Chicken Coops for Sale in Oakhurst, New Jersey
Chicken Coops for Sale in Oakhurst, New Jersey
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!
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Chicken Coop Enclosures in Oakhurst, New Jersey
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Oakhurst New Jersey" 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 Oakhurst New Jersey chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Oakhurst, New Jersey With the big boost in poultry maintaining there has been a just as large increase in the variety of poultry materiel on sale. Fowl real estate is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a traditional example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different prospective fowl real estate specialists pitch a range of holiday accommodation asserting to be the suitable option to your chicken real estate needs. Usually the cost looks eye-catching, your house looks appealing, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Definitely they recognize a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of low-cost and unpleasant cages swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was only a pricey pile of fire wood and also a small group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Run in Oakhurst, New Jersey
More often than not these mass produced versions are built of rapid grown hardwood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that will not shut, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking citizens. The first cozy day indicates the lumber dries out and fractures, the really felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their as soon as eye-catching property yet because the hovel is currently a place for, and probably crawling with, the chicken keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly suit four big hens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you entrusted? A few hinges and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge space and the pop opening doorway allows enough for the breed you keep, then the primary requirements of real estate come down to three factors which will specify the number of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch needs to be more than the nest box access as chickens will certainly likewise normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) resulting in stained eggs the following day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could possibly occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your house they need to 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 home should have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds and also these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. The house must have appropriate ventilation: without it then condensation will accumulate every night, even in the coldest of weather condition. Understand, air flow works on the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving through a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a set of holes on opposite walls of your home and also at the very same degree, this is what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still true, however you ought to also take into consideration the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking thickness for a cost-free range bird is (as well as let's encounter it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some chickens in your home is possibly boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m settled. Take a close look at some of the deal homes - it could well be your house has the ideal perches, right air flow and also sufficient nest boxes for a practical 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 might assume you've got hold of a bargain, but you and also your flock might rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house as well as it will last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer provided the proper therapy. Ultimately your fowl and your poultry keeping experience will certainly be much the better for it.for sale coops
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