripling the run area you see in the video.  Chickens get bored just like you and me.  If that happens and their space is to small, they will start to peck each other, sometimes to death.  This is why their beaks are often times cut off in commercial operations.  
5.  Be kind to your chickens and they will be kind to you.  If you care for them, they will care for you and your family.  They will provide not just nutritious eggs but also quality entertainment.  
Much better than whatever junk is on cable TV these days.
Happy Homesteading!!

Chicken coops for sale in Tolono Illinois can be found in agricultural newspapers and community newspapers. The coops are designed for housing for chickens in a safe and secure environment. They generally consist of a small building or large box that is then sectioned off to smaller boxes where the chickens go to roost (or sleep). Chicken coops are a must for raising chickens. Tolono Illinois chicken coops are commonly constructed from wood products. They are not very stable buildings and provide only minimal protection from the elements. Now chicken houses used for large production facilities are a entirely different structure, they are huge and can hold up to 10000 chickens. The coops are typically used for backyard operations, or small family farms. They vary in size depending on the number of residents they house. chicken-coops-in-Tolono-ILFinding chicken coops for sale in Tolono Illinois is probably not one of the easiest of items to find. There are manufacturers of chicken houses and coops that sell them out right and Tolono Illinois farm supply stores that they can also be purchased through, but generally speaking it will take some effort to find a chicken coop for sale in Tolono Illinois, especially if your location is not a typically rural location. In rural locations that are much more abundant and easily had. Chicken Coops for sale in Tolono IL

Chicken Coop Accessories in Tolono, Illinois

A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Tolono 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 Tolono Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Tolono, Illinois With the significant boost in chicken maintaining there has been an equally big surge in the array of poultry materiel for sale. Chicken housing is a case in factor. It's likewise a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as various potential poultry real estate professionals pitch a variety of accommodation asserting to be the perfect remedy to your chicken real estate requirements. Frequently the price looks eye-catching, the house looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of low-cost and nasty cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was just a costly heap of fire wood as well as a little flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams. Chickens for sale in Tolono IL

Chicken Coop Plans in Tolono, Illinois

More often than not these mass produced models are created of rapid grown lumber - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking occupants. The initial warm and comfortable day suggests the hardwood dries out as well as splits, the felt roof bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their once eye-catching residential property yet because the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, as well as possibly crawling with, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly fit four big chickens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are varying your birds in a huge space and the pop hole doorway allows enough for the type you keep, after that the major demands of housing boil down to 3 points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. Many breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise naturally seek the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) causing stained eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries might take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your house should have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and also these should be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. Your house must have ample ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly build up every night, even in the coldest of climate. Understand, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your home and also at the same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still true, but you must additionally consider the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free array bird is (and let's face it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is perhaps improved or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close look at a few of the deal houses - it could well be the house has the right perches, right ventilation as well as ample nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain exactly what you pay for". You could assume you've got hold of a bargain, yet you and your group could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the right therapy. Ultimately your poultry as well as your fowl keeping experience will certainly be much the better for it.
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