Chicken Coops for Sale in Millinocket, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Millinocket, Maine
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 Amazon in Millinocket, Maine
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Millinocket 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 Millinocket Maine chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Millinocket, Maine With the big rise in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly big increase in the range of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Chicken housing is a proceedings in point. It's additionally a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being got on as different potential fowl real estate professionals peddle a variety of holiday accommodation asserting to be the excellent option to your chicken housing demands. Usually the cost looks attractive, the house looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of affordable and also nasty cages flooding the market. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was only an expensive pile of firewood and also a tiny flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Plans Free in Millinocket, Maine
Most of the time these standardized designs are built of rapid grown up timber - come the initial decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to release the squawking residents. The very first warm day indicates the timber dries as well as fractures, the felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not due to their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as attractive home but considering that the hovel is currently a place for, and possibly crawling with, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 huge chickens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you entrusted? A few hinges and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Thinking you are varying your birds in a huge room as well as the pop hole door allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the primary requirements of real estate come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Most types of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise naturally search for the acme 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 one of the most poo) causing dirtied eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your home should have a least one nest box for every single three birds and these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your home. Your home ought to have ample ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, also in the chilliest of climate. Understand, ventilation works with the concept of cozy air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of openings on contrary wall surfaces of the house and also at the exact same level, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run attached after that the factors above are still real, however you ought to additionally consider the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a totally free range bird is (and allow's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens in the house is possibly boosted or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m settled. Take a close consider a few of the bargain homes - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, proper air flow as well as sufficient nest boxes for an affordable 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 stating goes, "you get just what you spend for". You might assume you've got hold of a deal, but you and also your group might rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of years, otherwise longer offered the proper treatment. Ultimately your poultry and also your fowl maintaining encounter will be much the much better for it.chick chick
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Bowdoin, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Cumberland Foreside, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Dresden, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Islesford, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Lagrange, Maine