Chicken Coops for Sale in Knightstown, Indiana
Chicken Coops for Sale in Knightstown, Indiana
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 Incubator in Knightstown, Indiana
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Knightstown Indiana" 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 Knightstown Indiana chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Knightstown, Indiana With the substantial rise in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally huge increase in the range of poultry materiel on sale. Fowl real estate is an instance in point. It's additionally a classic example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various prospective fowl real estate professionals pitch a variety of cottage declaring to be the ideal remedy to your chicken real estate requirements. Often the price looks attractive, the house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Definitely they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap as well as horrible coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container showed up. The result was just a pricey heap of fire wood and also a small group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Construction in Knightstown, Indiana
Most of the time these standardized designs are built of fast grown hardwood - come the very first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The first warm day implies the wood dries and also fractures, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when appealing apartment but considering that the hovel is now a haven for, as well as probably abounding, the poultry caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would fit four big hens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A few joints and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room and the pop opening door is big sufficient for the type you maintain, then the major demands of housing come down to 3 points which will define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries can happen when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for every three birds and these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home must have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will develop every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, ventilation works with the principle of warm air leaving through a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a set of holes on opposite wall surfaces of your home and also at the same degree, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still true, but you must additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free variety bird is (and also let's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in your home is perhaps boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at a few of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the right perches, appropriate air flow and also adequate nest boxes for a reasonable number 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 saying goes, "you get what you spend for". You might think you've got hold of a bargain, however you and your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house and also it will certainly last for a couple of years, if not longer provided the proper treatment. Ultimately your poultry as well as your poultry keeping experience will certainly be considerably the far better for it.build build
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