Chicken Coops for Sale in Port Sanilac, Michigan
Chicken Coops for Sale in Port Sanilac, Michigan
Chicken Tractors vs Chicken Coops
A lot of people do not seem to know this but are also chicken houses. The only real difference between the two is that chicken tractors can be moved from place to place and a chicken house is fixed in one place. You can have both if you have the means and the space in your yard, but either will do to house your chicken flock, provided they all fit with plenty of room to move. If you are not too familiar with raising chickens and keeping hens, it wouldn’t be any wonder if you didn’t immediately realise this difference.
A fixed chicken house or chicken coop
Planning ahead
But now knowing that there is a difference between the two, it will be easier for you to plan how you’re going to keep your chickens housed. Especially if you are planning to raise your very own chickens soon, but don’t actually have them yet, you have the chance to look around and see if you can pick up something pre-loved (second hand!) or even modify something to suit your yard space and the number and types of chickens that you’re planning to keep. A purpose built chicken house or chicken tractor will probably suit best, but other types of small to medium animal enclosures could work equally well. It’s all an individual choice, really.
Chicken tractor plans
If you have been searching for different types of chicken tractor plans online, you will have seen a great variety of chicken tractor designs. While most may look similar to each other, there will also be some that have been made with a great deal of creativity. Some of those designs are so pretty that people cannot help but buy them or have them made. Sometimes, people attempt to make chicken tractors themselves too. This may or may not be successful depending on how gifted the individual is in carpentry and handiwork…but, hey, if it keeps the chickens in and safe and dry and warm, and the predators out, does it really matter?
What Are Chicken Tractors For?
All round protection
Depending on how big the tractor is, the chickens are free to roam around the enclosed space with plenty of room to move. This really is beneficial especially if there are some things around your yard area that you would like to protect from your chickens. For instance, if you have some plants that will be destroyed if pecked by chickens, if you have garden mulch in your garden beds (the chickens will rearrange that for you…) or if you have neighbors who keep a vegetable patch and don’t take kindly to your chickens helping themselves.
Largely, though, the chicken tractor is to protect the chickens from the environment as well – they can get through holes in fences and potentially fall foul of dogs, and it’s not unusual for a neighborhood dog to run loose and have a bit of sport with an unsuspecting chicken. Chickens and traffic don’t mix and if you live in a fairly rural area, foxes love a bit of chicken for dinner. If any of these situations sound like you, you can always house your flock in a decent sized chicken tractor so that they can roam happily, but not to the point when they can reach treasured plants or be in danger.
A sustainable approach
One benefit of the chicken tractor as compared to the chicken coop is that it is movable and that you do not need to build a floor for underneath your chickens. This also means that you do not have to exert more effort in maintaining the floors of the chicken house – like cleaning and mending or maintaining. The ground will be the floor and all their droppings will serve as fertilizer. This does not mean though that you can let their tractor stay rooted in just one place. While the area may provide enough entertainment for your chickens for a short while, there will come a time when you would need to move them to another area with fresh ground to peck and to let the original spot recover. The chicken scratchings will also uproot and kill off any grass they live on in a fairly short time, so moving the tractor regularly is the best approach.
Potential health benefits
According to research, chickens that are living in tractors may be able to thrive better than those who are in cages because they have enough access to the outside world and they are not being deprived of their daily needs. While those in cages may also have food and water, there are times when they will not be able to receive enough sunlight. There are also instances when they cannot move properly, if their cage isn’t large enough, which means that they will not be getting enough exercise. A chicken tractor is a great improvement on this.
More Benefits of Chicken Tractors
Other than the obvious benefits already described above, it has been said that chicken tractors will potentially allow hens to make their own nests or areas where they will choose to lay their eggs. But there are certainly advantages to have “manmade” nesting boxes available where hens can lay their eggs. This means that the layout can be designed so that you will be able to gather eggs more easily instead of trying to find the eggs in the various different places where your chickens might have hidden them. (Two guesses where the idea of the Egg Hunt fiasco we go through at Easter Time came from!)
Is it okay if your chickens are pets?
This is not at all unusual to find; there are people who are not just keeping chickens for their eggs, fertilizer or other reasons we won’t mention in their earshot. Plenty of people like to keep backyard chickens because they are simply just great pets – they are not that fussy, not hard to look after and aren’t too messy if your yard isn’t too perfectly manicured.
Once a chicken has come to the end of its egg-laying career, it seems only fair to let it live its life out in peace and health and happiness in it’s own home sweet home! Although some people that have never known the joys being a chicken owner will find it a bit weird, a sweet creature that demands little, appreciates all, takes up little space and gives what it can is a great thing to have around (wouldn’t you agree?).
Your backyard chickens will adapt happily to a chicken tractor or a chicken house equally well. It’s really only a question of what will best suit your needs to be able to live with them in your yard with minimum fuss and maximum practicality.
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Chicken Coop Yard Ideas in Port Sanilac, Michigan
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Port Sanilac 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 Port Sanilac Michigan chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Port Sanilac, Michigan With the significant increase in chicken keeping there has actually been a similarly large increase in the variety of chicken materiel on sale. Chicken real estate is a proceedings in factor. It's also a timeless instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential chicken housing experts market a range of accommodation asserting to be the ideal solution to your chicken real estate needs. Frequently the price looks attractive, the house looks desirable, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap as well as unpleasant cages swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive pile of firewood and also a small group of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Door in Port Sanilac, Michigan
Usually these mass produced designs are constructed of fast grown wood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The very first cozy day means the wood dries and fractures, the felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decline of their as soon as desirable commercial property but considering that the hovel is currently a haven for, and probably crawling with, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 big hens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also just what are you entrusted? A number of joints and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large space and the pop opening door is big enough for the type you maintain, then the main requirements of housing come down to three factors which will certainly define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. The majority of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch must be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also normally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower 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) leading to soiled eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house should have a the very least one nest box for every three birds as well as these need to be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of the house. The house must have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will develop every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Understand, ventilation works on the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a set of openings on contrary walls of your home and at the exact same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, yet you need to also take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a free variety bird is (as well as let's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens at home is perhaps boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close consider several of the bargain residences - it could well be your house has the best perches, correct ventilation and also sufficient nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You may think you've got a deal, yet you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will last for a couple of years, if not longer provided the proper treatment. Eventually your chicken and also your chicken maintaining encounter will certainly be much the better for it.chicken build
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