Chicken Coops for Sale in Jay, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Jay, Maine
Make a Thrifty DIY Swingset Chicken Coop
Do you have one of those old A-shaped swingsets rusting in your backyard? If you do, then you have the basis for an awesome swingset chicken coop! (And if you don’t, watch Craigslist – there are frequently people offering them for free to whoever comes to pick them up.) Creativity is key .
When we moved recently we had to leave our wonderful chicken coop behind, since it was attached to the barn. While I drooled over some of , I’m on a pretty tight budget so it was important to use items that I could acquire either cheap or free. Luckily, the house we moved to had some pretty interesting stuff in a shed and an old rusty swingset in the woods.
I don’t have a lot of construction skills but the guy who put up my fence does, and luckily, he was on board with my wacky, freebie-scrounging ideas.
For the price of some labor, some hardware, some chicken wire, and a fancy-dancy hanging chicken waterer, I got a snazzy new coop that keeps my chickens safe and sound.
Here’s what we used:
- A swingset with the swings removed
- 2 pieces of corrugated metal on the top 3/4 plus a strip of it over the top to help weather proof
- Some sheets of plywood for the bottom back of the coop
- A piece of chain link fencing for the bottom in order to keep out predators
- Some old pieces of fence posts for the bottom of the coop to attach the chicken wire and chain link to
- Some lumber for the door
- Chicken wire (It was cheaper than from my local store)
If you’re making a scrounged chicken coop, be creative and see what you components you can find for cheap or free. Because most of the items used were found, this isn’t as much a how-to as it is something to inspire you. Here are some photos so you can see how my coop was assembled.
The Scoop on my Swingset Chicken Coop
The door is very heavy, which adds a layer of security against critters that might try to get in during the night. During the day, I use a bungee to hold the door open in the event of wind so no chickens get squashed. (They’re at the door because they know they’re either getting food or getting out.)
There is also a heavy duty double hinged latch that I fasten with a carabiner at night for an added layer of security. (.)
The bottom is covered with a piece of chain link fencing that is attached to the boards that form the bottom edge of the coop.
My biggest splurge is this hanging 5 gallon water dispenser. It stays much cleaner raised a few inches off the ground, only needs to be refilled every few days, and I used the exisiting hook for a swing to hang it from. (You can – it is a lower price than it was at my local feed store.)
Here’s the interior of theswingset chicken coop. The chickens like to roost on the cross bars on each end, and there is an extra bar from an old closet that was also installed. I used some cubbies from my previous garage for nesting boxes. (I probably should have taken the interior pic before I put the chickens in here to poop on everything. Of course, anyone who has chickens knows that a coop only looks clean for about 10 minutes.)
The coop in all of its glory. I’ll be painting the plywood soon to make it a little prettier.
Thor, our LGD, is happy to follow the chickens around and protect them because he realized they’re like little feathered Pez dispensers, dropping nice little egg treats around the yard for him to enjoy. I lock them in the coop a couple of days per week and that gives us more than enough eggs for our needs. The rest of the eggs get scattered around the yard for a doggie version of an Easter egg hunt. Thor’s a little skinny so the added fat will do him good. You can see him licking his dog lips in the photo below.
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Chicken Coop Ebay in Jay, Maine
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Jay Maine" 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 Jay Maine chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Jay, Maine With the significant increase in chicken keeping there has been a similarly large surge in the variety of chicken paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is a case in point. It's also a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as different prospective chicken housing professionals market an array of accommodation claiming to be the suitable remedy to your chicken housing requirements. Typically the price looks appealing, the house looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Undoubtedly they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap as well as unpleasant coops swamping the market. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container appeared. The result was just an expensive stack of fire wood and also a small group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits For 6-8 Chickens in Jay, Maine
More often than not these standardized models are constructed of fast grown lumber - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking residents. The initial warm day implies the lumber dries and cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their once appealing building yet due to the fact that the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and also probably crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would match four big chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you entrusted? A number of joints and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a cost-free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a big area as well as the pop opening doorway is big enough for the type you maintain, then the primary requirements of real estate boil down to three factors which will certainly specify the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally naturally look for the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house needs to have a the very least one nest box for every three birds and also these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your home. The house needs to have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will develop every evening, also in the chilliest of weather. Understand, ventilation works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of holes on other walls of the house and at the very same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still true, however you need to also think about the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a free array bird is (and let's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens in your home is possibly improved or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close check out some of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the best perches, proper ventilation as well as enough nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you pay for". You may assume you've grabbed a deal, but you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will last for a few decades, otherwise longer provided the right treatment. Ultimately your fowl and your fowl maintaining experience will be considerably the much better for it.coop diy
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