Chicken Coops for Sale in Smyrna Mills, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Smyrna Mills, Maine
Changes in the Chicken Coop
Courtesy of Natalie Honan
Changes in the Chicken Coop
By Natalie Honan
Many students have realized in passing that the chicken coop has been looking a bit more crowded than usual. Recently, a group of new chickens were introduced into the current chicken habitat south of the Grove House.
Six chickens, who originally lived off campus, were about to become homeless, when Teddy Menard PZ’16 volunteered to house the chickens at Pitzer. To make room for these new birds, members of the Garden Club built a chicken coop which was located in the grove and backed onto the fence surrounding Harvey Mudd’s field.
During a Garden Club meeting, Jim Miller PZ ’18 and Gabe Elliot PZ ’18 spontaneously volunteered to assume some caregiving responsibilities for the new group of chickens.
“Our basic duties were just to make sure that they had food and water and to collect their eggs. We also wanted to spend some time with them because even a little human companionship can brighten up their day,” Elliot said.
The new chickens were content in their original home in the orchard until one night, when a creature made its way into the coop and ate one of the chickens. Apparently, a long tree which extended over and around the coop allowed for an unknown animal to enter the chickens’ habitat.
After the first attack, Miller and Elliot decided to confine the chickens into the physical structure within their coop to try to keep them safe. Once the chickens were inside, rocks were placed against the exit as to keep the chickens in and the killer out.
However, after two days had passed, one morning students discovered the rocks had been moved and another chicken was found dead.
Miller and Elliot are guessing the creature was either a raccoon or a bobcat. The creature was nimble enough to remove all the rocks out of place, pointing to a raccoon. However, bobcats are physically stronger and could slaughter a chicken a lot easier than a raccoon might have.
“We’ll just call it the creature,” Elliot said.
Menard also speculated that whatever the creature was, it had to be able to climb a very tall fence, strong enough to kill a chicken, and agile enough to break into the hutch.
“To get up the fence, the creature would have had to climb seven or eight feet and then climb down the tree into the hutch. So maybe it was something small, like a fox,” Menard said.
Many animals have been wandering towards more urban settings as a result of the drought wiping out food sources in their natural habitats.
To keep the remaining chickens safe from the creature, the Garden Club decided to relocate the chickens into the original chicken coop. Miller and Elliot explained that the group did not initially want to combine the flocks, due to the dangers of discord and disease within the two chicken populations.
“They grew up separately, they each have their own defined pecking orders and by putting them together, we were worried that they would fight to try and establish dominance over each other,” Elliot said.
“There’s also the issue of disease. One flock of chickens is used to a different set of germs, bacteria, and parasites than the other. So when you introduce them together, there’s the risk that one group will not have built an immunity that the other one has,” Miller added.
Regardless, the creature was a more direct and guaranteed threat to the safety of the chickens than the risks that came with combining the flocks. Left with no other choice, the Garden Club moved the four remaining chickens of the newer flock in with Pitzer’s original flock.
Upon first introducing the two flocks to each other, the chickens were met with some disagreement. The chickens did not socialize with each other and chased each other around when they were fed.
“There were definitely cliques formed, they did not get along. The original chicken flock would hang out closer to Mead and the other one would stay in their separate corner,” said Miller.
Miller and Elliot stated they believe the main reason for the preliminary conflict was limited space in the small tree in which most of the chickens sleep.
“There were complaints from people in Mead about all the noise the chickens were making because the chickens were fighting in the morning,” Elliot said, “This probably had to do with them all getting out of the tree in an orderly fashion.”
With time, the chickens are slowly growing more comfortable with each other. According to Elliot and Miller, they chickens have started mingling with each other. Menard reported not seeing chicken feathers (an indication of chicken violence) or hearing as much squabbling.
“I think overall it was a good transition, I think they’re safer and hopefully happier. Although, they are missing two of their comrades,” Elliot said.
Currently, members of the Garden Club are planning to expand the size of the coop as well as the housing structure to eventually have the capacity for up to 20 chickens.
Miller and Elliot both said the chickens play an important role in “bringing joy to the community.” They like to think of the chickens as the celebrities of Pitzer College. Menard added that the chickens “give students a special chance to engage with their campus.”
“They’re a very unique and interesting opportunity to express responsibility. The opportunity to have a relationship with the chickens is also important” Menard said.
Moreover, the chicken coop adds visual appeal to the grounds. The chickens are a highlight of the admissions tours and to school visitors.
“It’s a lovely space. The chicken coop is very old. It’s on display and very visible, so I think aesthetically it plays a very important role,” Menard said.
They also provide eggs for the Pitzer Food Collective and other Pitzer students.
Elliot and Miller wanted to dedicate this article to the first chicken who was slaughtered, “R.I.P. Mona.”
Chicken Coop House in Smyrna Mills, Maine
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Smyrna Mills 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 Smyrna Mills Maine chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Smyrna Mills, Maine With the massive increase in poultry maintaining there has been a just as huge surge in the variety of chicken stuff for sale. Fowl real estate is a case in point. It's also a classic instance of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as various prospective poultry housing professionals peddle an array of lodging claiming to be the suitable option to your chicken housing requirements. Frequently the rate looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are several economical and also awful cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only an expensive stack of firewood and a tiny group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Out Of Pallets in Smyrna Mills, Maine
Most of the time these mass produced designs are built of rapid grown wood - come the very first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The initial warm day implies the hardwood dries and also cracks, the felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their once eye-catching residential property however due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also possibly crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly fit four big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you left with? A few joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room and the pop hole door allows sufficient for the type you maintain, then the major demands of real estate come down to three points which will specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house should have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and these should be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. Your house should have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of climate. Be aware, ventilation works on the principle of cozy air leaving via a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of openings on contrary walls of your house and at the exact same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still true, yet you need to also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a complimentary variety bird is (and let's encounter it, among the motivations for keeping some hens in your home is perhaps boosted or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close take a look at some of the bargain homes - it could well be the house has the best perches, right ventilation as well as ample nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you get just what you pay for". You may think you've grabbed a bargain, however you and your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house as well as it will last for a couple of years, otherwise longer offered the proper therapy. Eventually your fowl and also your chicken keeping encounter will be much the far better for it.plan for sale
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