Chicken Coops for Sale in Austinville, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Austinville, Iowa
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
Tropical Chicken Coop Construction – Ch.1
I have been helping our friends build a chicken coop so that they can start raising there own hens and producing their own eggs. The week before I helped them build a compost pile so that they could start composting their yard waist on a larger scale, now we move into coop development. After researching different designs and methods for building a coop I decided to go with one that would fit well in the tropics. Much like San Diego, you don’t have to worry about a freeze or the chickens getting to cold, however you do need to be concerned with other natural elements like predators, tropical rain storms, gusty winds and too much heat. Taking this into consideration I designed a coop that would protect the hens from the elements, yet be opened up enough to allow a breeze and shade for the hens to grow in.
Chicken Coop Design
Chicken Coop Plans
The structure of the coop is 4x8x8. It is 4 ft wide by 8ft long and 8ft high at its highest point. The floor of the hen house is three feet off of the ground. There is a thatched roof covering the length of the coop to keep out the rain and sun. The roofs highest point is at 8ft (in the center) dropping down to 6ft on the front side, and 7ft on the back side. This allows for a consistent air flow throughout the coop
Chicken Coop Plans (Side Views)
I designed the coop on paper, worked out the measurements and then we started putting it together after we picked up the supplies. As expected we made a few adjustments as we began to put the coop together to fit the surroundings a little better. One thing that I didn’t keep in mind was the slope that we would be working on, this eventually elevated the ‘run’ side a little more giving the hens an extra 6 inches to play around in.
Chicken Coop Supplies (So Far)
- 3 4×8′ 1/2″ pieces of plywood
- 20 2x4x8′ studs
- 12 2x2x8′ studs
- 1 6x2x8′ stud
- 2 4×8′ roofing sheets
- 1 4×50′ roll of chicken wire
- 1 box 3.5″ screws
- 1 box 2″ screws
- 6 hinges
- 3 latches
- 4 cinder blocks
Chicken Coop Structure
Putting up the Frame
After we picked a location by the mango tree, the first thing that we did was put together the frame. This would be our skeleton if you will, everything else would be built off of the frame. As mentioned before the frame of the structure is 4ft wide by 8ft long. We put 6ft posts on the front side, 7ft posts on the back side, and two 8ft posts on the ends (for the roof). Notice the cinder blocks used to give us a level playing field, not the prettiest look, this is something that we will fix up as we finish the project.
Chicken Coop Construction
Putting Up the Walls
After we got the frame up we started to work on the hen house itself, this is where then hens will go to lay their many eggs in the future. We closed off the floor and the back wall first because these are permanent, no doors or latches needed. In this picture you can see that we also added a few more frame pieces for the roof, this was because of the type of roofing that we decided to go with. You will be able to see why when we finish.
Hen House Layout
Building the Hen House
Once we put in the permanent walls and floor we began building the doors that would allow us access into the hen house for cleaning and feeding. This front door section will open up giving us plenty of room to work around the hen house.
Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes
The Nesting Boxes came next on our plans. We decided to do two rows of boxes 4 boxes deep. This gives us a total of 8 nesting boxes. Each box is 12″x12″12″. We started the bottom row 6 inches off of the floor and the next row 12 inches above that. We left a 3″ over hang to give the hens something to climb up to before entering their boxes. We also put a 4.5 inch lip on the front of the boxes making the entrance to the boxes 7.5″x12″. We did this to give the hens more protection and less room to move around. This should prevent them or the other hens from eating their eggs once they began producing.
Entrance for Eggs
Behind the nesting boxes, on the outside of the hen house we installed two barn style doors to give us easy access to all of the boxes, thus giving us easy access to the eggs down the road. This will also make it easier for cleaning an maintenance when the time comes.
Hen House Entrance
Hen House Entrance
This last image is of the entrance into the hen house, this was the last thing that we finished up to this point. We still have the roof, chicken wire enclosure and last minute adjustments. As you can see the Tropical Chicken Coop is coming along just fine. We are almost there but not quite yet. Once we get some more time to work on it we should be able to wrap up this project and move the hens in. Eggs are on their way!
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Chicken Coop Plans Pdf in Austinville, Iowa
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Austinville Iowa" 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 Austinville Iowa chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Austinville, Iowa With the big boost in chicken keeping there has been a just as big increase in the array of fowl materiel on sale. Fowl real estate is a situation in factor. It's additionally a classic example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as various would-be poultry real estate experts peddle a selection of accommodation declaring to be the excellent solution to your chicken housing requirements. Often the cost looks appealing, your house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap as well as horrible cages swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed bucket showed up. The result was nothing but a pricey pile of firewood as well as a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Sale in Austinville, Iowa
Typically these mass produced versions are created of fast grown timber - come the very first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The first cozy day means the hardwood dries out as well as splits, the really felt roofing bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once appealing home but due to the fact that the hovel is now a place for, and possibly crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly fit four large hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A number of joints and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are varying your birds in a big area as well as the pop hole door is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the main requirements of housing come down to 3 points which will define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of types of chicken will perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will additionally naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your home they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your home needs to have a the very least one nest box for every three birds and also these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. The house needs to have sufficient air flow: without it then condensation will develop every night, also in the chilliest of climate. Know, air flow works with the concept of cozy air leaving with a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on opposite walls of your house and at the 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 true, however you need to additionally think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a complimentary variety bird is (and allow's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens at home is possibly improved or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close take a look at a few of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the right perches, appropriate ventilation as well as enough nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You might assume you've got hold of a deal, however you as well as your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house as well as it will certainly last for a few decades, otherwise longer provided the right treatment. In the long run your poultry and your chicken keeping experience will be much the much better for it.chicken build
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