Chicken Coops for Sale in Warner, Oklahoma
Chicken Coops for Sale in Warner, Oklahoma
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 Coops For Sale in Warner, Oklahoma
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Warner Oklahoma" 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 Warner Oklahoma chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Warner, Oklahoma With the significant boost in poultry keeping there has been a just as huge increase in the range of poultry stuff for sale. Poultry real estate is a situation in factor. It's likewise a traditional instance of the great old bandwagon being got on as numerous prospective chicken real estate specialists peddle a variety of cottage claiming to be the suitable option to your chicken real estate needs. Usually the price looks eye-catching, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks attractive, heck also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they recognize a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous cheap and awful coops swamping the marketplace. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the field, as well as seen a ewe run directly through one when the feed container showed up. The outcome was just an expensive stack of firewood and also a small group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Baby Chicks in Warner, Oklahoma
Typically these standardized models are constructed of rapid grown up wood - come the initial decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain effort to launch the squawking occupants. The first warm and comfortable day implies the lumber dries out and fractures, the felt roof bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decrease of their once eye-catching home yet considering that the hovel is currently a place for, and also possibly abounding, the fowl caretaker's bane, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would suit four huge chickens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as exactly what are you entrusted? A few joints and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to four birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Thinking you are ranging your birds in a huge space as well as the pop hole door allows sufficient for the type you maintain, after that the main demands of real estate boil down to three factors which will certainly define the number of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off edges so the foot sits conveniently on it. The perch should be above the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly additionally normally look for the highest point to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they create the most poo) causing soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't nevertheless be so high off the floor of your house that leg injuries might take place when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require about 20cm of perch each (in little breeds this is undoubtedly much less), plus if more than one perch is installed in your home they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors but 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 need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of your home. Your house should have adequate air flow: without it then condensation will certainly develop every evening, also in the chilliest of climate. Understand, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving through a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced space - it's not a collection of openings on other wall surfaces of your house as well as at the very same level, this is just what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the factors above are still true, but you must additionally take into consideration the run dimension. The EU optimum legal equipping density for a cost-free array bird is (and also allow's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some hens at home is potentially enhanced or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the deal residences - it could well be your home has the right perches, proper air flow as well as enough nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to invest the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you get what you pay for". You might believe you've grabbed a bargain, but you and also your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will certainly last for a couple of years, otherwise longer provided the right therapy. In the end your poultry and also your fowl keeping encounter will be much the far better for it.coop plans
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