Chicken Coops for Sale in Swanzey, New Hampshire
Chicken Coops for Sale in Swanzey, New Hampshire
How To Set Up Your Chicken Coop
Often when people buy chickens from us they’ve never owned poultry before therefore I usually find myself explaining the basics of operating a healthy and effective coop. As I grew up on a farm much of it is second nature but many city folk are unsure of just whats involved. The easiest and quickest way to get the message across is to take them on a tour of our back section to see how everything in our coop has be arranged.
The important aspects I talk about are:
Feed …
Because chickens grow so fast I use larger feeders as soon as possible. If you are raising them from day one there are feeders available that have been designed to cover the first couple of weeks. After that one on an adjustable rope works well as its just a matter of raising the height from time to time as the chickens grow. To get the best results it needs to be kept high enough to be accessible but not too low as to allow litter and droppings to be scratched into it. As can be seen in the photo above an off cut of PVC down pipe with holes drilled through it works well as a cheap grit feeder. Commercial feeds normally have grit added however I wonder if its sufficient as our hens regularly go through a 2 kilo bag of crushed oyster shell.
Feeding guide …
Day old to 6 -8 weeks … chick starter crumbles. 8 – 14 weeks … pullet grower or similar. 14 weeks onward … regular chook feed. 18 – 20 weeks or just prior to the commencement of laying … oyster shell grit.
Don’t over do the kitchen scraps as the nutritional value from these is fairly low. If they are fed as a substitute for a properly balance diet egg production will suffer.
Water …
Its important to have a plentiful supply of good clean water at all times. Hens don’t drink much at anyone time but they do drink often and even more so during spring and summer when air temperatures increase. I always leave the coop door open when our hens free range as they can get cool water whenever they need it. Hens drinking dirty contaminated water from containers and puddles is a recipe for disease.
If its not clean enough for you to drink you shouldn’t give it to your hens.
As shown above I prefer to used a fixed water container as the hanging versions leak and spill water when knocked. Its easily removed for cleaning and is installed in such a way to prevent debris getting into it.
Perches …
Chickens have a natural instinct to perch therefore it important to provide good sturdy perches. The ones in our coup are about 5cm square and have the sharp edges taken off to make them more chicken friendly. Tree branches of a similar diameter also work well if they are reasonably straight. The perches shown above are approximately 50cm and 80cm above the floor however I set them at lower levels when I first introduce 3 to 4 week old chicks. They should be fixed securely to the coop walls whilst being easily removable for cleaning.
Even when I have day old chicks under lights I provide perches as its a habit that I want them to learn as soon as possible because it makes my job so much easier. There’s no space on my daily to do list for cleaning dirty nesting boxes and eggs. Perch space per bird should be about 20cm.
Without suitable perches hens will perch on what ever is handy namely nesting boxes, feeders and the like or they will crowd into a corner of a coop. The end result will be a hard mound of droppings which will ultimately end up in feathers on claws then into nesting boxes and subsequently onto eggs. Correctly positioned perches eliminates crowding, flighty hens, dirty eggs and ensures your hens will be more relaxed and manageable.
Like all females of the species they need to be pampered. My other half constantly reminds me that I pay more attention to our Flora’s that I do to her. Its not true of course !!
Nesting boxes …
For me keeping hens is all about egg production therefore when we I invested extra time and effort into creating workable nesting boxes.
- One nesting box for every 4 hens, wonder why sometimes as they all seem to lay in the same box.
- Easily accessible for me from the outside.
- Easily accessible for the hens from the inside.
- Removable for easy cleaning.
- Spacious … 40cm height x 40cm width x 40cm depth or thereabouts.
- Weather proof.
- 10cm lip at the front to keep shavings and eggs in.
When introducing young chickens I keep the boxes closed off until near the time when they will start laying. This is to ensure that they use the perches rather than sleeping in and fouling the boxes. As mentioned previously this means only one thing, dirty eggs.
Deep litter …
We use a deep litter system as it makes for easy maintenance and reduces the need to be continually cleaning chicken manure out of the coop. Simply put the floor is covered with a 10cm layer of untreated wood shavings which is raked over every few days. A more detailed explanation of this concept can be .
Access – easy and straight forward …
- Human sized entry, applicable if you need a large coop.
- Removing old litter is almost effortless, especially when I have to work the camera !
- Predator proof entry- exit.
A user friendly coop ensures that keeping hens doesn’t become just another unwanted chore so build or buy wisely.
Chicken Coop You Can Walk In in Swanzey, New Hampshire
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Swanzey New Hampshire" 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 Swanzey New Hampshire chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Swanzey, New Hampshire With the significant rise in poultry maintaining there has been a just as huge surge in the array of poultry materiel on sale. Chicken real estate is a situation in point. It's additionally a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as numerous prospective fowl real estate specialists pitch a variety of accommodation claiming to be the excellent option to your chicken real estate needs. Commonly the cost looks appealing, the house looks desirable, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Certainly they understand a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of low-cost and also awful cages swamping the marketplace. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only a costly heap of fire wood and also a small group of bemused as well as now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Quality in Swanzey, New Hampshire
Usually these mass produced designs are created of fast grown up timber - come the very first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm day implies the timber dries and also fractures, the felt roofing system bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their frustration at the decline of their once eye-catching commercial property however considering that the hovel is currently a place for, and also possibly crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would suit four large hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A number of hinges and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are varying your birds in a big room and also the pop hole doorway is big enough for the breed you keep, after that the primary requirements of housing come down to 3 factors which will certainly define the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise normally seek 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 soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries can take place when the bird gets down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is obviously less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and these need to be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. The house should have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly accumulate every evening, also in the chilliest of weather. Realize, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving via a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of holes on opposite wall surfaces of your home as well as at the exact same level, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, but you must likewise think about the run dimension. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a cost-free range bird is (and also allow's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens in your home is potentially enhanced or much better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close look at some of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, right ventilation and also adequate nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You may believe you've got a bargain, however you and your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will certainly last for a couple of years, otherwise longer provided the correct therapy. In the end your chicken as well as your fowl keeping encounter will be considerably the much better for it.plan chick
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