Chicken Coops for Sale in Bath, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Bath, Pennsylvania
Changes in the Chicken Coop
Courtesy of Natalie Honan
Changes in the Chicken Coop
By Natalie Honan
Many students have realized in passing that the chicken coop has been looking a bit more crowded than usual. Recently, a group of new chickens were introduced into the current chicken habitat south of the Grove House.
Six chickens, who originally lived off campus, were about to become homeless, when Teddy Menard PZ’16 volunteered to house the chickens at Pitzer. To make room for these new birds, members of the Garden Club built a chicken coop which was located in the grove and backed onto the fence surrounding Harvey Mudd’s field.
During a Garden Club meeting, Jim Miller PZ ’18 and Gabe Elliot PZ ’18 spontaneously volunteered to assume some caregiving responsibilities for the new group of chickens.
“Our basic duties were just to make sure that they had food and water and to collect their eggs. We also wanted to spend some time with them because even a little human companionship can brighten up their day,” Elliot said.
The new chickens were content in their original home in the orchard until one night, when a creature made its way into the coop and ate one of the chickens. Apparently, a long tree which extended over and around the coop allowed for an unknown animal to enter the chickens’ habitat.
After the first attack, Miller and Elliot decided to confine the chickens into the physical structure within their coop to try to keep them safe. Once the chickens were inside, rocks were placed against the exit as to keep the chickens in and the killer out.
However, after two days had passed, one morning students discovered the rocks had been moved and another chicken was found dead.
Miller and Elliot are guessing the creature was either a raccoon or a bobcat. The creature was nimble enough to remove all the rocks out of place, pointing to a raccoon. However, bobcats are physically stronger and could slaughter a chicken a lot easier than a raccoon might have.
“We’ll just call it the creature,” Elliot said.
Menard also speculated that whatever the creature was, it had to be able to climb a very tall fence, strong enough to kill a chicken, and agile enough to break into the hutch.
“To get up the fence, the creature would have had to climb seven or eight feet and then climb down the tree into the hutch. So maybe it was something small, like a fox,” Menard said.
Many animals have been wandering towards more urban settings as a result of the drought wiping out food sources in their natural habitats.
To keep the remaining chickens safe from the creature, the Garden Club decided to relocate the chickens into the original chicken coop. Miller and Elliot explained that the group did not initially want to combine the flocks, due to the dangers of discord and disease within the two chicken populations.
“They grew up separately, they each have their own defined pecking orders and by putting them together, we were worried that they would fight to try and establish dominance over each other,” Elliot said.
“There’s also the issue of disease. One flock of chickens is used to a different set of germs, bacteria, and parasites than the other. So when you introduce them together, there’s the risk that one group will not have built an immunity that the other one has,” Miller added.
Regardless, the creature was a more direct and guaranteed threat to the safety of the chickens than the risks that came with combining the flocks. Left with no other choice, the Garden Club moved the four remaining chickens of the newer flock in with Pitzer’s original flock.
Upon first introducing the two flocks to each other, the chickens were met with some disagreement. The chickens did not socialize with each other and chased each other around when they were fed.
“There were definitely cliques formed, they did not get along. The original chicken flock would hang out closer to Mead and the other one would stay in their separate corner,” said Miller.
Miller and Elliot stated they believe the main reason for the preliminary conflict was limited space in the small tree in which most of the chickens sleep.
“There were complaints from people in Mead about all the noise the chickens were making because the chickens were fighting in the morning,” Elliot said, “This probably had to do with them all getting out of the tree in an orderly fashion.”
With time, the chickens are slowly growing more comfortable with each other. According to Elliot and Miller, they chickens have started mingling with each other. Menard reported not seeing chicken feathers (an indication of chicken violence) or hearing as much squabbling.
“I think overall it was a good transition, I think they’re safer and hopefully happier. Although, they are missing two of their comrades,” Elliot said.
Currently, members of the Garden Club are planning to expand the size of the coop as well as the housing structure to eventually have the capacity for up to 20 chickens.
Miller and Elliot both said the chickens play an important role in “bringing joy to the community.” They like to think of the chickens as the celebrities of Pitzer College. Menard added that the chickens “give students a special chance to engage with their campus.”
“They’re a very unique and interesting opportunity to express responsibility. The opportunity to have a relationship with the chickens is also important” Menard said.
Moreover, the chicken coop adds visual appeal to the grounds. The chickens are a highlight of the admissions tours and to school visitors.
“It’s a lovely space. The chicken coop is very old. It’s on display and very visible, so I think aesthetically it plays a very important role,” Menard said.
They also provide eggs for the Pitzer Food Collective and other Pitzer students.
Elliot and Miller wanted to dedicate this article to the first chicken who was slaughtered, “R.I.P. Mona.”
Chicken Coop Plans in Bath, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Bath Pennsylvania" 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 Bath Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Bath, Pennsylvania With the significant increase in chicken keeping there has actually been a just as big rise in the range of chicken stuff for sale. Poultry housing is a case in point. It's also a classic example of the great old bandwagon being got on as various would-be fowl housing specialists market a range of lodging claiming to be the ideal option to your chicken housing demands. Frequently the cost looks desirable, the house looks attractive, hell also the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look eye-catching. Undoubtedly they recognize a professional chicken house when they see one? There are numerous inexpensive as well as nasty coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and also seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed pail appeared. The outcome was just a pricey heap of firewood and a small group of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop With Run in Bath, Pennsylvania
More often than not these standardized versions are built of rapid grown up lumber - come the very first drop of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't close, or tearing the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The very first warm and comfortable day indicates the wood dries out as well as fractures, the really felt roof covering bubbles as well as boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not because of their disappointment at the decline of their once desirable home however since the hovel is currently a place for, and probably abounding, the fowl keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add that it said on the blurb that it would match four large chickens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you entrusted? A few hinges as well as some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds should cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a totally free standing house or one with a run connected. Assuming you are varying your birds in a huge area and the pop opening door is big sufficient for the type you keep, after that the major requirements of real estate boil down to 3 points which will certainly specify the variety of birds the house 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 vast with smoothed off edges so the foot rests comfortably on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will additionally naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they produce the most poo) resulting in soiled eggs the following 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 early morning. Chickens need concerning 20cm of perch each (in small types this is obviously less), plus if more than one perch is set up in the house they should be greater than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their next-door neighbors but are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your home ought to have a the very least one nest box for every single three birds as well as these should be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. The house needs to have appropriate air flow: without it then condensation will build up every evening, also in the coldest of climate. Know, ventilation deals with the concept of warm air leaving with a high space drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a set of holes on opposite walls of the house and also at the exact same level, this is just what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still real, yet you must also think about the run dimension. The EU maximum lawful equipping density for a totally free variety bird is (and let's face it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is perhaps improved or far better welfare) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the bargain houses - it could well be your home has the best perches, right air flow as well as sufficient nest boxes for a sensible variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you get just what you pay for". You might think you've got a bargain, but you as well as your group could possibly rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house as well as it will last for a few decades, if not longer offered the proper treatment. In the long run your fowl and also your chicken maintaining experience will be considerably the better for it.for sale diy
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