Chicken Coops for Sale in Stambaugh, Kentucky
Chicken Coops for Sale in Stambaugh, Kentucky
Metal Siding on Chicken Coops
My chicken coops have always had metal roofs, and now I’m trying out metal siding, on the grounds that I want anything I build to last 20 years without maintenance, and the exterior plywood I’ve been using doesn’t deliver that.
[Update: Seven years after writing this blog post, the corrugated metal walls are holding up well. Seven years is long enough for plywood walls to start falling to pieces, but the metal walls are holding up well, with only a bit of rust here and there.]
One of my old pasture houses, with a 15-year-old metal roof and 7-year-old metal siding.
Does Metal Promote Condensation and Wetness?
People will tell you that metal siding sweats, because of condensation. This is true if the inside of the house is warmer than the outside, since moisture from the warm house will condense on the cold walls and ceiling. But it’s not about metal vs. wood, since condensation forms on any kind of roof or wall, no matter what it’s made of. In marginal cases, it’s more visible on metal because it’s 100% non-absorbent.
A Fresh-Air House is a Dry House
But you can dodge the problem with a fresh-air poultry house. If you add enough ventilation, the inside of the house is just as cold as the outside, and you get no condensation. My metal roofs don’t have condensation unless there’s snow on the roof and temperatures are above freezing. The rest of the time, my highly ventilated houses have dry ceilings and walls.
Fresh-Air Poultry Houses, by Prince T. Woods. Reprinted by me!
This is one of the main points of , the chicken-coop book I’ve republished (check out the if you haven’t already). It focuses on the advantage of well-ventilated houses, a concept that still needs to be repeated constantly today. You won’t read anything about metal walls or roofs in this book, since it predates their use, but it’s a treasure trove in other ways.
You can also prevent condensation with insulation, but I don’t do that.
Can you really prevent damp chicken houses through ventilation alone? Well, it works for me, and I live in Oregon, which has a famously wet climate!
Installing Corrugated Sheet Metal Walls
Back to the construction project. In keeping with my other rule of construction (never use a saw when you can buy stuff that’s already the right size), I ignored my existing stock of 10-foot metal roofing and obtained some cheap 8-foot corrugated roofing from Home Depot. My chicken houses are 8×8 feet.
Karen and I banged these sheets onto a couple of sides of a chicken house where the old OSB siding was falling to pieces. We used roofing screws. These are hex drive screws with neoprene washers. We used to use roofing nails, but they pull loose too easily and we hate having roofing panels flapping loose in the breeze! And using power tools instead of a hammer keeps my shoulders and back from seizing up. I bang the screw in a short way with a hammer, then drive it home with a cordless drill.
I’m told that roofing screws have three times the holding power of nails.
These panels went on very quickly, and if they ever rust through (which they will, at the bottom edges anyway, if I allow chicken manure to pile up against them), I can take the screws out and replace them just as easily.
So far, so good. The shiny metal really brightens up the interior of the chicken house, and because it’s non-porous, it provides no place for roost mites to accumulate.
Cheap Roofing is Good Enough
Plain old “ripple metal” (corrugated steel) is less rigid than V-channel roofing, but it’s proven to be stiff enough, even for a house that gets dragged around behind a tractor, which can put all sorts of stresses on it, especially if it gets hung up on holes and bumps along the way. So far, so good. That means that, so far, the cheapest possible corrugated metal has been perfectly adequate.
Watch out for translucent corrugated fiberglass. In my experience, it’s not very strong and becomes increasingly brittle over time. I’m sure it has its uses, but don’t think of it as being structural in the way that plywood and corrugated steel are.
You Don’t Have to Settle for Ugly
Of course, you can build a much prettier house with metal roofing with baked-enamel finishes in designer colors, and you should probably do this if you don’t want a silver house, since it’s hard to get paint to stick to galvanized steel. While I’m always looking for the cheapest, longest-lasting, easiest-to-build designs, there are plenty of other ways of approaching the problem of chicken-coop design.
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Chicken Coop Building Plans in Stambaugh, Kentucky
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Stambaugh 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 Stambaugh Kentucky chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Stambaugh, Kentucky With the huge boost in poultry keeping there has actually been a just as huge rise in the variety of poultry paraphernalia for sale. Fowl housing is an instance in factor. It's additionally a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be poultry real estate professionals peddle a variety of lodging declaring to be the ideal option to your chicken housing demands. Frequently the cost looks attractive, your house looks attractive, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they recognize a professional chicken house when they see one? There are several economical as well as unpleasant coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've examined a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only an expensive pile of firewood and a small flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Door in Stambaugh, Kentucky
Typically these mass produced designs are built of rapid grown up lumber - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking residents. The very first cozy day indicates the lumber dries and also fractures, the felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when eye-catching building however since the hovel is currently a place for, as well as probably crawling with, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit four large hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you left with? A number of hinges and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a large room as well as the pop opening doorway is big sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the main demands of housing boil down to three factors which will specify the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create one of the most poo) bring about stained eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries might take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is certainly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in your home they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house must have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and also these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. The house must have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every evening, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, ventilation works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of holes on contrary wall surfaces of the house as well as at the very same degree, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still true, yet you ought to additionally consider the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a totally free variety bird is (as well as let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some hens in your home is possibly improved or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at some of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, appropriate ventilation and also ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You may assume you've grabbed a bargain, yet you as well as your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and it will last for a few years, if not longer offered the right therapy. Ultimately your fowl and also your fowl maintaining encounter will certainly be considerably the better for it.chick chickens
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