Chicken Coops for Sale in Troy, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Troy, Illinois
How much space do chickens need?
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When I first started thinking seriously about keeping chickens in my almost half acre suburban yard it was after seeing this adorable chicken coop on Pinterest. The coop was super adorable with a cute little picket fence in front of it, who wouldn’t fall in love with this??
If you have done any research on chicken coops, you have probably seen it too. It’s adorable, and I always see it on “Top Beautiful Chicken Coops” type posts. I am thankful to this cute little coop for making me realize you don’t need 20 acres to own chickens, and for showing me chicken coops can add to the beauty of your yard, not detract from it. But unless you have a larger area for the chickens to free range in on a daily basis, or you have a very small flock, the chickens would be very cramped. You can read more about the construction of this beautiful coop (and purchase plans to make your own!) on .
I suppose the answer to the space question depends on how happy you want your chickens to be. Hens on commercial egg laying farms are often crammed up to a dozen hens in one cage, with each bird given about 67 square inches of space each – about the size of standard letter size piece of paper. They live their whole lives in that cage with no outdoor access. So technically, that is all they need to live, to survive. That is a life I would never wish on a chicken, and I am sure as a chicken owner you would not want that either. Most sources recommend having 4 square feet of indoor space per standard size bird. If you get they only need about half as much room. I don’t know the dimensions of the coop above, but I would guess it would be appropriate for 5-6 standard birds inside. In addition to the indoor space, most recommend 10 square feet of outdoor space per bird (personally, I don’t think that is enough). So the run for this cute coop is probably appropriate for 1-2 birds. 1-2 chickens is an awfully small flock for the rather large investment of building this beautiful coop! Trevor at told me in addition to the adorable picket fence attached run they have a larger 30′ x 18′ enclosure where their chickens can safely roam. I love to let my girls out of their run to free range around the yard, but I only do it when I can be home to supervise them. As a good neighbor you want to keep your chickens out of your neighbor’s yard (plus, you don’t know if your neighbor is using harmful fertilizers on their lawn – you don’t want your laying hens ingesting chemicals). You also need to keep them safe from predators and out of the road. Letting your chickens run wild around the neighborhood is sure to get you some angry knocks on the door. I work from home, but it is a full time job and I have four school aged kids who need attention and to be driven around to activities, so I don’t have the time to be out there with my chickens everyday for hours on end while they happily scratch through the leaves. So, a secure, large chicken run is necessary for the busy backyard chicken keeper to keep your chickens happy. Happy chickens have room to roam, and happy chickens lay healthy eggs!
Chickens like to be outside. They like to scratch in the dirt, snooze in the sun and dust bathe. For the most part, they go inside to sleep at night, lay their eggs and to escape the elements and that is about it. The more outdoor space you can give your chickens the happier they are. Living in New England, when we have blizzards there are days when I don’t let my chickens outside of their coop at all. Bored, cooped up chickens can resort to fighting. Giving them enough space inside keeps everyone safe & happy, so having adequate indoor space is also important.
Right now, my flock is 8 standard size hens and 4 bantams. The bantams only need half the space, so for this calculation, we’ll just call it 10 standard size birds. My current chicken set up is a 4 ft x 8 ft coop plus an attached 2 ft x 4 ft nest box area. So that is 40 square feet total of indoor space. My enclosed, secure run is 11 ft x 16 ft plus the 40 sq ft that is under the coops is also enclosed for them, so that is 216 square feet of outdoor space. So my chickens have 4 square feet per bird inside, and 21 square feet per bird outside, and I am at my chicken limit (boo!).
Baby Yellow Chick For Sale in Troy, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Troy 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 Troy Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Troy, Illinois With the massive rise in poultry keeping there has actually been a just as huge increase in the range of chicken materiel on sale. Fowl housing is an instance in factor. It's additionally a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential poultry real estate experts pitch a range of cottage claiming to be the excellent remedy to your chicken real estate requirements. Often the cost looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous affordable and also awful cages swamping the market. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed container showed up. The result was nothing but an expensive heap of fire wood and a tiny flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Blueprints in Troy, Illinois
Typically these mass produced versions are created of fast grown hardwood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that will not close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The first warm day suggests the timber dries as well as splits, the felt roof covering bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when desirable residential property but due to the fact that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and possibly abounding, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 big hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A number of joints and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large room and also the pop hole door is big sufficient for the type you maintain, then the primary needs of housing boil down to 3 points which will define the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch should be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally normally seek 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) resulting in stained eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries can occur when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is obviously much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every three birds and these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your home. Your house needs to have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will accumulate every evening, also in the coldest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation works with the concept of cozy air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on contrary walls of the house and at the very same degree, this is exactly what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still true, however you should likewise think about the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a free array bird is (and also let's encounter it, one of the motivations for maintaining some hens in the house is potentially boosted or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at a few of the bargain residences - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation and also adequate nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get just what you pay for". You could believe you've got hold of a deal, however you and your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer offered the correct therapy. In the end your fowl and your fowl maintaining encounter will certainly be much the better for it.coop for sale
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