Chicken Coops for Sale in Jeffrey, Kentucky
Chicken Coops for Sale in Jeffrey, Kentucky
Sand Litter Bed In The Chicken Coop: An Experiment
We’ve been managing our chicken coop through a . This hybrid system has worked extremely well in . Briefly, how that system works is, the chickens roost over the sand, which acts like kitty litter to dry out their overnight poop, and in the morning the poop is raked to the lower area, where it composts-in-place with lots of straw and other high-carbon bedding.
Last year, fed up with the very real problems involved when you combine chickens and vegetable gardening, we decided to stop attempting to free-range our birds and instead fenced in a large, outdoor area adjacent to the coop. We confined the hens to this area (the ducks, less destructive, still get to free range) and this solved many of our chickens-scratching up-my-seedlings problems.
Too Much Of A Good Thing?
However, this confined run area led to another problem. This is a good problem, a problem I cannot believe I have, but it’s a problem nonetheless. In order to accommodate our flock in this confined area, we piled on the straw and woodchips in both the coop’s lower area, and the outdoor run.
This has led to, basically, more compost than I can use. Yeah, I have too much compost. Crazy, right? I didn’t know there was such thing as too much compost.
When I hauled out all the deep litter and piled it up, it looked like this.
And it’s not just dealing with storing Mount Compost Heap up there. The bedding was building up so deeply in both the coop and the run that we started to have problems just opening the door to the coop. The chickens weren’t super effective at scratching down to the lowest levels, and I’m embarrassed to say that some anaerobic ickiness was starting to take place in the deeper levels of the bedding.
Something needed to change.
Trying something new.
Is Sand A Solution?
In order to manage these drawbacks, we are experimenting with a sand bed in the run area of the coop. The fenced outdoor chicken area will still be managed as a deep litter system, with arborists woodchips and straw added as needed for carbon.
But inside the coop itself, I’m trying sand.
I had help raking out the new sand.
I see several potential upsides to a sand bed, and a few downsides as well.
Pros:
- Sand bed is lower profile, so we’re able to open the door without hassle.
- Seems drier in winter due to superior drainage.
- Spilled chicken food is less likely to get “lost” in the bedding. I’ve observed chickens pecking at the food that falls on the sand. Less food waste = less feed expense.
- Sand adds natural grit to a chicken’s diet and sharpens nails
- Probably less expensive in the long-term, since sand doesn’t require frequent additions or “top-ups” like a deep litter system.
- May allow for indoor dust-bathing. I have not observed my hens using the sand to dust bathe, but I’ve read that they will.
- May cut down on opportunities for Coccidiosis in chickens by providing an inhospitable environment for the protozoa.
- Easy collection of poop allows for a more dedicated manure-composting system, which might be of use to people looking at black soldier fly farming (hem hem, me) or related endeavors.
When the hens spill feed, they can pick it up now.
Cons:
- Cold. The sand does not add to the warmth of the coop like the composting bedding. The sand feels noticeably colder to me when I touch it, and I’m not even walking around barefoot like my chooks. Cold is a drawback here in January. However, to chicken keepers in hot weather climates, perhaps a non-heat generating litter option would be a benefit?
- Requires more regular dedicated maintenance. We’re already in the daily habit of scooping the poop from the sand covered upper coop area, so this doesn’t add a huge amount of work to that chore, but it’s definitely not the kind of job you can ignore for several
weeksdays. - Does not break down into compost. Unless your chickens already make more compost than you can use, less compost is a bad thing.
- The ducks don’t seem happy about the sand, but then ducks don’t like change, so I don’t read too much into this yet.
- Duck poop doesn’t scoop well. The front runner of Reasons I May Go Back To Deep Litter is wet duck poop on sand. Ewww.
- The poop has to go somewhere. In the prior system we just scrapped the upper poop onto the composting bedding. Now the upper and lower poop have to go somewhere. At the moment we’re scraping the poop out the door into the outdoor run area, but this experiment of sand-bedding the indoor run has triggered a re-evaluation of all my manure and compost management practices. So, simple change.
As of now, I have more questions than answers. I’ll let you know how the sand bed works out going forward.
Chicken Coop Ideas Diy in Jeffrey, Kentucky
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Jeffrey 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 Jeffrey Kentucky chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Jeffrey, Kentucky With the substantial boost in chicken maintaining there has been a similarly big rise in the variety of chicken paraphernalia for sale. Chicken real estate is a situation in point. It's likewise a timeless instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various potential poultry real estate experts pitch a range of lodging declaring to be the excellent remedy to your chicken real estate demands. Often the cost looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they recognize a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many affordable and also nasty coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was nothing but a costly stack of firewood as well as a little group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Varieties in Jeffrey, Kentucky
Most of the time these mass produced designs are built of rapid grown wood - come the initial decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that won't close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm day implies the lumber dries out as well as splits, the really felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their once attractive property but considering that the hovel is currently a haven for, and most likely abounding, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 large chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A number of joints and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a huge area and the pop hole door is big sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the main needs of housing come down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the number of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box access as chickens will also naturally search for the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they create the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries could occur when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your home they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. Your house should have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will build up every night, even in the coldest of weather. Understand, ventilation works on the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of holes on contrary wall surfaces of your house and at the very same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, but you need to likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking thickness for a totally free array bird is (as well as let's encounter it, among the inspirations for maintaining some hens at home is possibly improved or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the bargain homes - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, correct ventilation as well as enough 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 spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get just what you spend for". You may think you've got hold of a bargain, but you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and also it will certainly last for a few years, otherwise longer given the appropriate therapy. Eventually your chicken and also your chicken maintaining experience will be a lot the far better for it.build chicken
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