Chicken Coops for Sale in Waterboro, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Waterboro, Maine
Cleaning the Chicken Coop; Fall Chores
Pallets leaned against Coop act as a wind break in Winter.
One of the chores I like to save for beautiful Fall weather is cleaning out the coop. I know that before I got chickens, I really wanted to see other people’s coops and how exactly they did things. So here is a look at my coop and the regular maintenance I have to do to keep my girls happy.
My coop is basically a chicken tractor made permanent. See how I built my chicken coop . It is only good to protect my egg laying divas during the night. I have to get up in the morning to let them out. Trust me they let me know if I am late. Late is after 8 am, so it is not like they start wailing at 5 o’clock in the morning or anything. They have a kind of wail that they only make when they want out. It is the strangest sound, kind of like a long drawn out moooooom , where are youuuuuuu? You have to hear it to understand.
Shoveling out the “raised bed” that my coop rests on.
To clean out my coop I have get someone to help me lift the coop off of the raised bed it is resting on. I have handles on either end, but it is too heavy for me to lift by myself. Thankfully my strong boys help me. Shoveling out all the old bedding and putting in new wood shavings is not too hard of a task, considering you only have to do it about 3 times per year. I empty out the nest boxes and add new hay to freshen things up. I heard for the first time the other day that it is a good idea to add crushed dried herbs to the nest boxes to make them more appealing to your hens. I tried crushed basil this time. Yes, hens are a constant source of amusement. They always want to lay eggs where everyone else is laying. I just have 2 nest boxes for my 10 hens. I call them nest boxes but they are a little unconventional. One is an old basket, the other is an old drawer. This time of year as we transition into winter the light wanes as the days grow shorter. You will notice your egg production reducing quite a bit. This is why commercial growers put a light on their chickens 24 hours a day; to keep their egg production up. Here at the homestead we try to work with nature instead of against it. That means more kale, less eggs. This is also the time that the rabbits really start producing well. While one thing lessens another takes it’s place. This probably wouldn’t work up north but I lean pallets against the coop to provide a wind break. A lot of people ask me if I need to provide a heat source for my girls when temps fall below freezing. The answer is no. It is important to make sure their water is unfrozen. Other than that chickens really do better in the Winter here than the heat of the Summer.
My hens checking out the new fresh nest box.
After the coop is all cleaned out it is time to add new wood chips. I get what is called a “Country Boy” which is farmer speak for a big packed bag of wood shavings. I get mine from my local feed store in Garland. When I first started chickens I used Fall leaves gathered from the curb. I like the shavings better because the compost turns out better, but oak leaves work out well as chicken bedding too. It is hard to see in the picture but the bottom of the coop against the ground is wire screen(yard cloth) to keep digging critters out.
My hens get very curious about all the changes taking place and come to check it all out. I put the old bedding into a bin and drag it to my compost. Thankfully I don’t have to go too far. I keep my compost in my chicken yard so that my hens can stir my compost and so that they can get the minerals they need to keep their egg shells hard. I put the cracked egg shells in the compost where my hens can gobble them up therefore getting the calcium they need to keep their egg shells firm. I also put other left over kitchen scraps in the compost for them to enjoy. Speaking of compost, a lot of people ask me about mine. Let me just say that trying to heat up a compost pile without manure of some sort is NOT easy. To heat up a compost pile without manure add fresh grass clippings. However right about the time fall leaves are readily abundant, grass clippings are NOT readily available. If you have read my posts at all you are probably sensing a theme; get an animal or a source of manure for your garden. Chickens or rabbits, even worms; your garden will thank you with beautiful veggies.
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Chicken Coop Near Me in Waterboro, Maine
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Waterboro 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 Waterboro Maine chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Waterboro, Maine With the massive increase in poultry maintaining there has been a similarly huge rise in the range of poultry paraphernalia for sale. Fowl real estate is a case in factor. It's likewise a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being got on as different prospective fowl real estate specialists market an array of lodging declaring to be the optimal solution to your chicken real estate demands. Typically the price looks desirable, your house looks desirable, hell 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 several inexpensive and also nasty cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container showed up. The result was only a costly pile of fire wood and also a small flock of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Care in Waterboro, Maine
Generally these mass produced designs are created of fast grown up wood - come the very first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The first warm and comfortable day means the timber dries out and cracks, the really felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decline of their when appealing apartment but because the hovel is now a haven for, as well as probably abounding, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would match four large chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge room and also the pop opening door allows enough for the breed you keep, then the main requirements of housing come down to three points which will define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will likewise normally seek the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they create the most poo) causing stained eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is certainly much less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house needs to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds as well as these must be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your home. The house must have adequate air flow: without it after that condensation will build up every night, even in the chilliest of climate. Be aware, air flow works with the concept of cozy air leaving via a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on opposite walls of the house and also at the 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, yet you must also think about the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a cost-free range bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is potentially boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m settled. Take a close look at some of the deal homes - it could well be your home has the right perches, correct air flow and enough nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for". You could assume you've grabbed a deal, but you as well as your group might rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house as well as it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer offered the proper treatment. Eventually your poultry and your poultry maintaining encounter will be considerably the better for it.chicken plans
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