Chicken Coops for Sale in Cleveland, Ohio
Chicken Coops for Sale in Cleveland, Ohio
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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Chicken Coop Roost Ideas in Cleveland, Ohio
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Cleveland Ohio" 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 Cleveland Ohio chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Cleveland, Ohio With the massive boost in poultry keeping there has actually been a similarly big surge in the range of poultry materiel for sale. Poultry housing is a situation in factor. It's additionally a traditional instance of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different prospective chicken real estate professionals market a selection of cottage declaring to be the suitable option to your chicken real estate requirements. Often the cost looks eye-catching, the house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of cheap and also unpleasant cages flooding the marketplace. I understand this as I've examined a number of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket appeared. The outcome was nothing but an expensive stack of fire wood as well as a small group of bemused and also currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop With Run in Cleveland, Ohio
Typically these standardized designs are constructed of fast grown wood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that will not close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The initial warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries out and cracks, the felt roofing bubbles and also boils, and come nightfall the hens choose not to go in. This is not because of their frustration at the decrease of their once eye-catching commercial property but because the hovel is now a place for, and also most likely abounding, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add that it stated on the blurb that it would match 4 large chickens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A couple of hinges and some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could depend upon whether you choose for a totally free standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a large area and the pop hole doorway is big sufficient for the type you keep, then the main requirements of housing come down to 3 points which will specify the number of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as ventilation. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost at night, this perch should preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch must be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also naturally try to find 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) causing stained eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is mounted in your house they must be more 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 must have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds as well as these ought to be off the ground and also in the darkest area of your house. The house needs to have ample air flow: without it then condensation will certainly develop every evening, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Know, air flow deals with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a set of holes on contrary walls of the house as well as at the same level, this is just what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run connected after that the points above are still real, but you ought to also think about the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a free range bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the motivations for maintaining some hens in the house is potentially boosted or better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close check out several of the deal houses - it could well be your house has the best perches, correct air flow and also adequate nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain just what you spend for". You could think you've got a bargain, yet you as well as your group can rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will certainly last for a couple of decades, if not longer given the correct therapy. In the long run your chicken and your poultry maintaining encounter will be a lot the far better for it.diy for sale
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