Chicken Coops for Sale in Upton, Massachusetts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Upton, Massachusetts
Metal Siding on Chicken Coops
My chicken coops have always had metal roofs, and now I’m trying out metal siding, on the grounds that I want anything I build to last 20 years without maintenance, and the exterior plywood I’ve been using doesn’t deliver that.
[Update: Seven years after writing this blog post, the corrugated metal walls are holding up well. Seven years is long enough for plywood walls to start falling to pieces, but the metal walls are holding up well, with only a bit of rust here and there.]
One of my old pasture houses, with a 15-year-old metal roof and 7-year-old metal siding.
Does Metal Promote Condensation and Wetness?
People will tell you that metal siding sweats, because of condensation. This is true if the inside of the house is warmer than the outside, since moisture from the warm house will condense on the cold walls and ceiling. But it’s not about metal vs. wood, since condensation forms on any kind of roof or wall, no matter what it’s made of. In marginal cases, it’s more visible on metal because it’s 100% non-absorbent.
A Fresh-Air House is a Dry House
But you can dodge the problem with a fresh-air poultry house. If you add enough ventilation, the inside of the house is just as cold as the outside, and you get no condensation. My metal roofs don’t have condensation unless there’s snow on the roof and temperatures are above freezing. The rest of the time, my highly ventilated houses have dry ceilings and walls.
Fresh-Air Poultry Houses, by Prince T. Woods. Reprinted by me!
This is one of the main points of , the chicken-coop book I’ve republished (check out the if you haven’t already). It focuses on the advantage of well-ventilated houses, a concept that still needs to be repeated constantly today. You won’t read anything about metal walls or roofs in this book, since it predates their use, but it’s a treasure trove in other ways.
You can also prevent condensation with insulation, but I don’t do that.
Can you really prevent damp chicken houses through ventilation alone? Well, it works for me, and I live in Oregon, which has a famously wet climate!
Installing Corrugated Sheet Metal Walls
Back to the construction project. In keeping with my other rule of construction (never use a saw when you can buy stuff that’s already the right size), I ignored my existing stock of 10-foot metal roofing and obtained some cheap 8-foot corrugated roofing from Home Depot. My chicken houses are 8×8 feet.
Karen and I banged these sheets onto a couple of sides of a chicken house where the old OSB siding was falling to pieces. We used roofing screws. These are hex drive screws with neoprene washers. We used to use roofing nails, but they pull loose too easily and we hate having roofing panels flapping loose in the breeze! And using power tools instead of a hammer keeps my shoulders and back from seizing up. I bang the screw in a short way with a hammer, then drive it home with a cordless drill.
I’m told that roofing screws have three times the holding power of nails.
These panels went on very quickly, and if they ever rust through (which they will, at the bottom edges anyway, if I allow chicken manure to pile up against them), I can take the screws out and replace them just as easily.
So far, so good. The shiny metal really brightens up the interior of the chicken house, and because it’s non-porous, it provides no place for roost mites to accumulate.
Cheap Roofing is Good Enough
Plain old “ripple metal” (corrugated steel) is less rigid than V-channel roofing, but it’s proven to be stiff enough, even for a house that gets dragged around behind a tractor, which can put all sorts of stresses on it, especially if it gets hung up on holes and bumps along the way. So far, so good. That means that, so far, the cheapest possible corrugated metal has been perfectly adequate.
Watch out for translucent corrugated fiberglass. In my experience, it’s not very strong and becomes increasingly brittle over time. I’m sure it has its uses, but don’t think of it as being structural in the way that plywood and corrugated steel are.
You Don’t Have to Settle for Ugly
Of course, you can build a much prettier house with metal roofing with baked-enamel finishes in designer colors, and you should probably do this if you don’t want a silver house, since it’s hard to get paint to stick to galvanized steel. While I’m always looking for the cheapest, longest-lasting, easiest-to-build designs, there are plenty of other ways of approaching the problem of chicken-coop design.
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Chicken Coop Pallets in Upton, Massachusetts
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Upton 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 Upton Massachusetts chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Upton, Massachusetts With the big increase in chicken maintaining there has been a similarly big increase in the array of fowl materiel on sale. Fowl housing is a case in factor. It's additionally a timeless instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential fowl real estate professionals peddle a variety of holiday accommodation claiming to be the perfect solution to your chicken housing demands. Commonly the cost looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks appealing, hell even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Surely they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are several inexpensive as well as horrible coops swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive stack of firewood as well as a tiny flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Enclosures in Upton, Massachusetts
More often than not these mass produced models are constructed of rapid grown up wood - come the initial drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking residents. The first cozy day implies the timber dries and also splits, the really felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decline of their once attractive apartment however considering that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and also possibly crawling with, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 large chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you left with? A number of joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a big room and also the pop opening door allows sufficient for the type you keep, after that the main needs of real estate come down to 3 points which will certainly define the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box entry as chickens will also normally search for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless 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 require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they must be greater 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 ought to have a least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your house must have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Understand, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of openings on contrary walls of your home and at the same degree, this is what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, yet you ought to also think about the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a totally free range bird is (as well as let's face it, among the motivations for keeping some hens at home is potentially improved or better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close take a look at a few of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the best perches, right ventilation and also ample nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest 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, however you and also your group could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and it will certainly last for a few years, if not longer given the right therapy. Eventually your fowl and also your poultry maintaining experience will certainly be much the much better for it.coop for sale
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