Chicken Coops for Sale in Shoals, Indiana
Chicken Coops for Sale in Shoals, Indiana
How To Set Up Your Chicken Coop
Often when people buy chickens from us they’ve never owned poultry before therefore I usually find myself explaining the basics of operating a healthy and effective coop. As I grew up on a farm much of it is second nature but many city folk are unsure of just whats involved. The easiest and quickest way to get the message across is to take them on a tour of our back section to see how everything in our coop has be arranged.
The important aspects I talk about are:
Feed …
Because chickens grow so fast I use larger feeders as soon as possible. If you are raising them from day one there are feeders available that have been designed to cover the first couple of weeks. After that one on an adjustable rope works well as its just a matter of raising the height from time to time as the chickens grow. To get the best results it needs to be kept high enough to be accessible but not too low as to allow litter and droppings to be scratched into it. As can be seen in the photo above an off cut of PVC down pipe with holes drilled through it works well as a cheap grit feeder. Commercial feeds normally have grit added however I wonder if its sufficient as our hens regularly go through a 2 kilo bag of crushed oyster shell.
Feeding guide …
Day old to 6 -8 weeks … chick starter crumbles. 8 – 14 weeks … pullet grower or similar. 14 weeks onward … regular chook feed. 18 – 20 weeks or just prior to the commencement of laying … oyster shell grit.
Don’t over do the kitchen scraps as the nutritional value from these is fairly low. If they are fed as a substitute for a properly balance diet egg production will suffer.
Water …
Its important to have a plentiful supply of good clean water at all times. Hens don’t drink much at anyone time but they do drink often and even more so during spring and summer when air temperatures increase. I always leave the coop door open when our hens free range as they can get cool water whenever they need it. Hens drinking dirty contaminated water from containers and puddles is a recipe for disease.
If its not clean enough for you to drink you shouldn’t give it to your hens.
As shown above I prefer to used a fixed water container as the hanging versions leak and spill water when knocked. Its easily removed for cleaning and is installed in such a way to prevent debris getting into it.
Perches …
Chickens have a natural instinct to perch therefore it important to provide good sturdy perches. The ones in our coup are about 5cm square and have the sharp edges taken off to make them more chicken friendly. Tree branches of a similar diameter also work well if they are reasonably straight. The perches shown above are approximately 50cm and 80cm above the floor however I set them at lower levels when I first introduce 3 to 4 week old chicks. They should be fixed securely to the coop walls whilst being easily removable for cleaning.
Even when I have day old chicks under lights I provide perches as its a habit that I want them to learn as soon as possible because it makes my job so much easier. There’s no space on my daily to do list for cleaning dirty nesting boxes and eggs. Perch space per bird should be about 20cm.
Without suitable perches hens will perch on what ever is handy namely nesting boxes, feeders and the like or they will crowd into a corner of a coop. The end result will be a hard mound of droppings which will ultimately end up in feathers on claws then into nesting boxes and subsequently onto eggs. Correctly positioned perches eliminates crowding, flighty hens, dirty eggs and ensures your hens will be more relaxed and manageable.
Like all females of the species they need to be pampered. My other half constantly reminds me that I pay more attention to our Flora’s that I do to her. Its not true of course !!
Nesting boxes …
For me keeping hens is all about egg production therefore when we I invested extra time and effort into creating workable nesting boxes.
- One nesting box for every 4 hens, wonder why sometimes as they all seem to lay in the same box.
- Easily accessible for me from the outside.
- Easily accessible for the hens from the inside.
- Removable for easy cleaning.
- Spacious … 40cm height x 40cm width x 40cm depth or thereabouts.
- Weather proof.
- 10cm lip at the front to keep shavings and eggs in.
When introducing young chickens I keep the boxes closed off until near the time when they will start laying. This is to ensure that they use the perches rather than sleeping in and fouling the boxes. As mentioned previously this means only one thing, dirty eggs.
Deep litter …
We use a deep litter system as it makes for easy maintenance and reduces the need to be continually cleaning chicken manure out of the coop. Simply put the floor is covered with a 10cm layer of untreated wood shavings which is raked over every few days. A more detailed explanation of this concept can be .
Access – easy and straight forward …
- Human sized entry, applicable if you need a large coop.
- Removing old litter is almost effortless, especially when I have to work the camera !
- Predator proof entry- exit.
A user friendly coop ensures that keeping hens doesn’t become just another unwanted chore so build or buy wisely.
Chicken Coop Roost Ideas in Shoals, Indiana
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Shoals 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 Shoals Indiana chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Shoals, Indiana With the significant rise in poultry maintaining there has actually been an equally huge increase in the variety of poultry materiel for sale. Poultry housing is a situation in factor. It's additionally a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential fowl real estate professionals market a variety of holiday accommodation claiming to be the perfect remedy to your chicken real estate requirements. Typically the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks appealing, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap as well as horrible coops swamping the market. I understand this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed pail appeared. The result was nothing but a pricey pile of fire wood and a small flock of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop For Sale in Shoals, Indiana
Most of the time these standardized designs are constructed of quick grown hardwood - come the initial decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking inhabitants. The initial cozy day suggests the hardwood dries out and splits, the felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their when appealing building however due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also possibly abounding, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would fit 4 large chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you entrusted? A number of joints as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds should cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge room and also the pop hole door allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the primary demands of real estate come down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the number of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot sits easily on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly likewise naturally seek the highest point to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) causing soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your house needs to have a least one nest box for every three birds and also these ought to be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your house. The house needs to have appropriate air flow: without it then condensation will certainly build up every night, even in the coldest of weather condition. Realize, air flow works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on contrary walls of your house and at the same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the factors above are still true, but you must also consider the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a complimentary range bird is (and allow's encounter it, among the motivations for maintaining some hens at home is perhaps boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close check out some of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the best perches, correct ventilation as well as ample nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get what you spend for". You might assume you've got a bargain, however you and your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house as well as it will last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the correct therapy. Eventually your poultry as well as your poultry maintaining experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.build chick
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