Chicken Coops for Sale in Ludlow, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Ludlow, Missouri
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Chicken Coop Kits For 6-8 Chickens in Ludlow, Missouri
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Ludlow 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 Ludlow Missouri chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Ludlow, Missouri With the substantial boost in poultry keeping there has been a just as large increase in the variety of chicken stuff on sale. Fowl housing is a case in point. It's also a classic instance of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential fowl housing experts market an array of holiday accommodation asserting to be the suitable option to your chicken real estate demands. Usually the rate looks appealing, the house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Undoubtedly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous inexpensive and also horrible cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed pail appeared. The result was only a costly heap of fire wood and also a little group of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop For Sale in Ludlow, Missouri
Usually these mass produced designs are constructed of fast grown timber - come the initial drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking residents. The initial warm day implies the wood dries out and also fractures, the really felt roof bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their when attractive residential property however considering that the hovel is now a haven for, and probably abounding, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 huge chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A few joints and also some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge space as well as the pop opening door allows enough for the breed you maintain, then the main needs of real estate come down to three factors which will certainly specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch ought to be more than the nest box access as chickens will likewise normally seek the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce one of the most poo) causing dirtied eggs the following day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries might happen when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is undoubtedly less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house must have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds and also these need to be off the ground and also in the darkest location of the house. Your house must have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every evening, also in the chilliest of climate. Realize, air flow works on the concept of warm air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on other walls of your home and also at the very same degree, this is what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still true, but you need to additionally take into consideration the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a totally free range bird is (as well as let's encounter it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is perhaps boosted or far better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m made even. Take a close check out a few of the bargain residences - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, right ventilation and adequate nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You could assume you've grabbed a deal, however you as well as your group could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and also it will certainly last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer offered the appropriate therapy. Eventually your chicken as well as your fowl keeping encounter will certainly be much the much better for it.build diy
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