Chicken Coops for Sale in Brooklyn, Michigan
Chicken Coops for Sale in Brooklyn, Michigan
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 Large in Brooklyn, Michigan
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Brooklyn Michigan" 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 Brooklyn Michigan chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Brooklyn, Michigan With the massive boost in poultry maintaining there has been an equally huge surge in the range of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Poultry real estate is a case in point. It's also a classic example of the great old bandwagon being got on as numerous would-be chicken real estate professionals pitch an array of cottage claiming to be the optimal remedy to your chicken housing demands. Typically the price looks appealing, your house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they recognize a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap and also unpleasant cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was just a pricey heap of firewood and a small flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Quality in Brooklyn, Michigan
Typically these mass produced designs are built of rapid grown up wood - come the first decrease of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that will not close, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The initial cozy day suggests the timber dries out and fractures, the felt roof covering bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decline of their when attractive apartment yet because the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as most likely crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would suit 4 huge chickens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are varying your birds in a big room as well as the pop hole doorway allows sufficient for the breed you keep, then the primary demands of real estate come down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests easily on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also naturally search 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 create one of the most poo) causing stained eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries could take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your house they ought to be more 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 in front. Ideally your house should have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of the house. Your house must have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will build up every night, also in the chilliest of weather. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of warm air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on opposite wall surfaces of your home and at the very same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still true, however you need to also take into consideration the run size. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free variety bird is (and also let's encounter it, one of the inspirations for keeping some chickens in your home is potentially enhanced or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close consider a few of the deal residences - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, proper ventilation and also sufficient 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 spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get just what you pay for". You may assume you've got hold of a bargain, however you and your group could rue the day you did. Acquisition the ideal house and it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer provided the correct treatment. In the long run your fowl as well as your poultry keeping experience will certainly be considerably the far better for it.for sale for sale
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