Chicken Coops for Sale in Amargosa Valley, Nevada
Chicken Coops for Sale in Amargosa Valley, Nevada
Cleaning the Chicken Coop; Fall Chores
Pallets leaned against Coop act as a wind break in Winter.
One of the chores I like to save for beautiful Fall weather is cleaning out the coop. I know that before I got chickens, I really wanted to see other people’s coops and how exactly they did things. So here is a look at my coop and the regular maintenance I have to do to keep my girls happy.
My coop is basically a chicken tractor made permanent. See how I built my chicken coop . It is only good to protect my egg laying divas during the night. I have to get up in the morning to let them out. Trust me they let me know if I am late. Late is after 8 am, so it is not like they start wailing at 5 o’clock in the morning or anything. They have a kind of wail that they only make when they want out. It is the strangest sound, kind of like a long drawn out moooooom , where are youuuuuuu? You have to hear it to understand.
Shoveling out the “raised bed” that my coop rests on.
To clean out my coop I have get someone to help me lift the coop off of the raised bed it is resting on. I have handles on either end, but it is too heavy for me to lift by myself. Thankfully my strong boys help me. Shoveling out all the old bedding and putting in new wood shavings is not too hard of a task, considering you only have to do it about 3 times per year. I empty out the nest boxes and add new hay to freshen things up. I heard for the first time the other day that it is a good idea to add crushed dried herbs to the nest boxes to make them more appealing to your hens. I tried crushed basil this time. Yes, hens are a constant source of amusement. They always want to lay eggs where everyone else is laying. I just have 2 nest boxes for my 10 hens. I call them nest boxes but they are a little unconventional. One is an old basket, the other is an old drawer. This time of year as we transition into winter the light wanes as the days grow shorter. You will notice your egg production reducing quite a bit. This is why commercial growers put a light on their chickens 24 hours a day; to keep their egg production up. Here at the homestead we try to work with nature instead of against it. That means more kale, less eggs. This is also the time that the rabbits really start producing well. While one thing lessens another takes it’s place. This probably wouldn’t work up north but I lean pallets against the coop to provide a wind break. A lot of people ask me if I need to provide a heat source for my girls when temps fall below freezing. The answer is no. It is important to make sure their water is unfrozen. Other than that chickens really do better in the Winter here than the heat of the Summer.
My hens checking out the new fresh nest box.
After the coop is all cleaned out it is time to add new wood chips. I get what is called a “Country Boy” which is farmer speak for a big packed bag of wood shavings. I get mine from my local feed store in Garland. When I first started chickens I used Fall leaves gathered from the curb. I like the shavings better because the compost turns out better, but oak leaves work out well as chicken bedding too. It is hard to see in the picture but the bottom of the coop against the ground is wire screen(yard cloth) to keep digging critters out.
My hens get very curious about all the changes taking place and come to check it all out. I put the old bedding into a bin and drag it to my compost. Thankfully I don’t have to go too far. I keep my compost in my chicken yard so that my hens can stir my compost and so that they can get the minerals they need to keep their egg shells hard. I put the cracked egg shells in the compost where my hens can gobble them up therefore getting the calcium they need to keep their egg shells firm. I also put other left over kitchen scraps in the compost for them to enjoy. Speaking of compost, a lot of people ask me about mine. Let me just say that trying to heat up a compost pile without manure of some sort is NOT easy. To heat up a compost pile without manure add fresh grass clippings. However right about the time fall leaves are readily abundant, grass clippings are NOT readily available. If you have read my posts at all you are probably sensing a theme; get an animal or a source of manure for your garden. Chickens or rabbits, even worms; your garden will thank you with beautiful veggies.
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Chicken Coop For Sale in Amargosa Valley, Nevada
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Amargosa Valley Nevada" 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 Amargosa Valley Nevada chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Amargosa Valley, Nevada With the big increase in poultry maintaining there has actually been a just as big rise in the variety of chicken stuff for sale. Chicken housing is a case in factor. It's likewise a timeless instance of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as various potential chicken housing specialists pitch an array of lodging claiming to be the optimal solution to your chicken housing requirements. Typically the price looks appealing, your house looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous affordable as well as awful coops flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed container appeared. The result was nothing but a costly heap of fire wood and also a little flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Ebay in Amargosa Valley, Nevada
Most of the time these standardized designs are built of fast grown wood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't close, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The first warm day indicates the wood dries and also cracks, the felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens choose not to enter. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as attractive residential property but because the hovel is now a place for, and most likely abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would fit four large chickens when that equipping thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you entrusted? A number of hinges and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds ought to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are varying your birds in a big space as well as the pop hole doorway allows enough for the breed you keep, after that the main needs of housing come down to three points which will certainly specify the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm broad with smoothed off sides so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch must be more than the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally 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 by the way when they produce the most poo) causing stained eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries might happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is certainly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on 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 3 birds as well as these must be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your house. Your house needs to have appropriate air flow: without it after that condensation will certainly build up every night, even in the chilliest of weather. Be aware, air flow deals with the concept of warm air leaving through a high gap attracting cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of holes on other wall surfaces of your home and at the exact same level, this is exactly what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, however you ought to additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping density for a complimentary array bird is (as well as let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is possibly enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m squared. Take a close consider some of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, proper air flow as well as enough nest boxes for an affordable variety 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 stating goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You could believe you've got hold of a deal, but you and also your group can rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and also it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the proper therapy. In the end your fowl as well as your fowl maintaining experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.diy build
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