Chicken Coops for Sale in Turners Station, Kentucky
Chicken Coops for Sale in Turners Station, Kentucky
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Baby Yellow Chick in Turners Station, Kentucky
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Turners Station 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 Turners Station Kentucky chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Turners Station, Kentucky With the massive boost in poultry keeping there has actually been a similarly huge surge in the variety of chicken paraphernalia for sale. Fowl housing is a case in factor. It's likewise a classic instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as numerous prospective chicken housing experts peddle an array of holiday accommodation asserting to be the suitable remedy to your chicken housing needs. Commonly the rate looks attractive, the house looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Undoubtedly they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of affordable and also unpleasant coops swamping the marketplace. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed container appeared. The outcome was only a pricey pile of firewood as well as a tiny flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits Ebay in Turners Station, Kentucky
Usually these mass produced designs are created of quick grown up hardwood - come the initial decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that won't shut, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The initial cozy day means the hardwood dries out and also cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their once desirable residential property however since the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and also most likely crawling with, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add that it said on the blurb that it would fit four big chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge area and also the pop hole door is big enough for the breed you keep, after that the major demands of real estate boil down to 3 factors which will specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. Many breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will likewise normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small types this is certainly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house must have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds as well as these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. The house ought to have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will accumulate every evening, also in the coldest of climate. Know, air flow works on the concept of cozy air leaving via a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of openings on other wall surfaces of the house and also at the same degree, this is just what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still true, however you need to also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking thickness for a cost-free range bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the inspirations for maintaining some chickens at home is perhaps boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m settled. Take a close consider some of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, appropriate ventilation and also ample nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You might believe you've got a deal, but you and your flock might rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and also it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer given the appropriate treatment. In the end your poultry and also your poultry maintaining experience will be much the better for it.plan chickens
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