Chicken Coops for Sale in Mathews, Louisiana
Chicken Coops for Sale in Mathews, Louisiana
The Small Property Chicken Coop
Raising chickens has been one of the most rewarding activities that we’ve done on our homestead. While we don’t raise them for meat due to the city’s limitations, we reap an abundance of benefits from the eggs and the friendship we get from our girls.
In this next installment of , I’ll be sharing how my husband Todd designed and built Lucy and Ethel’s chicken coop using his ingenuity and minimal square footage on our .18 of an acre.
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, I was so excited to finally be able to raise a couple of my own “girls” to gather eggs from and get to know. I’m an animal lover, and seem to be able to make friends with any animal that will allow me, so I knew that these two sweet little chicks and I would be the best of friends. , and since there were only two of them, there was plenty of space for them to grow.
After moving some things around to set up our ‘barn’ area, Todd got to work on the chicken coop. Being a handy guy, he decided that he could design and build one that would be cheaper than a prefab one, as well as be able to fit where we needed it to on our small property homestead.
He chose to use the back of one of our sheds as the back wall, and another of our sheds as the side wall, which would save us some money on hardware cloth. He framed the rest of the coop and door with 2x4s. He also extended the side of the shed so that it would serve as the left wall of the coop.
This is the shed that is being used as the back wall of the coop. You can see on the right side of the shed where the new section was added for the left wall of the coop.
Todd designed the girls’ coop to be multi-level, rather than sprawling. He used plywood and 2x4s for the levels, and built an access ladder to both. The girls had a hard time not slipping on the sleek wood between the “steps” on the ladder, so I added a few strips of to those sections, which worked beautifully.
Here is a current photo of the two levels (please excuse the “lived in” look, I apparently hadn’t taken photos of the two levels when it was new). This is the top level, where we keep the girls’ nesting boxes. The ladder with the comes up the right side of this level, and it’s easy for the girls to hop up to the top of their nesting boxes, where they like to sleep at night. Todd also built a roost for them, which is actually a few inches offset from the edge of the level so when they poop, most of it falls to the ground.
Here is the second level, where the girls usually eat their evening treats, and where I keep their oyster shell and water (water not pictured). You can see how the ladder passes the second level up to the top level, which makes it easy for the girls to hop to the second level at snack time.
We left the bottom level as dirt, and I have been using the , which has worked out well for the most part. We haven’t had any issues with large rodents, and any mice that dare step foot into the coop are met with two hungry beaks.
Todd lined the front of the coop with 1″ hardware cloth and it has worked very well for us; however, I have heard that if you have issues with raccoons, it’s best to go with 1/2″ hardware cloth.
Another Space Saving Coop Idea
A friend of mine, Nora from , and is based on Todd’s multilevel chicken coop design. Their family has around 8-10 girls, so this brooder was a very good fit for them. It can definitely be built outdoors and used as a space-saving chicken coop for 1-3 chickens, or built indoors to use as a brooder for a larger flock.
As you can see, building a chicken coop to fit your small property needs can be a much better prospect than purchasing a prefab chicken coop. While prefab coops are beautiful and promise ease, tailoring your chicken coop to fit in just the right place on your small property can be more affordable, and in the long run, more convenient for your homestead setup. As long as your chicken coop meets , you can build a chicken coop that meets your homestead’s needed requirements as well, which will make everyone happy!
For more great information on raising chickens, please visit Fresh Eggs Daily’s Ultimate Chicken Care Guide.
What size is your property? Do you use space-saving techniques?
Chicken Coop And Run in Mathews, Louisiana
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Mathews Louisiana" 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 Mathews Louisiana chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Mathews, Louisiana With the substantial increase in chicken maintaining there has actually been a just as large increase in the range of chicken stuff on sale. Fowl real estate is a situation in point. It's also a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as different prospective chicken real estate experts pitch a selection of cottage claiming to be the excellent solution to your chicken housing demands. Frequently the price looks eye-catching, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are many economical and horrible coops flooding the market. I recognize this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail appeared. The result was nothing but a costly heap of fire wood and also a tiny flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Necessities in Mathews, Louisiana
Generally these mass produced versions are built of quick grown up lumber - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that will not close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking occupants. The very first warm and comfortable day suggests the hardwood dries out and splits, the really felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their as soon as attractive home yet since the hovel is currently a haven for, and most likely abounding, the fowl keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit four big hens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A number of hinges as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are varying your birds in a big room and also the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the primary demands of real estate boil down to three factors which will define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch must be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will additionally 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 incidentally when they produce one of the most poo) causing dirtied eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is certainly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they should be more 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 ahead. Ideally the house needs to have a least one nest box for each three birds and also these must be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your home. Your house ought to have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly build up every evening, even in the coldest of weather. Realize, air flow works with the principle of warm air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your house and also at the same level, this is just what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still true, but you must also consider the run dimension. The EU optimum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free array bird is (and let's face it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens at home is perhaps enhanced or better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close consider a few of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the best perches, appropriate air flow and enough nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You may believe you've grabbed a deal, however you and also your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and also it will certainly last for a few years, otherwise longer offered the proper therapy. In the long run your fowl and also your chicken keeping encounter will certainly be a lot the far better for it.plans coop
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