Chicken Coops for Sale in Oxford, New Jersey
Chicken Coops for Sale in Oxford, New Jersey
Preparing Your Coop/Flock For Winter – Part 1: Roof Structure
Last week I posted a list of items that you may want to consider doing to make sure you and your flock are ready for the colder winter months. I’m going to try address one or two of these topics every Wednesday so that if you are going to work on them over the weekend you have time to plan.
Again I know it’s hard to even think of winter when the temperatures are in the 90’s in many parts of the country, but the cold weather will be on us before you know. Its much easier to take the time now to button up any issues, then trying to do it in the dead of winter. Many of you will not deal with snow and ice (lucky you!) but many of these topics effect all of us backyard chicken keepers and have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your coop…As I always say if what I post pertains to you and helps, great, if not just forget about it and move on…
Coop Roof Structure:
The roof of your coop is the first line of defense against the elements. A sound roof will not only prevent water penetration but will help in keeping your coop warm during the winter. As we all know heat rises (check our second floor of the house out in the summer!) and a solid roof can help trap some of this heat keeping the inside of the coop warmer. The important thing to remember is that you do not want to trap all of the heat by cutting off ventilation. Heat develops moisture and condensation so it’s important to have a balance. Ventilation is an important aspect of the coop, without it moisture builds, ammonia fumes become overpowering and your birds health will suffer. There is a huge difference between ventilation and a draft, we will be discussing “drafts” in a later post.
Having controllable ventilation at the peak of the roof structure will help to maintain a healthy coop. This can easily be accomplished with some screen covered holes on the side walls of the peak and using a piece of plywood to control how much of an opening you want. There are some much more elaborate systems out there but they all accomplish the same thing, controllable ventilation. If you don’t have ventilation at the peak you may want to consider it. There is a reason why so many homes have ventilation at the eves and peaks, it helps to control moisture in the home during the winter as well keeping the home cooler in the summer months.
Ensuring that your roof is leak free is also very important. That little leak you have been dealing with all summer may become a big issue during the winter when you get the “freeze/thaw effects”. During the day as snow and ice melt, water can leak into the the roof structure. At night this water freezes and expands resulting in a larger and larger leak as the days go by. There are many products out there that can help seal up these leaks but be careful some have toxic fumes that could be harmful to your flock. Sometimes just using a new shingle on asphalt roofs does the trick. Metal roofs typically leak at the seams or nail heads, a good quality sealer should handle these areas. Just remember most of the time the leak you see dripping on the underside of the roof came from a hole or crack above where you see the dripping. When water leaks in, gravity causes the water to run to the lowest point. It may take some investigation to find where the leak is actually coming from but a good starting point is to start above the spot you see the leak dripping.
If the wood on your coop roof is rotted it should be replaced. Rotted wood normally contains a large amount of moisture. The moisture in this wood adds moisture to the coop (remember, it’s a bad thing). “Freeze/Thaw” effects can take place on this rotted wood causing it to deteriorate even quicker. Snow loads can add significant weight to the top of the coop and a unstable structure runs the risk of collapse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a roof collapse in the dead of winter! If the snow and ice get to heavy for the roof on your coop, you should remove it. When removing it be careful not to damage the roof shingles or other covering! Stand on a steady surface with both feet firmly planted on the ground or step when attempting to remove snow and ice.
A roof leak also adds unwanted moisture to you coop by letting water in and keeping the litter wet. The interior of a coop has enough moisture from bird droppings and the moisture a chicken itself gives off by breathing, you don’t need or want the added moisture from a leak. If the litter in the coop becomes wet from any source during the winter you should remove it and replace it with fresh as quickly as possible. Placing a bucket under the leak to catch the drip is not a good fix. When water drips into the bucket it can splash a fine mist a considerable distance. This mist keeps the litter wet and the air inside the coop too moist.
A well ventilated, leak free, structurally sound roof on your coop is a extremely important part in maintaining the overall health of your coop. This is not an area that you want to just “make do” and cut corners. There are many materials that you can use for a roof. Some, like scrap metal roofing or end cut pieces of tar paper and shingles can be found at a local building site (ask first, you don’t want the end up in jail!) or a recycling center. I would avoid using a tarp, although these are good in an emergency should you find a leak. And never use pressure treated wood which can give off toxic fumes in a enclosed area like a coop. If your roof membrane is water tight there is no need for pressure treated plywood or lumber as a deck surface.
By addressing the coops roof now you can prevent dealing with the effects of a wet environment in the dead cold of the winter months…Hope this helps….
FrankThe Chicken Fountain™
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Chicken Coop Necessities in Oxford, New Jersey
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Oxford 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 Oxford New Jersey chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Oxford, New Jersey With the significant increase in chicken keeping there has been an equally huge rise in the range of fowl materiel for sale. Fowl housing is a proceedings in point. It's likewise a classic example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as various prospective poultry housing professionals pitch an array of lodging claiming to be the ideal solution to your chicken real estate demands. Commonly the cost looks eye-catching, your house looks appealing, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Definitely they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous inexpensive and awful coops swamping the market. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the area, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was nothing but an expensive pile of fire wood and a small group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Hatcheries in Oxford, New Jersey
Generally these standardized models are constructed of quick grown up lumber - come the very first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a door that will not close, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The very first warm and comfortable day means the lumber dries as well as cracks, the felt roofing bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decline of their once attractive home however considering that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and probably crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it said on the blurb that it would fit four big chickens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and just what are you entrusted? A number of joints as well as some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are varying your birds in a large area and also the pop opening door is big enough for the breed you keep, then the major requirements of real estate come down to 3 points which will specify the number of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate the most poo) leading to stained eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries might take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is clearly much less), plus if more than one perch is set up in your house they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Preferably your house must have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and in the darkest location of your home. Your home must have appropriate air flow: without it then condensation will develop every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, ventilation works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high space attracting cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on opposite wall surfaces of your home and also at the exact same degree, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the points above are still true, but you need to additionally think about the run size. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a free array bird is (and allow's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens in your home is perhaps improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out several of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the best perches, correct air flow and also ample nest boxes for an affordable variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You may think you've grabbed a deal, yet you and your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house and also it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer given the correct treatment. Ultimately your fowl and also your chicken keeping encounter will certainly be a lot the far better for it.chick coop
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