Chicken Coops for Sale in Portsmouth, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Portsmouth, Iowa
Our Finished Chicken Coop
These past few days had us outside enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the jobs I crossed off the list was to clean out our new chicken coop.
Because of our over the past year or so, our family was going through several dozen eggs a week. (I can’t help it – I’m hooked on !)
So last summer we quit “planning” to get our own chickens, and actually did it. The whole family pitched in to build a little abode for our egg-laying beauties. And because we were first-time chicken owners and newbies in all chicken-related topics, we joined and gleaned months worth of ideas, do’s and don’ts, and building plans. (I can’t recommend this site highly enough! If you have the slightest inclination of doing chicken anything, go here and read to your heart’s content.)
It was so helpful to see photos and designs when we were in the planning stages, I thought I’d share pictures of our coop and the hows and whys of what we did.
The chicken coop
Instead of starting from scratch, we bought a small granary from my brother-in-law; about 9’x7′ inside measurements. This gave us about 3 sq. ft. per bird. The coop is nothing fancy really. It isn’t visible from the road and we don’t live in town with neighbors to care about the view from their back window, so we used as much scrap material as possible. Plus we didn’t think the chickens would mind.
So far they haven’t rebelled.
We re-tinned the roof (that’s my honey!) and I got to use the saw sawl to make holes for the windows and vents. You can call me Mrs. Handyman. . .
Inside the chicken coop
Framing the windows and vents was the most time consuming part since the building wasn’t square. We used insulation and vapor barrier for the walls for added moisture protection and warmth because the windchill can get -40 below or more in the winter.
We made the roosting boards parallel and the same height because apparently hens will act like old biddies and fight for the top most board. (Some people’s kids. . .)
We rounded the edges of the roosting boards so it’s easier on the hens’ feet. The boards can be removed for ease of cleaning the poop boards underneath.
Poop boards seemed quite popular among chicken peoples and we’ve quickly learned why. First, chickens poop more when roosting, so the roosting boards are placed above the poop board. This makes clean up as simple as buying a wide sheetrock mudding tool and scraping the droppings into a bucket each day. We then add the droppings to our compost pile.
We originally built a rollaway community nesting box directly underneath the poop board, but the chickens ended up laying eggs everywhere but there. Eventually we added a ‘normal’ set of 12″x12″x12″ nesting boxes and they’re happy campers again.
We decided to use the deep litter method. We spread a bag of wood chips on the floor and because the hens leave most of their droppings on the poop boards, there’s minimal waste on the floor. The chickens like to scratch and fluff the wood chips so it gets stirred up and aerated. This means the coop is less smelly, and there’s only a few minutes of daily cleaning of the boards. If needed, you can add more wood chips throughout the year.
We clean the coop out fully in the spring and fall. So far it’s worked wonderfully.
We nailed a board across the doorway to prevent the rising litter from falling out every time we opened the door.
The feeders are gravity fed. They’re made of PVC pipe with a 90 degree corner and a cap at the end. We like that we can leave for several days at a time and don’t have to worry about having someone come out to do chicken chores for us.
This water stand was Travis’s idea. The hens have a platform to stand on so no matter how high the litter gets, they can reach the water comfortably.
The chicken nipples underneath are another idea shared by BYC that I LOVE. The water doesn’t drip, there is no poop or mud to worry about, and our full grown hens figured it out within 24 hrs. The pails are covered with lids to prevent the water from getting dirty and it lasts for at least a week (we add apple cider vinegar).
When we’re home, we clean them out and give them fresh water every few days.
There’s electricity on the wall above the waterers with a timed light switch. We use bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing during the winter. We had to add the slanted plywood because the hens were roosting on the pails. (I told you they fought for highest roosting privileges.)
The pop door is a simple design, and it works great. It slides up and down, held in by L shaped boards.
When in the closed position, the hook and eye on the right prevent racoons (or children!) from trying to lift the door from the outside.
We used 1/2″ x 1/2″ hardware cloth to cover the insides of the windows and vents. . .
. . .and plexiglass for the actual windows.
We made sure to have plenty of vents (thanks to sage advice from Pat’s Ventilation Page) and used eyes and rope to open and close them at different heights.
Finally, we added a small lean-to to the side so the hens could come out in the winter. This helps block snow drifts right in front of the pop door, and they can still come out for fresh air and sunshine when they get cabin fever.
It might not win a beauty contest – but there’s something to be said for function-ability Hope this gave you some ideas!
What have you done to your chicken coop? We’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
shared with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Related Posts
Latest posts by Paula ()
- - March 22, 2016
- - January 28, 2016
- - January 22, 2016
Chicken Coop Basics in Portsmouth, Iowa
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth Iowa chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Portsmouth, Iowa With the significant rise in chicken maintaining there has been an equally large surge in the array of chicken materiel for sale. Chicken housing is an instance in factor. It's also a timeless instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous prospective chicken real estate professionals peddle an array of cottage declaring to be the ideal solution to your chicken real estate needs. Frequently the cost looks desirable, your house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several affordable and unpleasant cages flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was just a costly heap of fire wood and a little group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Necessities in Portsmouth, Iowa
Generally these standardized designs are constructed of quick grown hardwood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking occupants. The initial warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries out and fractures, the really felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decrease of their as soon as attractive building but because the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as most likely crawling with, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match four big chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you entrusted? A number of joints and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a big room and also the pop opening door allows enough for the breed you keep, after that the main requirements of housing come down to 3 points which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. A lot of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also normally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) leading to dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is undoubtedly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they must be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your home needs to have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your home ought to have appropriate ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of holes on other wall surfaces of the house and also at the same level, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, but you ought to also think about the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a free variety bird is (and let's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens in the house is potentially enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at several of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the best perches, proper air flow and also adequate nest boxes for a practical number 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 claiming goes, "you get what you spend for". You might believe you've got a bargain, yet you as well as your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house as well as it will last for a few years, otherwise longer offered the proper therapy. In the end your poultry and also your fowl maintaining encounter will be much the much better for it.coops chickens
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Oakdale, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Clarksville, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Monroe, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Carpenter, Iowa
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mcgregor, Iowa