Chicken Coops for Sale in Hoxie, Kansas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Hoxie, Kansas
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!
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Chicken Coop Reviews in Hoxie, Kansas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Hoxie Kansas" 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 Hoxie Kansas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Hoxie, Kansas With the significant rise in chicken keeping there has been an equally large increase in the variety of chicken stuff on sale. Poultry real estate is an instance in factor. It's likewise a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous would-be fowl real estate experts market an array of cottage declaring to be the suitable remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the cost looks attractive, the house looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are many inexpensive as well as awful cages swamping the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container appeared. The result was nothing but a pricey heap of fire wood and a small group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Hatching in Hoxie, Kansas
Usually these standardized versions are created of rapid grown wood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The initial warm and comfortable day suggests the lumber dries as well as cracks, the felt roof covering bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decline of their when appealing apartment however because the hovel is now a place for, as well as possibly abounding, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly fit four large chickens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge area and the pop hole doorway allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the major requirements of real estate boil down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will also naturally search for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they generate the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can occur when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house needs to have a least one nest box for every single three birds and these need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of your home. Your house should have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every night, even in the coldest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation works with the concept of warm air leaving with a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of holes on opposite walls of your home as well as at the exact same degree, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still true, however you should additionally take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free range bird is (as well as allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens in the house is perhaps boosted or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the bargain homes - it could well be the house has the best perches, proper ventilation as well as ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You could assume you've got a bargain, yet you and your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and it will last for a few years, if not longer provided the correct treatment. Eventually your chicken and your chicken maintaining experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.chickens plan
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