Chicken Coops for Sale in Dedham, Massachusetts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Dedham, Massachusetts
Our Finished Chicken Coop
These past few days had us outside enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the jobs I crossed off the list was to clean out our new chicken coop.
Because of our over the past year or so, our family was going through several dozen eggs a week. (I can’t help it – I’m hooked on !)
So last summer we quit “planning” to get our own chickens, and actually did it. The whole family pitched in to build a little abode for our egg-laying beauties. And because we were first-time chicken owners and newbies in all chicken-related topics, we joined and gleaned months worth of ideas, do’s and don’ts, and building plans. (I can’t recommend this site highly enough! If you have the slightest inclination of doing chicken anything, go here and read to your heart’s content.)
It was so helpful to see photos and designs when we were in the planning stages, I thought I’d share pictures of our coop and the hows and whys of what we did.
The chicken coop
Instead of starting from scratch, we bought a small granary from my brother-in-law; about 9’x7′ inside measurements. This gave us about 3 sq. ft. per bird. The coop is nothing fancy really. It isn’t visible from the road and we don’t live in town with neighbors to care about the view from their back window, so we used as much scrap material as possible. Plus we didn’t think the chickens would mind.
So far they haven’t rebelled.
We re-tinned the roof (that’s my honey!) and I got to use the saw sawl to make holes for the windows and vents. You can call me Mrs. Handyman. . .
Inside the chicken coop
Framing the windows and vents was the most time consuming part since the building wasn’t square. We used insulation and vapor barrier for the walls for added moisture protection and warmth because the windchill can get -40 below or more in the winter.
We made the roosting boards parallel and the same height because apparently hens will act like old biddies and fight for the top most board. (Some people’s kids. . .)
We rounded the edges of the roosting boards so it’s easier on the hens’ feet. The boards can be removed for ease of cleaning the poop boards underneath.
Poop boards seemed quite popular among chicken peoples and we’ve quickly learned why. First, chickens poop more when roosting, so the roosting boards are placed above the poop board. This makes clean up as simple as buying a wide sheetrock mudding tool and scraping the droppings into a bucket each day. We then add the droppings to our compost pile.
We originally built a rollaway community nesting box directly underneath the poop board, but the chickens ended up laying eggs everywhere but there. Eventually we added a ‘normal’ set of 12″x12″x12″ nesting boxes and they’re happy campers again.
We decided to use the deep litter method. We spread a bag of wood chips on the floor and because the hens leave most of their droppings on the poop boards, there’s minimal waste on the floor. The chickens like to scratch and fluff the wood chips so it gets stirred up and aerated. This means the coop is less smelly, and there’s only a few minutes of daily cleaning of the boards. If needed, you can add more wood chips throughout the year.
We clean the coop out fully in the spring and fall. So far it’s worked wonderfully.
We nailed a board across the doorway to prevent the rising litter from falling out every time we opened the door.
The feeders are gravity fed. They’re made of PVC pipe with a 90 degree corner and a cap at the end. We like that we can leave for several days at a time and don’t have to worry about having someone come out to do chicken chores for us.
This water stand was Travis’s idea. The hens have a platform to stand on so no matter how high the litter gets, they can reach the water comfortably.
The chicken nipples underneath are another idea shared by BYC that I LOVE. The water doesn’t drip, there is no poop or mud to worry about, and our full grown hens figured it out within 24 hrs. The pails are covered with lids to prevent the water from getting dirty and it lasts for at least a week (we add apple cider vinegar).
When we’re home, we clean them out and give them fresh water every few days.
There’s electricity on the wall above the waterers with a timed light switch. We use bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing during the winter. We had to add the slanted plywood because the hens were roosting on the pails. (I told you they fought for highest roosting privileges.)
The pop door is a simple design, and it works great. It slides up and down, held in by L shaped boards.
When in the closed position, the hook and eye on the right prevent racoons (or children!) from trying to lift the door from the outside.
We used 1/2″ x 1/2″ hardware cloth to cover the insides of the windows and vents. . .
. . .and plexiglass for the actual windows.
We made sure to have plenty of vents (thanks to sage advice from Pat’s Ventilation Page) and used eyes and rope to open and close them at different heights.
Finally, we added a small lean-to to the side so the hens could come out in the winter. This helps block snow drifts right in front of the pop door, and they can still come out for fresh air and sunshine when they get cabin fever.
It might not win a beauty contest – but there’s something to be said for function-ability Hope this gave you some ideas!
What have you done to your chicken coop? We’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
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Chicken Coop Build in Dedham, Massachusetts
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Dedham Massachusetts" 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 Dedham Massachusetts chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Dedham, Massachusetts With the huge increase in chicken maintaining there has been an equally big rise in the array of chicken paraphernalia for sale. Poultry housing is a situation in point. It's additionally a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as various potential fowl real estate specialists pitch a selection of holiday accommodation claiming to be the ideal remedy to your chicken housing needs. Typically the cost looks attractive, the house looks desirable, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap and also nasty cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed container appeared. The outcome was just a pricey pile of firewood as well as a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chickens For Sale in Dedham, Massachusetts
Most of the time these standardized designs are created of rapid grown hardwood - come the initial drop of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that won't close, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The initial warm and comfortable day suggests the lumber dries out and also fractures, the really felt roof bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not due to their frustration at the decrease of their as soon as appealing building but considering that the hovel is currently a haven for, and also probably abounding, the fowl caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 huge hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you left with? A number of joints and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a large space as well as the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you keep, after that the main requirements of housing boil down to three factors which will define the number of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box access as chickens will likewise normally look for the acme to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in your home they must be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably the house must have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds and these need to be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your house. The house needs to have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly build up every night, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, ventilation deals with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high space attracting cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of the house and also at the same level, this is exactly what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still real, yet you should likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a complimentary array bird is (as well as allow's face it, among the motivations for keeping some chickens at home is potentially improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider several of the bargain houses - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, right air flow and adequate nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater 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 may assume you've got hold of a bargain, however you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will last for a few years, otherwise longer given the appropriate therapy. In the end your chicken and also your poultry maintaining encounter will be much the better for it.build coop
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