Chicken Coops for Sale in Williamsburg, Kansas
Chicken Coops for Sale in Williamsburg, Kansas
My DIY Chicken Coop and Run
One of the things I’ve missed since moving north from our country home in Texas 13 years ago has been having chickens, and our own fresh eggs. Having a new grandbaby made my chicken longing all the more compelling–I might be able to accept eating store-bought eggs for myself, but my granddaughter must have only the best and most nutritious!
Being a busy grad student and nurse meant I thought I didn’t have time for DIY projects, so my original intent was to purchase a pre-made coop and chicken run. To my amazement, I found a chicken tractor on Amazon.com–with FREE super saver shipping! I happily placed my order.
A week later, Amazon informed me my order had been canceled due to unavailability. Frustration set in. I searched in vain for another source, but couldn’t find anything I liked as much that was within my price range. It seemed that building my own was my only option, but I didn’t see how I possibly could. For one thing, we don’t have much in the way of woodworking tools. Also, finals week was fast approaching, and “spare” time was at a premium. I needed to come up with something I could do quickly and easily, without too many fancy tools. Here’s what I came up with:
I bought a Rubbermaid storage shed at Home Depot.
Inside, I added a roost and a rack to hold the “nestbuckets” made from Home Depot buckets. I also made a screened wall on one side, so that one door can be left open for ventilation during nice weather.
To secure the wooden fixtures, I drilled holes through the walls of the coop and screwed wood screws through from the outside into the wood pieces. Where possible, I took advantage of the shapes and depressions of the plastic to add additional support. The screen wall is fastened to the wall of the coop and also to the roosts. The nestbuckets are not permanently fastened to the rack they sit on — I use a bungee cord to hold them securely in place.
In the back of the coop, beneath the nestbuckets, I cut an opening for the chickens to use for going in and out. I made a mistake and made it flush with the floor, before realizing that there should be a “lip” to hold the bedding in, so I added a scrap piece of lumber across the bottom for that purpose. I used strips of trim to “frame” the opening and hide the hollow walls of the Rubbermaid container.
Since there’s no way to keep the right-hand door closed when the left-hand one is open, I added gate latches on the inside to fasten it to the screen door. I can easily reach the lower one by reaching down through the top of the coop, but for people whose arms aren’t as long as mine, a pull string could be rigged for that purpose.
The last step was to add four eye bolts to the outside of the coop, to secure it to the run (I’m using bungee cords for this purpose), and to add strips of 2×2″ lumber to use as handles, since the smooth plastic makes it hard to get a grip on it for transporting the coop.
The run is made from two cattle panels with 2×4″ openings, using pig rings to secure the pieces together. The sides and top are each a half panel. The remaining piece was cut into 3 parts. Two of them form the end of the run farthest from the coop. The bottom half is fastened permanently in place, and the top half is fastened only at the top, forming a hinge that allows it to be swung up onto the top of the run for access to the inside. Again, I used a bungee cord to fasten the access panel in place when it is closed. I’m tall enough to easily step over the lower piece, but someone without my height advantage might need to modify the design to work for them. The remaining thin piece of cattle panel was fastened vertically to one side of the end of the run next to the coop. It adds some structural stability as well as allowing for the fact that the coop is not quite as wide as the run. A 2-foot wide strip of hardware cloth with 1/2″ openings was fastened all the way around the lower portion of the run, to keep raccoons from reaching through to grab the chickens.
Finally, I fastened a tarp over the run at one end to protect the feed from rain. Here’s the finished product, complete with chickens:
Chicken Coop Free Plans in Williamsburg, Kansas
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg Kansas chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Williamsburg, Kansas With the substantial boost in chicken keeping there has actually been an equally large rise in the array of fowl stuff for sale. Fowl real estate is a case in factor. It's also a traditional instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as different potential fowl real estate experts market a variety of cottage claiming to be the ideal solution to your chicken housing needs. Often the cost looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Definitely they recognize a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of inexpensive and also unpleasant coops swamping the market. I know this as I've checked a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed pail appeared. The result was nothing but a costly heap of firewood and a little group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits For Sale in Williamsburg, Kansas
More often than not these mass produced models are constructed of quick grown up hardwood - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking inhabitants. The initial warm day indicates the timber dries out and cracks, the really felt roofing system bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when eye-catching commercial property however due to the fact that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as possibly crawling with, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly match four large chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you left with? A number of hinges and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge area and the pop opening door allows enough for the breed you keep, after that the primary requirements of real estate boil down to three points which will certainly define the number of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch must be above the nest box access as chickens will also naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly 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 the very least one nest box for each three birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your home should have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will develop every night, even in the chilliest of weather. Realize, air flow works on the principle of cozy air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of the house as well as at the very same level, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, yet you must likewise think about the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free range bird is (and let's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is perhaps improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close take a look at some of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, proper ventilation as well as adequate nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get just what you spend for". You could think you've got a bargain, yet you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the proper therapy. In the long run your poultry and also your poultry keeping experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.coop for sale
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