Chicken Coops for Sale in Dorchester, Nebraska
Chicken Coops for Sale in Dorchester, Nebraska
The Small Property Chicken Coop
Raising chickens has been one of the most rewarding activities that we’ve done on our homestead. While we don’t raise them for meat due to the city’s limitations, we reap an abundance of benefits from the eggs and the friendship we get from our girls.
In this next installment of , I’ll be sharing how my husband Todd designed and built Lucy and Ethel’s chicken coop using his ingenuity and minimal square footage on our .18 of an acre.
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, I was so excited to finally be able to raise a couple of my own “girls” to gather eggs from and get to know. I’m an animal lover, and seem to be able to make friends with any animal that will allow me, so I knew that these two sweet little chicks and I would be the best of friends. , and since there were only two of them, there was plenty of space for them to grow.
After moving some things around to set up our ‘barn’ area, Todd got to work on the chicken coop. Being a handy guy, he decided that he could design and build one that would be cheaper than a prefab one, as well as be able to fit where we needed it to on our small property homestead.
He chose to use the back of one of our sheds as the back wall, and another of our sheds as the side wall, which would save us some money on hardware cloth. He framed the rest of the coop and door with 2x4s. He also extended the side of the shed so that it would serve as the left wall of the coop.
This is the shed that is being used as the back wall of the coop. You can see on the right side of the shed where the new section was added for the left wall of the coop.
Todd designed the girls’ coop to be multi-level, rather than sprawling. He used plywood and 2x4s for the levels, and built an access ladder to both. The girls had a hard time not slipping on the sleek wood between the “steps” on the ladder, so I added a few strips of to those sections, which worked beautifully.
Here is a current photo of the two levels (please excuse the “lived in” look, I apparently hadn’t taken photos of the two levels when it was new). This is the top level, where we keep the girls’ nesting boxes. The ladder with the comes up the right side of this level, and it’s easy for the girls to hop up to the top of their nesting boxes, where they like to sleep at night. Todd also built a roost for them, which is actually a few inches offset from the edge of the level so when they poop, most of it falls to the ground.
Here is the second level, where the girls usually eat their evening treats, and where I keep their oyster shell and water (water not pictured). You can see how the ladder passes the second level up to the top level, which makes it easy for the girls to hop to the second level at snack time.
We left the bottom level as dirt, and I have been using the , which has worked out well for the most part. We haven’t had any issues with large rodents, and any mice that dare step foot into the coop are met with two hungry beaks.
Todd lined the front of the coop with 1″ hardware cloth and it has worked very well for us; however, I have heard that if you have issues with raccoons, it’s best to go with 1/2″ hardware cloth.
Another Space Saving Coop Idea
A friend of mine, Nora from , and is based on Todd’s multilevel chicken coop design. Their family has around 8-10 girls, so this brooder was a very good fit for them. It can definitely be built outdoors and used as a space-saving chicken coop for 1-3 chickens, or built indoors to use as a brooder for a larger flock.
As you can see, building a chicken coop to fit your small property needs can be a much better prospect than purchasing a prefab chicken coop. While prefab coops are beautiful and promise ease, tailoring your chicken coop to fit in just the right place on your small property can be more affordable, and in the long run, more convenient for your homestead setup. As long as your chicken coop meets , you can build a chicken coop that meets your homestead’s needed requirements as well, which will make everyone happy!
For more great information on raising chickens, please visit Fresh Eggs Daily’s Ultimate Chicken Care Guide.
What size is your property? Do you use space-saving techniques?
Chicken Coop Door in Dorchester, Nebraska
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Dorchester Nebraska" 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 Dorchester Nebraska chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Dorchester, Nebraska With the big boost in chicken keeping there has been an equally large surge in the array of fowl materiel on sale. Chicken real estate is an instance in point. It's additionally a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous prospective fowl real estate specialists peddle a variety of cottage asserting to be the optimal option to your chicken housing demands. Usually the price looks appealing, your house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they understand a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous low-cost and also nasty cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was just a pricey heap of fire wood and also a tiny flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Pallets in Dorchester, Nebraska
Generally these mass produced designs are created of fast grown up hardwood - come the very first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The first warm and comfortable day means the timber dries as well as cracks, the really felt roofing system bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their once desirable apartment yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and probably abounding, the chicken keeper's bane, red mite. Add on that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit 4 large hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Presuming you are varying your birds in a big area as well as the pop opening doorway is big sufficient for the type you keep, then the primary requirements of housing come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch needs to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will likewise normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your house they must be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your house should have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. Your home should have sufficient air flow: without it then condensation will certainly develop every night, also in the chilliest of climate. Be aware, air flow deals with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of the 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 affixed then the points above are still real, however you should also think about the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping thickness for a free range bird is (as well as let's face it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is potentially boosted or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m made even. Take a close check out a few of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the best perches, correct air flow and also adequate nest boxes for a practical number of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You might assume you've grabbed a deal, however you as well as your group might rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house as well as it will certainly last for a few decades, otherwise longer given the proper treatment. In the long run your poultry and also your chicken keeping encounter will be considerably the better for it.chicken plans
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