Chicken Coops for Sale in Lanse, Michigan
Chicken Coops for Sale in Lanse, 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 Cheap in Lanse, Michigan
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Lanse 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 Lanse Michigan chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Lanse, Michigan With the big increase in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally big surge in the range of fowl paraphernalia on sale. Poultry real estate is a situation in factor. It's likewise a timeless instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as various prospective poultry housing experts market a range of holiday accommodation declaring to be the optimal solution to your chicken housing requirements. Usually the price looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks appealing, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Surely they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap and unpleasant coops flooding the market. I understand this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The result was just a costly pile of firewood as well as a tiny flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Hatcheries in Lanse, Michigan
Most of the time these standardized designs are constructed of fast grown timber - come the initial decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The first warm and comfortable day means the timber dries as well as cracks, the felt roof covering bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their once eye-catching building but since the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and probably crawling with, the fowl keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit four big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A number of joints as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge area and also the pop opening doorway is big sufficient for the type you maintain, then the major demands of real estate boil down to 3 factors which will certainly specify the number of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also normally try to find the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) causing stained eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries could occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is obviously much less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for every single three birds and these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. Your home ought to have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, also in the coldest of climate. Understand, air flow works on the concept of cozy air leaving via a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of openings on opposite wall surfaces of the house and also at the same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still true, yet you must likewise take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping thickness for a free variety bird is (and allow's face it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is possibly boosted or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close look at some of the bargain residences - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, proper air flow as well as adequate nest boxes for a practical number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You might assume you've got a deal, but you as well as your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house as well as it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer given the right treatment. In the long run your chicken as well as your fowl keeping encounter will be a lot the much better for it.coops for sale
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