Chicken Coops for Sale in Whittier, North Carolina
Chicken Coops for Sale in Whittier, North Carolina
Cleaning the Chicken Coop; Fall Chores
Pallets leaned against Coop act as a wind break in Winter.
One of the chores I like to save for beautiful Fall weather is cleaning out the coop. I know that before I got chickens, I really wanted to see other people’s coops and how exactly they did things. So here is a look at my coop and the regular maintenance I have to do to keep my girls happy.
My coop is basically a chicken tractor made permanent. See how I built my chicken coop . It is only good to protect my egg laying divas during the night. I have to get up in the morning to let them out. Trust me they let me know if I am late. Late is after 8 am, so it is not like they start wailing at 5 o’clock in the morning or anything. They have a kind of wail that they only make when they want out. It is the strangest sound, kind of like a long drawn out moooooom , where are youuuuuuu? You have to hear it to understand.
Shoveling out the “raised bed” that my coop rests on.
To clean out my coop I have get someone to help me lift the coop off of the raised bed it is resting on. I have handles on either end, but it is too heavy for me to lift by myself. Thankfully my strong boys help me. Shoveling out all the old bedding and putting in new wood shavings is not too hard of a task, considering you only have to do it about 3 times per year. I empty out the nest boxes and add new hay to freshen things up. I heard for the first time the other day that it is a good idea to add crushed dried herbs to the nest boxes to make them more appealing to your hens. I tried crushed basil this time. Yes, hens are a constant source of amusement. They always want to lay eggs where everyone else is laying. I just have 2 nest boxes for my 10 hens. I call them nest boxes but they are a little unconventional. One is an old basket, the other is an old drawer. This time of year as we transition into winter the light wanes as the days grow shorter. You will notice your egg production reducing quite a bit. This is why commercial growers put a light on their chickens 24 hours a day; to keep their egg production up. Here at the homestead we try to work with nature instead of against it. That means more kale, less eggs. This is also the time that the rabbits really start producing well. While one thing lessens another takes it’s place. This probably wouldn’t work up north but I lean pallets against the coop to provide a wind break. A lot of people ask me if I need to provide a heat source for my girls when temps fall below freezing. The answer is no. It is important to make sure their water is unfrozen. Other than that chickens really do better in the Winter here than the heat of the Summer.
My hens checking out the new fresh nest box.
After the coop is all cleaned out it is time to add new wood chips. I get what is called a “Country Boy” which is farmer speak for a big packed bag of wood shavings. I get mine from my local feed store in Garland. When I first started chickens I used Fall leaves gathered from the curb. I like the shavings better because the compost turns out better, but oak leaves work out well as chicken bedding too. It is hard to see in the picture but the bottom of the coop against the ground is wire screen(yard cloth) to keep digging critters out.
My hens get very curious about all the changes taking place and come to check it all out. I put the old bedding into a bin and drag it to my compost. Thankfully I don’t have to go too far. I keep my compost in my chicken yard so that my hens can stir my compost and so that they can get the minerals they need to keep their egg shells hard. I put the cracked egg shells in the compost where my hens can gobble them up therefore getting the calcium they need to keep their egg shells firm. I also put other left over kitchen scraps in the compost for them to enjoy. Speaking of compost, a lot of people ask me about mine. Let me just say that trying to heat up a compost pile without manure of some sort is NOT easy. To heat up a compost pile without manure add fresh grass clippings. However right about the time fall leaves are readily abundant, grass clippings are NOT readily available. If you have read my posts at all you are probably sensing a theme; get an animal or a source of manure for your garden. Chickens or rabbits, even worms; your garden will thank you with beautiful veggies.
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Chicken Coop Kits For Sale in Whittier, North Carolina
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Whittier North Carolina" 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 Whittier North Carolina chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Whittier, North Carolina With the huge increase in chicken keeping there has been a similarly big increase in the variety of fowl materiel on sale. Fowl housing is a proceedings in point. It's also a traditional example of the great old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be fowl real estate specialists peddle a selection of cottage asserting to be the suitable option to your chicken housing demands. Frequently the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of inexpensive and also awful cages flooding the market. I recognize this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container showed up. The result was only an expensive stack of firewood and also a little flock of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Kits Ebay in Whittier, North Carolina
Usually these mass produced designs are created of quick grown hardwood - come the very first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't close, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The initial warm day indicates the wood dries and also fractures, the felt roofing bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their once appealing building but due to the fact that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and most likely abounding, the chicken caretaker's nemesis, red mite. Add on that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 big chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you entrusted? A couple of joints as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a cost-free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a big area as well as the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the breed you keep, then the major demands of housing boil down to 3 factors which will specify the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes and air flow. The majority of breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch must ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off sides so the foot sits easily on it. The perch must be more than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also normally search for the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) causing stained eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries might occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is undoubtedly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your house they need to be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for each 3 birds and also these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest area of the house. Your house needs to have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every night, even in the chilliest of weather. Know, ventilation works on the concept of cozy air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of holes on opposite walls of your house as well as at the same level, this is what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still true, yet you should likewise think about the run dimension. The EU maximum legal equipping density for a totally free variety bird is (as well as let's encounter it, among the inspirations for maintaining some hens at home is possibly improved or much better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out a few of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the best perches, correct air flow and enough nest boxes for an affordable number of birds, but 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 just what you pay for". You may believe you've grabbed a bargain, however you and also your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the best house and also it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer provided the right treatment. In the end your chicken as well as your fowl keeping encounter will be a lot the far better for it.plans for sale
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