Chicken Coops for Sale in Hope, New Mexico
Chicken Coops for Sale in Hope, New Mexico
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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Baby Chick Enclosure in Hope, New Mexico
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Hope New Mexico" 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 Hope New Mexico chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Hope, New Mexico With the substantial increase in chicken keeping there has actually been a similarly huge surge in the variety of chicken stuff on sale. Chicken housing is a situation in factor. It's additionally a timeless example of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various prospective poultry housing professionals market an array of lodging asserting to be the ideal remedy to your chicken housing needs. Usually the cost looks attractive, the house looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous economical as well as awful cages swamping the market. I understand this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container appeared. The result was only a costly stack of fire wood as well as a little flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits in Hope, New Mexico
Generally these standardized designs are constructed of quick grown wood - come the very first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a doorway that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The very first warm and comfortable day means the wood dries out as well as cracks, the really felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their when eye-catching property however because the hovel is currently a place for, and also most likely crawling with, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly suit four big hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you entrusted? A number of joints and some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to four birds must cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are varying your birds in a huge room and the pop opening doorway is big enough for the type you maintain, then the primary demands of housing come down to three factors which will certainly specify the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. A lot of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch should be above the nest box entry as chickens will likewise normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce one of the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could happen when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is obviously less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in the house they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home ought to have a the very least one nest box for each 3 birds and also these should 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 night, also in the chilliest of weather condition. Realize, air flow works on the concept of cozy air leaving with a high void drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of openings on contrary wall surfaces of your house as well as at the same level, this is exactly what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run affixed then the factors above are still real, yet you should likewise consider the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping thickness for a complimentary array bird is (and let's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens at home is perhaps boosted or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out a few of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the right perches, right air flow and also sufficient 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 spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You may think you've grabbed a deal, however you and also your group could rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer offered the correct therapy. Eventually your chicken and also your chicken keeping encounter will be much the far better for it.coop chick
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