Chicken Coops for Sale in Pine Bush, New York
Chicken Coops for Sale in Pine Bush, New York
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 Door in Pine Bush, New York
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Pine Bush New York" 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 Pine Bush New York chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Pine Bush, New York With the huge boost in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally huge rise in the array of fowl paraphernalia for sale. Fowl real estate is a proceedings in factor. It's likewise a timeless example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as numerous potential fowl housing experts pitch a selection of lodging asserting to be the optimal remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Commonly the rate looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, heck even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many affordable and also unpleasant cages flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've checked a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was nothing but an expensive stack of firewood and a small flock of bemused as well as currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Pinterest in Pine Bush, New York
Usually these standardized designs are constructed of rapid grown up lumber - come the initial drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that won't close, or ripping the doorway furniture off in a vain effort to launch the squawking citizens. The very first warm day indicates the lumber dries as well as cracks, the felt roofing bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not due to their disappointment at the decrease of their as soon as desirable apartment yet since the hovel is currently a place for, as well as probably abounding, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would match 4 big chickens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A few hinges and some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you around ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are varying your birds in a large space and the pop opening doorway allows enough for the type you maintain, then the primary demands of real estate come down to 3 points which will certainly specify the variety of birds the house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. A lot of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot rests pleasantly on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will likewise normally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) causing stained eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries could possibly happen when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in little types this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they should 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 ahead. Ideally your home should have a least one nest box for every three birds and also these must be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. Your house must have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will build up every night, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Realize, ventilation deals with the concept of cozy air leaving through a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of holes on contrary wall surfaces of your home and at the same degree, this is what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, however you should also think about the run size. The EU maximum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free range bird is (and also let's face it, one of the inspirations for maintaining some hens at home is potentially improved or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close take a look at a few of the bargain homes - it could well be the house has the appropriate perches, appropriate ventilation and enough nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to invest the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You might believe you've got hold of a bargain, but you and your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and also it will certainly last for a couple of years, if not longer provided the correct treatment. Ultimately your fowl and also your poultry keeping experience will be considerably the better for it.build diy
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