Chicken Coops for Sale in Valmeyer, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Valmeyer, Illinois
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
How to build a Chicken Coop for under $50
Why Raise Chickens?
Really, the question you should ask is “Why not raise chickens?” Raising chickens can be a really rewarding experience. These amazing animals eat a small amount of feed a day, and yet produce one egg about every day of the year. (Out of 365 days a year, they lay about 335 eggs.) They take a couple days off here and there, but for the most part they are great layers. Having complete control over the food you feed your family is also really rewarding. Knowing our chickens eat non-GMO, Organic feed, and are allowed to free-range on our acre yard somehow just makes the eggs taste better. There are many benefits to free-ranging your chickens. First of all, they don’t develop diseases because they are out in the fresh air and not living in their poop. Second, they eat a LOT more bugs and let me tell you, you WANT your chickens to eat bugs. Not only does it help keep your bug(& scorpion) population down, it also increases the amount of Omega-3’s per egg. There are just some things that nature does better! The added bonus of letting your chickens eat bugs is that they will eat less of your store-bought feed which helps bring down your overall cost.
FYI, chickens that are locked up in small spaces are SUPER mean to each other. Like cannibal mean. By cannibal, I mean they will literally eat each other. Seriously. They will gang up on the weakest and peck at it incessantly until it dies and then eat it. It’s all Mean Girls up in there, I’m telling you. So, definitely free-range, okay?
How Much does it Cost to keep Chickens
If you buy “regular” chicken feed, it will only cost you about $11.00 for a 50 lb. bag. Pretty good deal, huh? Well, not really. “Regular” feed is chock full of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) which are KNOWN for making chickens sick. Genetically modified organisms are also called Roundup Ready. GMO’s require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides & fungicides. Yum. “Regular” feed is also usually pre-packaged with antibiotics. Wasn’t that nice of the feed company? Gosh, they are so nice to give our chickens anti-biotics after making them sick with GMOs. So thoughtful. When all’s said and done and your chickens stop going diarrhea, it will only cost you 82 cents a dozen. Organic, Non-GMO feed is about $24.00 for a 50 lb. bag but the benefits are amazing. Our feed is full of clean grains, as they should be, with no pesticides in them or on them. We also supplement their diet with dinner table scraps. It costs us about $1.75 a dozen. At the store, you can expect to pay $5.99 a dozen for ORGANIC, FREE-RANGE eggs. A Plan is Hatched (I’m freakin’ hilarious) The chicken coop I’m about to show you is one for FREE-RANGE chickens. This means your chickens should only be in the coop to eat feed, lay eggs, and roost/sleep at night. For the rest of the day they should be allowed in a yard so they can stay nice and healthy. I can’t take full credit for this idea. Okay, I can’t take ANY credit for this idea. Kevin and I were talking about how to get rid of our old crib. We couldn’t really give it away to Goodwill because it has that old school drop side that has totally been recalled now for safety issues. Then Kevin mentioned on how that sliding door would come in handy for a chicken coop. YES! Totally! I’ve been wanting to build a new chicken coop, and this thing was pretty much built for me! Well, I took Kevin’s idea and ran with it. I first drew a picture of how I wanted it to look. Yes, I’m a very visual person. (Lydia said it was the best drawing of a crib she’s EVER seen, so that means it’s pretty dang good.) The crib. Ah, crib you’ve served us well. You’ve kept our sweet little babes safe and sound as they have sweetly slumbered. Well, except for that one time when the drop side malfunctioned and Ethan tumbled out when he was 8 mo. old. But let’s forget about that one issue. You have been a great crib and we’re thankful for all your service. Aaannd now you will be a pooping ground for our chickens, mmkay? Ta-da! Here’s the coop all finished! It was SUPER easy. We lined two sides with chicken wire, two sides with wains coating, slapped a roof on that mutha’ and called it a day. Okay, okay. It took a little longer than that. I had to paint it, which actually takes way more spray paint than you’d think. I was actually embarrassed at how many times I kept underestimating the amount of spray paint I needed. It was becoming a problem, how bad I was at estimating my spray paint needs. I kept going back to the store and I totally felt like the checkout lady was thinking, “Really? MORE spray paint?” And I, feeling stupid for being the worst spray paint estimator ever, imagined yelling, “Yes, it’s for my chickens, OKAY?!!” The drop side comes down just enough to gather eggs and fill the feeder. I totally cut these pieces myself. I also cut the table I was using but we won’t dwell on that. Sorry Kevin! You’re still “not mad”, right??? A chicken coops not a chicken coop ’till you put an actual picture of a chicken on it, right? I thought so. It has a simple roof made of wains coating and trim. Underneath is a simple frame of 1x2s. Did I mention it was simple? Super cute, right? And cheap, which makes the Mr. Husband happy.
P.S. My friend Claire from wrote an excellent guide on (and raising chickens in the winter in general). I highly recommend it!
Do you own chickens? Have you ever thought of raising chickens? You should! And you should totally use your old crib because, well, it’s super cheap and super cool.
Chicken Coop Quality in Valmeyer, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Valmeyer 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 Valmeyer Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Valmeyer, Illinois With the massive boost in poultry keeping there has actually been a just as big surge in the array of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Poultry real estate is an instance in factor. It's likewise a classic example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various prospective fowl housing specialists market a variety of cottage declaring to be the optimal solution to your chicken housing demands. Often the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks appealing, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many economical and awful cages swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive heap of firewood and a tiny group of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop With Run in Valmeyer, Illinois
Most of the time these mass produced models are constructed of rapid grown up hardwood - come the very first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that won't shut, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm day suggests the timber dries as well as splits, the really felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their once attractive commercial property yet since the hovel is now a place for, and also possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would fit 4 huge hens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large area and also the pop opening door is big enough for the type you keep, after that the major needs of housing come down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Many breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly additionally naturally seek the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is certainly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your home must have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds and these should be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your home. The house needs to have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every night, even in the coldest of climate. Know, ventilation works with the concept of cozy air leaving through a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of the house and at the very 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 should additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a free array bird is (as well as allow's face it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens in your home is perhaps improved or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out some of the bargain residences - it could well be your house has the right perches, right ventilation as well as adequate nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however 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 get exactly what you spend for". You could think you've grabbed a bargain, yet you as well as your group could rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house as well as it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer given the proper treatment. Ultimately your fowl as well as your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be a lot the better for it.coops diy
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