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Chicken Coops for Sale in Maria Stein, Ohio

Chicken Coops for Sale in Maria Stein, 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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I’m Paula - like many of you I wear a lot of hats. Child of God, wife of 19 years, mother of 5 earthly children (and another on the way), reluctant cook, chocolate-snatcher, and health and fitness coach at . Various family health issues including Lyme disease and candida has turned me into a 'researcher' with a passion for understanding how our God-created bodies thrive or deteriorate based on what we put in it.

Latest posts by Paula ()

  • - March 22, 2016
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Chicken coops for sale in Maria Stein Ohio can be found in agricultural newspapers and community newspapers. The coops are designed for housing for chickens in a safe and secure environment. They generally consist of a small building or large box that is then sectioned off to smaller boxes where the chickens go to roost (or sleep). Chicken coops are a must for raising chickens. Maria Stein Ohio chicken coops are commonly constructed from wood products. They are not very stable buildings and provide only minimal protection from the elements. Now chicken houses used for large production facilities are a entirely different structure, they are huge and can hold up to 10000 chickens. The coops are typically used for backyard operations, or small family farms. They vary in size depending on the number of residents they house. chicken-coops-in-Maria Stein-OHFinding chicken coops for sale in Maria Stein Ohio is probably not one of the easiest of items to find. There are manufacturers of chicken houses and coops that sell them out right and Maria Stein Ohio farm supply stores that they can also be purchased through, but generally speaking it will take some effort to find a chicken coop for sale in Maria Stein Ohio, especially if your location is not a typically rural location. In rural locations that are much more abundant and easily had. Chicken Coops for sale in Maria Stein OH

Chicken Coop For 10 Chickens in Maria Stein, Ohio

A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Maria Stein 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 Maria Stein Ohio chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Maria Stein, Ohio With the massive rise in chicken maintaining there has been an equally big surge in the variety of chicken stuff for sale. Poultry real estate is a case in factor. It's likewise a timeless instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as various potential fowl real estate experts market a selection of lodging claiming to be the ideal remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Often the rate looks attractive, your house looks eye-catching, hell also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Certainly they understand a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost and also awful cages flooding the market. I know this as I've tested a variety of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly with one when the feed container appeared. The outcome was just a costly pile of fire wood and a little flock of bemused as well as now homeless bantams. Chickens for sale in Maria Stein OH

Baby Chick Varieties in Maria Stein, Ohio

Generally these standardized designs are built of rapid grown up wood - come the first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't close, or tearing the door furniture off in a vain effort to release the squawking occupants. The very first warm day means the lumber dries as well as splits, the felt roofing bubbles as well as boils, and come nightfall the chickens choose not to enter. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their when attractive property yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as possibly abounding, the fowl keeper's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would certainly fit four huge hens when that equipping thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A couple of joints and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to four birds need to cost you around ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a huge space and also the pop opening door is big sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the main requirements of housing boil down to three points which will certainly define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of breeds of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost in the evening, this perch must preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly likewise naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nonetheless be so high off the flooring of your home that leg injuries can take place when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in little types this is clearly less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your house they must be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird ahead. Ideally the house should have a the very least one nest box for every three birds as well as these must be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your home. The house needs to have adequate ventilation: without it after that condensation will accumulate every night, even in the chilliest of weather condition. Be aware, air flow works on the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving with a high void attracting cooler air in from a reduced void - it's not a collection of openings on opposite wall surfaces of your home and also at the exact same level, this is just what's referred to as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still real, but you should additionally think about the run size. The EU optimum lawful stocking thickness for a totally free variety bird is (and also allow's face it, one of the inspirations for keeping some hens in the house is possibly enhanced or much better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird each 4m settled. Take a close check out some of the bargain homes - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, appropriate air flow and adequate nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? Therefore as the stating goes, "you obtain exactly what you spend for". You might believe you've got hold of a deal, however you and your flock could rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house as well as it will last for a few years, otherwise longer provided the proper treatment. In the long run your poultry and your fowl maintaining experience will certainly be a lot the much better for it.
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