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Chicken Coops for Sale in Durant, Mississippi

Chicken Coops for Sale in Durant, Mississippi

chicken coop door opener

Ever since I built my new chicken coop late last year, I have toyed with the idea of an automatic door opener.  With daylight ever earlier each morning I feel obliged to be at the property by 9am to let the chicken out and I need more flexibility with my day.  All that needs done in the morning is opening the door to let them out.  In the evening it is more complicated – they must be counted to ensure all present; they must be segregated with the rooster on one side of the partition and his favorite victim on the other; and the feeding bowls must be filled.  Also a last collection of eggs and dispensation of required treatments (all organic, primarily neem oil diluted with baby oil for mites etc.) So I have to be there at day end but not in the morning.  An automatic door opener will improve my life.  I summarize below my road to my automatic door opener – this is for informational purposes only, I make no recommendations and accept no responsibility or liability if you go the same route.

I scoured the internet and found several versions for sale and good ideas for construction.  Two often mentioned issues were sticking doors and concerns that predators could lift the door and enter the coop.  I mulled these over.  I recently installed a heavy duty drawer slide (rated for 100 lbs weight) and I thought a similar 22″ slide (cost $15) would be the solution to vertical door binding.  This was the most expensive of the components.  I decided to use 0.75″ thick plywood sized 12″ wide, 22″ high – the weight of this door will secure it from most predators.  So two issues conceptually solved.

I decided to build the contraption away from the coop – much easier to sit and ponder each step in comfort with tools and coffee and NPR at hand, than to shuffle amongst the nutritional gifts of the chicken in the coop.  So I measured to ensure the frame would fit snugly in the coop and departed to my workshop.  And just as well I did, since it took way longer than I had conceived.  To raise and lower the door would need a motor of some sort.  I could have sprung for a drapery motor (circa $82) which comes with a timer, but this would be circumventing the challenge.  I needed a motor that turned slowly.  I have read of using a power drill or screwdriver.  I needed something which turned real slow and operated on 12 volts DC (intermediate plan is to install a solar panel and 12 volt battery, so I was trying to plan ahead).  And then, in the course of my googling, I found a 12VDC automobile seat motor, spins at approximately 190 rpm (revolutions per minute) draws 1.5 amps and cost (at the time $12.50, before $5.95 shipping.  My solution.  I ordered one.

assembled coop door ready for installation, showing motor and wiring, note plate bottom left which actuates on off switch

 

reverse view of assembly showing drawer slides and right angles to secure frame

 

So, with my two main components at hand (the drawer slide and the motor), I began construction.  I used surplus lumber to build a frame for the door, then I installed the drawer slide and then attached the door to the slide.  I noticed that the drawer slide has  a self-close mechanism which pulls the drawer to the closing position and therefore presents additional resistance when the door is first moved – to overcome this feature I placed a strip (.25″) of wood along the threshold to prevent the slide from fully seatings.  The motor has only 1 securing bolt hole at an odd location – I was determined to bolt the motor to the frame rather than use straps as I have seen done on the internet, since I am concerned that straps can shift with continuous, heavy use.  Staring and humming (silently) and staring some more, I eventually figured a way to bolt the motor to the frame.

showing cable which winds handily around the shaft (coop door up) and the right angle plate and bolt for securing motor to frame
another view of how the motor is bolted to the right angle plate to the frame

Now all that remained was the electrics.  I am not an engineer and do not have the software to show the circuit, so I will describe it – it is very simple.    The circuit starts with a 120VAC cable from the barn which goes to a $5 two prong timer set to go on at 7.30am and off 10 minutes later.  There are two outlets from the timer, one connected to a $2 night light and the other to a transformer which converts 120VAC to 12VDC at 1 amp (more about the night light later).

two lever actuated on off switches, two 2 way switches and terminal strip
5 amp fuse wire from my days in London, which I wired to terminal strip

When the transformer receives power via the timer it turns and, using 1/16 steel cable, lifts the coop door vertically and smoothly, thanks to the drawer slide.  When the door is about at the top of the slide, a plate on the door contacts the lever of an on/off switch and this contact breaks the circuit and the motor stops moving.  A few minutes later the timer switches off power to the transformer, so no more electricity is consumed.  I have installed another on/off switch, which is triggered when the door is lowered and reaches the bottom of the frame.  These switches cost just under $2 each.  If the accompanying photos raise a question about the exposed wiring, remember there is only 12 volts running and, as one of the photos shows, I did include a 5 amp fuse wire breaker.

hole drilled in shaft of motor to secure 1/16 steel cable
cable from motor goes around a pulley attached to a roof joist and then down to the coop door

According to the plan, the chicken will disembark the coop just after 7.30am and a few (or some) hours later I will arrive.  At the end of the day, the coop door must be lowered.  I know that if I reverse the current to the DC motor it will spin the other way.  So to lower the door I have to switch on the current (it was switched off by the timer) and reverse the leads to the motor.

A two way light switch is common about a house.  What it does is enable the house lights to be switched on or off from two locations.  Essentially, when it is in the up position it sends current from one terminal and in the down position the current exits from another terminal.  I bought two of these switches for about $1.50 each and affixed them side by side and wired one switch to the positive and the other to the negative wires from the transformer.  When both switches point up, the current flows via the on/off switch to the motor and the motor spins in one direction and raises the door until the circuit is broken by the on/off switch.  When both switches point down, the current flows via another on/off switch to the motor but the wires which arrive at the motor are reversed – the positive current goes to the terminal which previously received the negative current, so the motor spins the other way and the door is lowered until the circuit is broken when the door reaches the bottom and triggers the second on/off switch.  Since I made this post it has been suggested to me that it would be simpler to replace the two two-way switches with a single DPDT (double pole double throw switch),  more elegant and since both poles will be switched simultaneously, I don’t have to go through my present routine of ensuring the current is off before I use the switch (see below).

So to lower the door I need to be present, which is ok for the time being.  Eventually I will add some components so that the door can be raised and lowered automatically, but this will be just for emergencies since if it comes down too early not all the chicken may be in the coop and, if I set it late enough for stragglers, there is the possibility that a predator may join them for the night.  Plus they need to be fed (I suppose an electric food dispenser can be organized) and eggs collected.  Another concern is that if there is dirt or a twig across the threshold, then when the door descends it will not reach full bottom and so will not trigger the on off switch and the motor will keep turning and wind the door up to the open position – hello predators!

Oh, I forgot – the night light.  It is critical that the two two-way switches be moved simultaneously since if one is moved just an instant before the other, it could (I have to think this through) create a short circuit and destroy my transformer (this is an old transformer I found laying around but I would hate to have to replace it).  So the best is to ensure the current is off when I move the switches – my end of day routine is to point them down, then switch on the current and have the door descend, then switch off the current and point them both up, so that they will be ready for duty 7.30am next day.  To ensure I know when the current is on I have the night light and I simply have to remember not to move the switches if the night light is on.  Switching the current on i.e. bypassing the timer is simple since it has a lever to flow the current when the timer has switched off the current.

coop door in place with first prospective customer
and finally, the first to use the entrance, the victimized Lady Macbeth

Finally, I just ordered another motor (price has jumped in 2 weeks from $12.50 to $14.50) so I can build a second door to cater for the segregated housing arrangements.  But for the time being I will either leave the partition door in the coop open or house the rooster’s target with two companions in a nearby coop which has a little courtyard (if such be the term) so the three companions can stretch their legs while awaiting my arrival.

postscript – after 4 night’s use, the door so far works flawlessly.  The only issues have been lowering it at the end of the day – I have to make sure the threshold is clear of debris otherwise the motor winds it back up.  A solution could be to have it stop say 1/4″ above the bottom and position a 1/2″ strip of wood between the door and the outside so a predator cannot get its claws under the door in the 1/4″ space and try raise it.  I will focus on this when I fully automate the door later.  I have now completed and installed my second coop door – for details click .

Chicken coops for sale in Durant Mississippi can be found in agricultural newspapers and community newspapers. The coops are designed for housing for chickens in a safe and secure environment. They generally consist of a small building or large box that is then sectioned off to smaller boxes where the chickens go to roost (or sleep). Chicken coops are a must for raising chickens. Durant Mississippi chicken coops are commonly constructed from wood products. They are not very stable buildings and provide only minimal protection from the elements. Now chicken houses used for large production facilities are a entirely different structure, they are huge and can hold up to 10000 chickens. The coops are typically used for backyard operations, or small family farms. They vary in size depending on the number of residents they house. chicken-coops-in-Durant-MSFinding chicken coops for sale in Durant Mississippi is probably not one of the easiest of items to find. There are manufacturers of chicken houses and coops that sell them out right and Durant Mississippi farm supply stores that they can also be purchased through, but generally speaking it will take some effort to find a chicken coop for sale in Durant Mississippi, especially if your location is not a typically rural location. In rural locations that are much more abundant and easily had. Chicken Coops for sale in Durant MS

Chicken Coop Kits For 6-8 Chickens in Durant, Mississippi

A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Durant Mississippi" 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 Durant Mississippi chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Durant, Mississippi With the huge rise in chicken keeping there has actually been a just as large increase in the variety of chicken stuff for sale. Fowl housing is a proceedings in point. It's additionally a timeless example of the great old bandwagon being got on as numerous potential chicken real estate specialists peddle a range of lodging claiming to be the suitable option to your chicken housing requirements. Typically the cost looks appealing, your house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Certainly they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous affordable and nasty cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've tested a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The result was nothing but an expensive stack of firewood as well as a small flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams. Chickens for sale in Durant MS

Baby Chickens For Sale in Durant, Mississippi

Usually these standardized versions are built of fast grown up lumber - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The first cozy day indicates the timber dries as well as cracks, the felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decline of their as soon as appealing home but considering that the hovel is now a haven for, as well as possibly abounding, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 huge chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A couple of joints and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a big space and the pop opening door allows enough for the type you maintain, after that the main requirements of real estate boil down to three points which will certainly define the number of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch must be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise normally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) causing dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries can happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small types this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house should have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. The house ought to have sufficient air flow: without it after that condensation will develop every evening, also in the chilliest of climate. Be aware, ventilation works with the concept of cozy air leaving through a high gap attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your home and also at the very same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the points above are still real, but you ought to also take into consideration the run size. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a cost-free variety bird is (and also let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens in your home is possibly improved or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close look at some of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, proper ventilation and also ample nest boxes for a practical number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you get exactly what you pay for". You may assume you've got a deal, yet you as well as your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and also it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer offered the correct therapy. In the long run your poultry and your chicken keeping experience will be a lot the better for it.
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