Chicken Coops for Sale in Uniontown, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Uniontown, 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!
shared with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Related Posts
Latest posts by Paula ()
- - March 22, 2016
- - January 28, 2016
- - January 22, 2016
Chicken Coop Small in Uniontown, Missouri
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Uniontown 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 Uniontown Missouri chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Uniontown, Missouri With the massive boost in chicken maintaining there has actually been a just as big rise in the variety of fowl stuff on sale. Chicken housing is an instance in factor. It's additionally a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as various prospective chicken housing specialists peddle a range of holiday accommodation declaring to be the perfect solution to your chicken housing needs. Commonly the cost looks appealing, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks desirable, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost as well as nasty coops flooding the market. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only a costly stack of fire wood as well as a tiny group of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Guides in Uniontown, Missouri
More often than not these mass produced versions are constructed of fast grown timber - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that will not close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking residents. The first warm and comfortable day means the lumber dries and also splits, the really felt roof covering bubbles and boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decrease of their once eye-catching building but because the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and also probably crawling with, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly suit four huge hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also exactly what are you left with? A couple of joints and some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a big area and the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you keep, after that the primary requirements of housing come down to three factors which will certainly specify the number of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch should be more than the nest box entry as chickens will certainly also naturally 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 generate one of the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could possibly happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your home ought to have a the very least one nest box for each three birds as well as these need to be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of your home. Your home should have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will build up every night, also in the coldest of weather condition. Understand, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving with a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your house as well as at the exact same degree, this is what's referred to as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed after that the factors above are still true, however you must additionally consider the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a cost-free variety bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in your home is potentially boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out some of the deal residences - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, correct ventilation and enough 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? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get just what you spend for". You could believe you've got a deal, but you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the right house and it will last for a few decades, if not longer given the right treatment. In the end your poultry as well as your fowl maintaining encounter will be much the better for it.chickens plans
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Smithton, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Fenton, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Aurora, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Saint Charles, Missouri
Chicken Coops for Sale in Oxly, Missouri