Chicken Coops for Sale in Adairville, Kentucky
Chicken Coops for Sale in Adairville, Kentucky
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 From Pallets in Adairville, Kentucky
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Adairville Kentucky" 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 Adairville Kentucky chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Adairville, Kentucky With the big boost in chicken keeping there has been a just as large rise in the range of fowl paraphernalia for sale. Poultry real estate is a proceedings in factor. It's also a timeless example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various potential poultry real estate specialists pitch a variety of holiday accommodation declaring to be the perfect remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Often the price looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous economical and awful coops swamping the market. I recognize this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The result was just an expensive heap of fire wood and also a little group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Enclosures in Adairville, Kentucky
Usually these standardized models are constructed of fast grown up wood - come the very first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The initial warm day means the timber dries and fractures, the really felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once attractive property but due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, as well as probably abounding, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would fit 4 big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you entrusted? A few joints as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a large room as well as the pop opening door allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the primary demands of real estate boil down to 3 points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits easily on it. The perch should be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably the house should have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your home. Your home should have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every night, also in the coldest of weather condition. Understand, ventilation deals with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of holes on opposite walls of your house and also at the exact 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 true, but you must also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a complimentary range bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the inspirations for maintaining some hens in the house is potentially enhanced or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the bargain homes - it could well be your home has the right perches, appropriate ventilation and also enough nest boxes for a reasonable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for". You could think you've got hold of a deal, but you and also your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and also it will last for a few decades, otherwise longer offered the appropriate treatment. In the end your chicken as well as your fowl maintaining encounter will be considerably the much better for it.diy coops
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