Chicken Coops for Sale in Livonia, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Livonia, 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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Baby Yellow Chick For Sale in Livonia, Missouri
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Livonia 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 Livonia Missouri chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Livonia, Missouri With the substantial rise in chicken maintaining there has been an equally big increase in the array of poultry materiel for sale. Chicken real estate is an instance in point. It's likewise a classic example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as various prospective fowl housing specialists peddle an array of cottage asserting to be the optimal option to your chicken real estate demands. Typically the rate looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost as well as nasty cages swamping the market. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was just a costly stack of fire wood and also a little flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Amazon in Livonia, Missouri
More often than not these standardized designs are created of rapid grown up timber - come the first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The initial warm and comfortable day suggests the lumber dries out as well as fractures, the felt roofing bubbles and also boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not due to their disappointment at the decline of their once eye-catching apartment however because the hovel is now a haven for, as well as probably abounding, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly fit four big chickens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you left with? A couple of hinges and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a big space and also the pop opening doorway is big enough for the type you keep, then the major demands of real estate boil down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly additionally naturally try to find the highest point to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your house they need 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 must have a least one nest box for each three birds and also these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of your house. Your home must have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every evening, also in the chilliest of climate. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of warm air leaving with a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of holes on other wall surfaces of your house and also at the very same degree, this is exactly what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still true, yet you must additionally think about the run size. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a cost-free array bird is (and also let's face it, among the motivations for keeping some hens at home is possibly improved or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close take a look at a few of the bargain houses - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, appropriate ventilation and also ample nest boxes for an affordable 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 what you spend for". You could believe you've got hold of a bargain, but you as well as your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and it will last for a couple of years, if not longer offered the proper treatment. Ultimately your chicken and also your poultry keeping encounter will certainly be considerably the much better for it.plan chick
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