Chicken Coops for Sale in Christopher, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Christopher, Missouri
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 Plans Pdf in Christopher, Missouri
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Christopher Missouri" 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 Christopher Missouri chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Christopher, Missouri With the big rise in chicken maintaining there has actually been an equally large increase in the array of chicken paraphernalia on sale. Chicken housing is a case in point. It's also a traditional instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be poultry housing experts pitch a selection of accommodation declaring to be the excellent remedy to your chicken real estate demands. Frequently the cost looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are many low-cost and nasty cages swamping the market. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed pail showed up. The result was just a pricey pile of firewood and a little group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Baby Yellow Chick in Christopher, Missouri
More often than not these mass produced designs are constructed of rapid grown up wood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not close, or tearing the doorway furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The very first warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries as well as fractures, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as appealing property but due to the fact that the hovel is currently a place for, and also possibly abounding, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match four large chickens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A few joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a big area and also the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the major needs of housing come down to 3 points which will certainly define the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally normally search for the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries can happen when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally your home must have a least one nest box for each three birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest location of your home. The house should have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, even in the coldest of weather condition. Understand, ventilation deals with the principle of warm air leaving with a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of holes on opposite walls of your home as well as at the exact same degree, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still real, yet you must also consider the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a complimentary array bird is (as well as let's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens at home is perhaps improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m settled. Take a close look at several of the bargain homes - it could well be your home has the best perches, correct ventilation and also sufficient nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You may believe you've got hold of a bargain, yet you and your group might rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house as well as it will last for a few decades, if not longer offered the correct treatment. Ultimately your poultry and also your fowl maintaining experience will be much the far better for it.chick coop
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