Chicken Coops for Sale in Glen Ullin, North Dakota
Chicken Coops for Sale in Glen Ullin, North Dakota
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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Baby Chicks in Glen Ullin, North Dakota
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Glen Ullin North Dakota" 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 Glen Ullin North Dakota chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Glen Ullin, North Dakota With the huge boost in poultry keeping there has actually been an equally large surge in the range of fowl materiel on sale. Chicken housing is an instance in point. It's additionally a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as various prospective fowl real estate experts pitch a range of accommodation claiming to be the suitable remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Often the rate looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Definitely they understand a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap as well as nasty coops swamping the marketplace. I know this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was only a pricey stack of fire wood and also a little group of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Cheap in Glen Ullin, North Dakota
Usually these mass produced models are built of quick grown up hardwood - come the first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either defending a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The very first cozy day suggests the hardwood dries out and also splits, the really felt roof covering bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the chickens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their once appealing commercial property but since the hovel is currently a place for, and also possibly crawling with, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly match four large hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you entrusted? A number of hinges and some kindling. A respectable coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room as well as the pop opening door allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, after that the primary needs of real estate boil down to 3 points which will certainly define the number of birds your home will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch ought to be higher than the nest box entrance as chickens will additionally naturally seek the acme to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they generate the most poo) bring about stained eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries might occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly much less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in the house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house needs to have a the very least one nest box for every three birds as well as these should be off the ground and in the darkest location of the house. Your house needs to have sufficient ventilation: without it then condensation will develop every night, even in the chilliest of climate. Know, air flow works with the principle of cozy air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a collection of holes on opposite walls of the house as well as at the very same level, this is what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the factors above are still real, but you need to also consider the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free variety bird is (and let's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some chickens in your home is perhaps enhanced or better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird per 4m settled. Take a close consider some of the bargain homes - it could well be your house has the appropriate perches, right ventilation and also enough nest boxes for a practical number of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You may believe you've got hold of a deal, yet you and your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer offered the proper therapy. Ultimately your chicken as well as your chicken keeping encounter will be a lot the better for it.coop coops
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